ᐅ Hillside House in the Southwest Palatinate – Our Home Construction 2.0
Created on: 9 Sep 2022 18:13
K
kati1337
Good evening everyone
I’m starting a small collection thread here for photos and progress updates on our second building project.
We’ve already moved to the Palatinate region to be closer to the construction site. Now we’re watching eagerly and happily as our (hopefully final) dream home takes shape near family.
One big challenge still ahead of us is the facade design. I really love the Nordic style with brickwork and mullioned windows. That won’t be possible here for two reasons: firstly, no one here can do bricklaying, and secondly, it would stand out too much. We will be going with a rendered facade. How to design the colors of the facade and windows to still create some country house / cottage charm is currently still a work in progress mentally.
Otherwise, I’m sharing our plans here and how it will eventually be built.
The support pillar marked near the kitchen island could be removed for a small extra cost, so that will be gone.
The room for “garden equipment” under the garage will get a partition wall for structural reasons.
It won’t be fully finished living space like in the house, but underfloor heating will be installed, along with a lockable door and a window. It’s meant to store garden tools but also some of the building services equipment, since the utility room (HAR) is quite small, and maybe be used as a party room.
We had three construction companies in the final selection. In the end, we chose the “doer” – a builder recommended to us here by friends and family. No website, no smartphone, but he is on site every day himself working in overalls. He has a very good reputation in this area and now rarely builds single-family homes. We were a bit lucky through personal connections and a very friendly initial phone call to get our foot in the door. So far we are very satisfied with this choice.
I’m starting a small collection thread here for photos and progress updates on our second building project.
We’ve already moved to the Palatinate region to be closer to the construction site. Now we’re watching eagerly and happily as our (hopefully final) dream home takes shape near family.
One big challenge still ahead of us is the facade design. I really love the Nordic style with brickwork and mullioned windows. That won’t be possible here for two reasons: firstly, no one here can do bricklaying, and secondly, it would stand out too much. We will be going with a rendered facade. How to design the colors of the facade and windows to still create some country house / cottage charm is currently still a work in progress mentally.
Otherwise, I’m sharing our plans here and how it will eventually be built.
The support pillar marked near the kitchen island could be removed for a small extra cost, so that will be gone.
The room for “garden equipment” under the garage will get a partition wall for structural reasons.
It won’t be fully finished living space like in the house, but underfloor heating will be installed, along with a lockable door and a window. It’s meant to store garden tools but also some of the building services equipment, since the utility room (HAR) is quite small, and maybe be used as a party room.
We had three construction companies in the final selection. In the end, we chose the “doer” – a builder recommended to us here by friends and family. No website, no smartphone, but he is on site every day himself working in overalls. He has a very good reputation in this area and now rarely builds single-family homes. We were a bit lucky through personal connections and a very friendly initial phone call to get our foot in the door. So far we are very satisfied with this choice.
M
Marvinius28 May 2023 17:26kati1337 schrieb:
Anyway, some news from the construction site:
Recently, we showed up and everything was neatly swept, and my candy box was sitting on the stairs. That already sparked some excitement in me.
And behold:
Seems like our lawn mower will soon be resting on beautiful Italian tiles that usually cost around 70€ per square meter (about $75 per square foot). Nice, now our utility room has the most expensive flooring in the whole house. The "Mirage" tiles are really very beautiful. But is it really practical to lay them in storage rooms or the utility room? That means having the most expensive tiles there.
If you got them so cheaply, I would consider using them in the living areas instead and choose new, more affordable tiles for the storage rooms.
We visited the construction site again yesterday to take a look. The ceilings are now mostly suspended.
We found primer, wallpaper, and non-woven wallpaper adhesive on site.
And they have done additional sanding.
I have to say, I’m quite impressed. The painting work is included in our construction contract, but it’s only specified as “non-woven wallpaper, white painted” without any quality grade or detailed description. Since the house was already at the upper limit of our budget, we agreed at the time of signing the contract to “take whatever we get” regarding the walls.
Seeing all the filling and sanding work being done here, my goodness... I think our garage interior is smoother than the entire old house.
They will probably be applying a smooth non-woven wallpaper (Systexx Vlies V14).
I can’t specify a quality level, but such wallpaper requires a fairly smooth sanding finish. I know from our last house that upgrading to a Q4 finish and painter’s fleece would have cost over $20,000 (USD) extra. And that was at 2019 house prices.
We found primer, wallpaper, and non-woven wallpaper adhesive on site.
And they have done additional sanding.
I have to say, I’m quite impressed. The painting work is included in our construction contract, but it’s only specified as “non-woven wallpaper, white painted” without any quality grade or detailed description. Since the house was already at the upper limit of our budget, we agreed at the time of signing the contract to “take whatever we get” regarding the walls.
Seeing all the filling and sanding work being done here, my goodness... I think our garage interior is smoother than the entire old house.
They will probably be applying a smooth non-woven wallpaper (Systexx Vlies V14).
I can’t specify a quality level, but such wallpaper requires a fairly smooth sanding finish. I know from our last house that upgrading to a Q4 finish and painter’s fleece would have cost over $20,000 (USD) extra. And that was at 2019 house prices.
J
Jurassic13511 Jun 2023 09:13If you write like that, soon some people will be moving to your area, considering the land prices and such a general contractor. That’s really impressive! Looking forward to the photos once the floors and tiles are installed.
Jurassic135 schrieb:
If you write like that, soon some people will move to your area, considering the land prices and such a general contractor.
That’s really impressive! I’m already looking forward to the photos once the floors and tiles are installed.Me too! The general contractor has already hinted that he won’t be doing this much longer. He said it’s no longer enjoyable with the current price increases. He recently told us how much higher he would have to price the house we are currently building nowadays. It’s not pleasant. And it’s probably getting harder to find workers as well. On our construction site, I often see that the contractors are working themselves. For example, the guy we consulted for the flooring is now on site sanding and filling as well.
I’ve even seen our general contractor operating an excavator. The plumber is also frequently on site—that is, the owner who is also a partner.
I didn’t know this from our first build. Back then there were the bosses, and they had employees. But you never saw the bosses on the construction site.
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