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.
Jurassic135 schrieb:
I would have chosen the Hamburgher profile too, and I think it’s definitely worth it. After all, you’re not removing a whole new skirting board, but just a simple strip. I also wouldn’t have liked it without any profile at all. Yes, I agree, I love that country house style, so I would have really missed those. We had the same in our old house. It wasn’t expensive either, around 300€ (about $320) for the entire house, so not a big deal. The problem is that you end up spending 300-500€ (about $320-530) here and there, and it adds up. That’s what makes upgrading selections so risky. You really have to advise every new homeowner to set aside a bit of money for little extras like this. Or maybe some people just have more self-control, that’s possible too.
Jurassic135 schrieb:
What kind of parquet flooring are you getting? We’re having one from Joka installed in August, with skirting boards in the Hamburgher profile of course, which we’ve already had good experiences with within the family. Exactly the same!
Yesterday we found out it’s also a Joka floor. 535 LD Calgary country plank in "Oak Country V2."
When we made the selection, I didn’t know that. We didn’t really have a choice other than "this or nothing" because we were watching the budget for flooring. We didn’t want to upgrade too much on the floors. The general contractor had brought us some planks to look at and said he’d installed that floor last year in a house, that it looked great, and that it only cost about €8/m² (about $8.50/sq yd) more. The other parquet options we could have chosen were all much more expensive. We liked it, so we asked for the current price and ordered it for—I don’t remember exactly—either 11 or 13 euros (about $12-14) extra per square meter. At the time, I didn’t even know the manufacturer; honestly, I thought it was a budget brand.
Yesterday I saw the product name and googled prices online. Since we only have about 35€ (about $37) material cost per square meter in the contract, the surcharge really isn’t bad. But we had already ordered it almost a year ago, because prices keep going up.
Jurassic135 schrieb:
And unfortunately, I don’t know what “Stellstufen” are. Do you mean “Setzstufen”? I think so. Kind of like in the photo. Originally, the whole staircase was supposed to be wood-colored.
S
Schorsch_baut13 Jun 2023 10:20This is how we wanted to have our staircase built as well. Friends of ours have theirs like this too, and they strongly advised against it because even a mop or vacuum cleaner can leave the risers and walls looking quite worn after a few years. We will probably go with a steel staircase instead, with side panels.
J
Jurassic13513 Jun 2023 14:31kati1337 schrieb:
Yes, I think so too. I love that country house style, so I would have really missed those. We had them in our old house as well. Price-wise, about 300€ for the whole house wasn’t a big deal. The problem is just that you end up spending 300-500€ here and there, and it adds up. That’s what I find dangerous with these upgrades. You really have to make every new homeowner aware to budget a bit of money for things like that. Or maybe other people have more self-control, that could be the case as well. I believe that. When we were still considering building through a developer, I had already set aside a lump sum of 50,000€ for the “visually necessary” upgrades, because I definitely would have wanted upgrades everywhere and would have had to hold myself back in some areas. Now, in our existing house, we do it gradually, but you can only do those things as money is available. That definitely makes it take a lot longer until everything looks “nice.”
kati1337 schrieb:
Exactly the same!
Yesterday we found out that it’s also a Joka floor. 535 LD Calgary country plank in “Oak Country V2.”
When we made our selections, I didn’t know that. We kind of had no choice other than “this one or none,” since we were already watching the price there. We didn’t want to upgrade the flooring for big sums. The general contractor had brought a few planks for us to see and said he had installed this floor in a house last year and it looked great, and it was only about €8/m² more. The other parquet floors we could have selected were all significantly more expensive. We liked this one, then asked for the current price and ordered it for—I don’t even remember—11 or 13 euros extra, I think. At that time, I didn’t know the manufacturer; I have to admit I thought it was a budget brand.
Yesterday I saw the product name and googled what it costs online. Since the contract only includes 35€ material price, you really can’t complain about the upgrade charge. But we had already firmly ordered it almost a year ago because prices keep going up. Funny, ours is also a Calgary country plank, oiled cream finish, I think. It’s really not that cheap; we pay about 80€/m². Not extremely expensive but not a bargain either. The floor installer would have recommended it if we hadn’t brought it up ourselves. We’ve seen it in family homes—it’s super durable. It stands up to kids and, previously, dogs, and is really top quality.
kati1337 schrieb:
I think so. Something along the lines of the photo. Originally, the whole staircase was planned to be wood-colored. I really like that too. I’d rather wipe a staircase more often and maybe repaint it every few years than use something like steel. Of course, it’s a matter of taste, but to achieve a nice (country house) look, I’d accept that. My now white-painted staircase doesn’t seem significantly more demanding to maintain. Maybe stains are more visible, but they also exist on wood and have to be cleaned just the same. And since your steps are wood, I don’t think that will be a big issue. My parents also have white risers and haven’t had any problems so far. I’m quite tolerant when it comes to aesthetics and can understand perfectly if others prefer something more practical. 😀
kati1337 schrieb:
The problem is that you spend around 300-500€ (about 330-550 USD) here and there, and it adds up. Yes, we definitely notice that too, and the bigger expenses are still to come (I think a lot will be for electrical work in our case). We originally thought, "we could move in without any upgrades and still be happy," but then we keep telling ourselves, "well, we could just spend a little more here and make it EVEN better," and that's how the money keeps flowing 😱;) Although I also feel that if the budget didn’t allow for it, that would be fine too. So I’m not exactly sure if I would necessarily advise, “you should definitely add more for such and such.”
I’m willing to put up with some inconvenience if it means having something nicer. I also regularly wipe a washbasin with a dry cloth because I wanted to have washbowls. Of course, it’s time-consuming. But if something is worth having, then it’s worth maintaining.
If I always only chose what’s practical, I wouldn’t like a lot of things this way. I even fold my laundry neatly. I think I’ve watched too much Netflix.
Also, I’m trying to enforce a no-shoes-inside rule in the new house. I’m curious how well that will work. In northern Germany, this was quite common in most homes, and I got used to it during over 10 years there. We ourselves never walk around inside with outdoor shoes on.
I’m interested to see how I’ll get my family to adopt this. It’s extremely uncommon here. I’ve already clashed with my mom in the temporary apartment because she wanted to go from the hallway toward the bedrooms and the children’s room, and when I asked her to take off her outdoor shoes, she just said, “I don’t think my shoes are that dirty.”
We’re very curious about the floor. I’m glad you say it’s durable.
If I always only chose what’s practical, I wouldn’t like a lot of things this way. I even fold my laundry neatly. I think I’ve watched too much Netflix.
Also, I’m trying to enforce a no-shoes-inside rule in the new house. I’m curious how well that will work. In northern Germany, this was quite common in most homes, and I got used to it during over 10 years there. We ourselves never walk around inside with outdoor shoes on.
I’m interested to see how I’ll get my family to adopt this. It’s extremely uncommon here. I’ve already clashed with my mom in the temporary apartment because she wanted to go from the hallway toward the bedrooms and the children’s room, and when I asked her to take off her outdoor shoes, she just said, “I don’t think my shoes are that dirty.”
We’re very curious about the floor. I’m glad you say it’s durable.
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