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.
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xMisterDx15 Jun 2023 19:10No wonder nobody wants to work in skilled trades anymore. Not only do you have to work hard and heavy for little pay, now you also have to walk around barefoot or risk slipping off the ladder while wearing overshoes.
By the way, painter's fleece is not without risks either. It gives a false sense of security: "Oh, there's fleece here, come on, let's push that heavy cabinet..."
By the way, painter's fleece is not without risks either. It gives a false sense of security: "Oh, there's fleece here, come on, let's push that heavy cabinet..."
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Jurassic13515 Jun 2023 20:00xMisterDx schrieb:
But which homeowner cares about the safety of the tradesperson? As long as you don’t have to vacuum afterward.
When I moved, I would never have thought that the workers would need to take off their shoes every time. I placed some boards outside that I had from the door deliveries as packaging… but if it had rained, they would have just walked inside with wet shoes. Just like always, right?
I hope you come across a tradesperson who just packs up their tools and leaves. Let the picky owner fix the heating themselves… I think it’s somehow too hot this week…
Anyway, you can’t wipe a light-colored carpet and some things can’t be vacuumed either. I would never ask anyone to take a safety risk. I’d rather get the painter’s protective fleece from the attic and lay it over the carpet. Luckily, people can communicate, so you can discuss whether it’s possible to take off shoes or not. Then I can still decide whether to risk stains on the carpet or put down the protective fleece.
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motorradsilke15 Jun 2023 21:07Jurassic135 schrieb:
But depending on the type of work, this may not be possible (e.g., safety shoes required) or some people might not be prepared for it and feel uncomfortable (for example, smelly feet after a long workday). In those cases, shoe covers are a great option. Once, a manager from a glazing company came to give us a quote for the shower wall. I asked him to take off his shoes. He had a big hole in one of his socks, which was clearly embarrassing for him, and he tried to hide it somehow.
He still got the contract.
OWLer schrieb:
@kati1337 When will we see something again?I don’t have much to show yet. =)
Regarding the move: We hired a moving company. I was hesitant to look for one after the disaster last time. This time, I only contacted local companies. You can tell in the price; everything has generally become more expensive.
We received quotes between 3400 and 5500 euros for approximately 62m³ (2200 cubic feet) from one single-family house to another, about 10km (6 miles) away.
I found that shockingly expensive, even the cheapest offer, but since all three were in that range, we went with it. The cheapest company was also the most personable (and even located somewhat in my hometown, so we have some indirect connections from the past).
I avoided platforms like MyHammer or moving comparison portals this time like the plague. Learned my lesson.
Then we picked out the railing; it will look something like this (sample photo):
We decided to upgrade the wooden handrail. Otherwise, it would have been a metal bar, which I thought would look too much like a doctor's office. Metal railings aren’t really my thing, but since it’s a concrete staircase and quite different from our old country-style staircase, the extra cost for an all-wood solution was too much. The wooden handrail instead of metal will cost between 400 and 500€ (around 430–540 USD). 🤨
And the front door will be something like this:
This time, the standard model had to be enough. Although when I saw the quote, the standard already costs well over 4000€ (around 4300 USD). o.O
The only extra is putting the house number on the glass at the top, which costs about 20€. 😀
But he said the general contractor probably won’t bother to issue an invoice for that.
Jurassic135 schrieb:
What kind of overshoes do you use? I should get some too. Upstairs we have a light-colored carpet, so the tradespeople have to take off their shoes. But depending on the work, that's not always possible (think safety shoes), or maybe some are not prepared and feel uncomfortable (think smelly feet after a long day). In those cases, overshoes are a great option. I bought the overshoes somewhere, just standard ones.
No one should have to deal with smelly or sweaty feet after a long workday.
So far, not a single tradesperson has complained about wearing them.
@xMisterDx … about no one wanting to work in trades, etc. We’re not stupid; we don’t expect tradespeople to put the overshoes on and take them off every time they go in and out ten times. But if they come in once and stay in the house for an hour, that’s definitely reasonable! So please, let’s keep things respectful…
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xMisterDx17 Jun 2023 01:27Many things are acceptable, but it also reflects a certain attitude toward the tradespeople. It is generally assumed that the workers won’t take off their shoes and that there is always at least a one-centimeter (0.4 inch) thick layer of dirt and stones stuck to them. This often happens because the homeowner/property owner does not keep their driveway clean, which the tradespeople inevitably have to cross to get to the house.
I think that’s completely exaggerated. About a week ago, five movers ran through my place; there’s still gravel and a few pallets outside. I didn’t even vacuum afterward because there was nothing to clean up. And none of them took their shoes off...
Accordingly, I am quite shocked by the price and, even more so, by the estimated cubic meters.
We paid 1,400 EUR gross for 30 cubic meters including the lift at the loading point. From the second floor to the house. Distance about 3 kilometers (1.9 miles).
But 62 cubic meters? For a household of three people (at the moment)? Even with four people, we have at least 30 to 40 boxes, and I often wonder why and what all that stuff is even for...
Okay, the living room was new, and so was a child’s bedroom, so those didn’t need to be moved, and I had already carried some stuff away myself before. Otherwise, it might have been around 40 cubic meters.
But 62?
I think that’s completely exaggerated. About a week ago, five movers ran through my place; there’s still gravel and a few pallets outside. I didn’t even vacuum afterward because there was nothing to clean up. And none of them took their shoes off...
Accordingly, I am quite shocked by the price and, even more so, by the estimated cubic meters.
We paid 1,400 EUR gross for 30 cubic meters including the lift at the loading point. From the second floor to the house. Distance about 3 kilometers (1.9 miles).
But 62 cubic meters? For a household of three people (at the moment)? Even with four people, we have at least 30 to 40 boxes, and I often wonder why and what all that stuff is even for...
Okay, the living room was new, and so was a child’s bedroom, so those didn’t need to be moved, and I had already carried some stuff away myself before. Otherwise, it might have been around 40 cubic meters.
But 62?
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