ᐅ Location of a city villa or detached single-family house on a 500 m² rectangular plot
Created on: 17 Jan 2020 18:03
T
Tolentino
Dear all,
after sharing the floor plans of my possible hamster cage with you in the other thread , here comes the next thread (thanks again for all the constructive suggestions there).
Just so you know, the semi-detached house is not off the table yet, as this plot of land is highly sought after and it’s not clear whether it will work out. But this one would be my favorite.
Now to this plot. For now, I’m mainly concerned with where and roughly how the house should be positioned on this plot.
Development plan / restrictions
Plot size: 500 m² (5400 sq ft)
Slope: none
Site coverage ratio: 0.2
Floor area ratio: 0.4
Building envelope, building line and boundary: 5 m (16 ft) from the street, 3 m (10 ft) from neighbors
Edge development: allowed for garages and sheds, none existing on the plot
Number of parking spaces: 1-2
Number of floors: 1.5–2.5
Roof shape: no preference
Architectural style: no preference
Orientation: aligned parallel to the street
Maximum heights / limits: ridge height max. 9 m (30 ft)
Below are the site plans I created myself based on the details from the listing.
This is a rough overview of the plot with building boundaries and dimensions.
My question is: where to put the house?
The broker suggests placing it towards the back, since you already have the 5 m (16 ft) setback at the front and would “gain” about 3 m (10 ft) of garden. My partner doesn’t like this because of the visibility from the street. I say: privacy screen! But I also think, a fence too high might create a prison-yard feel.
But even if you follow this suggestion, I wonder if a more square floor plan (-> town villa style) would be better?
Like this, for example:
Then parking space might be tricky, right?
Or upright like this?
I really want as much of a west-facing view and garden as possible. I tend to be an evening person and that side is less built up, due to the road. So I think more light comes through.
But the narrow floor plan caused lots of problems with the semi-detached house already. Well, here you could build longer instead.
What do you think?
Best regards
Tolentino
after sharing the floor plans of my possible hamster cage with you in the other thread , here comes the next thread (thanks again for all the constructive suggestions there).
Just so you know, the semi-detached house is not off the table yet, as this plot of land is highly sought after and it’s not clear whether it will work out. But this one would be my favorite.
Now to this plot. For now, I’m mainly concerned with where and roughly how the house should be positioned on this plot.
Development plan / restrictions
Plot size: 500 m² (5400 sq ft)
Slope: none
Site coverage ratio: 0.2
Floor area ratio: 0.4
Building envelope, building line and boundary: 5 m (16 ft) from the street, 3 m (10 ft) from neighbors
Edge development: allowed for garages and sheds, none existing on the plot
Number of parking spaces: 1-2
Number of floors: 1.5–2.5
Roof shape: no preference
Architectural style: no preference
Orientation: aligned parallel to the street
Maximum heights / limits: ridge height max. 9 m (30 ft)
Below are the site plans I created myself based on the details from the listing.
This is a rough overview of the plot with building boundaries and dimensions.
My question is: where to put the house?
The broker suggests placing it towards the back, since you already have the 5 m (16 ft) setback at the front and would “gain” about 3 m (10 ft) of garden. My partner doesn’t like this because of the visibility from the street. I say: privacy screen! But I also think, a fence too high might create a prison-yard feel.
But even if you follow this suggestion, I wonder if a more square floor plan (-> town villa style) would be better?
Like this, for example:
Then parking space might be tricky, right?
Or upright like this?
I really want as much of a west-facing view and garden as possible. I tend to be an evening person and that side is less built up, due to the road. So I think more light comes through.
But the narrow floor plan caused lots of problems with the semi-detached house already. Well, here you could build longer instead.
What do you think?
Best regards
Tolentino
@Mycraft mentioned somewhere that he at least has no negative feedback and that many of his subcontractors do good work.
So far, I find the interpersonal interaction really good. For me and my neighbor, they have earned more of a 2-3 rather than a 1-2 rating regarding change order calculations. Otherwise, I currently cannot report anything truly negative, but especially concerning the heating engineer, they completely stayed out of it and said that it was a matter to be negotiated directly between me and him.
If it works like this everywhere, but they still want to take their margin everywhere, I’m not sure why I even need them.
As far as I know, the site manager is a freelancer anyway, so I could just hire him directly.
But no, I know rationally that this doesn’t make sense. Especially since the general contractor would have to be involved, which I don’t think will happen.
So far, I find the interpersonal interaction really good. For me and my neighbor, they have earned more of a 2-3 rather than a 1-2 rating regarding change order calculations. Otherwise, I currently cannot report anything truly negative, but especially concerning the heating engineer, they completely stayed out of it and said that it was a matter to be negotiated directly between me and him.
If it works like this everywhere, but they still want to take their margin everywhere, I’m not sure why I even need them.
As far as I know, the site manager is a freelancer anyway, so I could just hire him directly.
But no, I know rationally that this doesn’t make sense. Especially since the general contractor would have to be involved, which I don’t think will happen.
Tolentino schrieb:
BUT: What I was told before signing is that special requests can always be accommodated. Adding or reducing services is supposedly no problem at all. This probably does not apply to services performed by a third party, but rather to adjustments in the scope of work: either upgrading a position to a higher class, removing a position, and/or adding another position not originally included in the scope of work. For example, a chimney flue, height adjustments in the screed, or higher-quality roof tiles.
Nida35a schrieb:
Even if your approach is more modern/effective, the heating contractor’s goal is to provide a functioning heating system according to DIN standards, with a margin for himself. That’s probably true.
Tolentino schrieb:
I understand that. That’s why I was willing to pay for more detailed planning. If he hadn’t just started without an order, he would have actually had less effort. In this case, I also suspect a bit of wounded pride from the master craftsman. As I said, I don’t know much about heating systems, so please forgive me if I’m mistaken here or naïve in any way:
ypg schrieb:
A tradesperson can be good or bad, but let’s leave that aside. They tend to specialize. Some companies refuse these general contractor (GC) lock-in contracts; they can afford to do so because they are unique in their region and then offer the missing 20% you want. But in the end, they are not the type of GC a homeowner can afford. The outcome matters most to the homeowner. Then there are those who do both: direct contracts and GC contracts. This way, fixed costs are usually covered by the GC contracts. And there are companies that work only for GCs: low profit but more secure. Often, these companies can’t offer more than what they already provide. For example: my company is designed to deliver standard services—based on staff, equipment, and time. Everything runs smoothly. Then a customer (YOU) wants more—something I might be able to do but that doesn’t fit my system or concept. I try to satisfy them. However, I spend more time than I’d like. I can briefly answer their questions but basically spend too much time with them. Then I give up on the client because it’s too demanding. I’m already at 130% capacity; those extra 5% don’t make a difference—I just decline the job.
Tolentino schrieb:
I mainly communicated by email. But that was for two reasons:
1. The guy is almost never reachable by phone. Why do you think that is? He’s working. I’m surprised he even checks his inbox… I built with a GC myself. The contact person was the site manager. I dealt with the craftsmen on site directly. Outside of the GC. The craftsmen only had basic email addresses like t-online or gmx... no obligation to resolve anything by email. Only with the electrician did the back-and-forth with the electrical plans work well.
Tolentino schrieb:
I’m actually considering proposing a termination agreement to the GC now. Crazy idea or Are you thinking about building with an architect? Be aware that you won’t get a turnkey fixed-price contract. Flexibility can be a double-edged sword; it’s not always in your favor.
No, the rash idea was to request all the planning documents now (factory planning and structural calculations are already done) and then continue with another general contractor or with an independent site manager (could be a civil engineer for all I care) and/or an owner’s consultant.
But I finally got hold of the general contractor. He said that I probably made the heating engineer worried by asking such detailed questions this early, and that if I started now, I would likely be scrutinizing the site with a magnifying glass after the work was done and causing trouble.
However, he really only has that one heating engineer. He will talk to him again but doesn’t expect much chance of a turnaround over the weekend. Otherwise, he is offering me a credit. From a negotiation perspective, that’s pretty bad, because now it’s really a take-it-or-leave-it situation. The credit will probably be very small. I do have a “proposal” for their standard heat pump but none for the sanitary installations.
Ugh, this is all so frustrating.
But I finally got hold of the general contractor. He said that I probably made the heating engineer worried by asking such detailed questions this early, and that if I started now, I would likely be scrutinizing the site with a magnifying glass after the work was done and causing trouble.
However, he really only has that one heating engineer. He will talk to him again but doesn’t expect much chance of a turnaround over the weekend. Otherwise, he is offering me a credit. From a negotiation perspective, that’s pretty bad, because now it’s really a take-it-or-leave-it situation. The credit will probably be very small. I do have a “proposal” for their standard heat pump but none for the sanitary installations.
Ugh, this is all so frustrating.
KingJulien6 Nov 2020 20:26Tolentino schrieb:
So, it’s time for some critical self-reflection. Without adding much to the technical discussion, here’s my view on the personal side.
I think you are one of the friendliest, most thoughtful, and fairest members of this forum. So, in my opinion, that shouldn’t be the issue.
Regarding the topic “Working with professionals once”:
I completely agree. As our project is finally getting underway, I find myself wondering more and more who the real amateur is and who has actually been doing this as a profession for decades.
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