Hello everyone! 🙂
Thanks to your abundant feedback, you luckily prevented us from building a dark dwarf cave, and we completely restarted the floor plan from scratch. Now we have finally reached the point where our building start notification is with the building authority *cheers* So now it’s a four-week wait, and then construction could begin.
Below are the final floor plans, elevations, and sections. Also included is the site plan showing our house on our plot. Here is the link to our floor plan thread: https://www.hausbau-forum.de/threads/grundrissplanung-efh-massivholzbauweise-140qm-in-niedersachsen.44745/
If there is interest, I could create a small "construction diary" here from this thread… Since we are not building turnkey with a general contractor, there will surely be some avoidable mishaps, but that somehow also belongs to the experience… 😀 We would definitely appreciate feedback and will likely have some questions during the build where we will need your assistance… 🙂
A brief overview of our project:
We (m37, f30, and little m6) dream of a cozy home and were fortunate to get a plot in a new residential area in a neighboring village through the city in May 2022. The brutal price surge and material shortages almost made us give up, but in November we re-evaluated what we really want. The budget is limited, the times unpredictable, and interest rates naturally much higher than we would like… But ultimately, the decision was clear: with a lot of own effort, we still want to give it a try. Now or never, and if so, it should be a place with a feel-good factor. Those who have read our floor plan thread know: we are building a timber house. Wall construction: inside 10.0 x 21.8 cm (4 x 8.6 inches) spruce planks – 20.0 cm (8 inches) blown-in cellulose insulation – 5.8 cm (2.3 inches) spruce paneling as exterior cladding = KfW40 standard, which was important to us. The house has a continuous one-meter (3.3 feet) roof overhang. Roof insulation, visible roof structure, and *unfortunately* only a permitted eaves height of 4.00 meters (13.1 feet) according to the development plan, which was a major challenge for us as first-time builders… 🙁 But we believe we have now found a solution so that our upper floor will still be reasonably usable despite the only 30 cm (12 inches) knee wall, thanks to the south dormer for the children's rooms and the north side for the staircase.
Currently, our plan looks like this (in practice, everything will probably take 1-3 months longer anyway 😀):
Earthworks by the end of September (no fixed date yet), immediately followed by the foundation slab – both coordinated by myself. Then the house builder will come at the end of October and erect the entire house within 4-5 weeks (walls, ceilings, roof frame including insulation, windows, front door), after which we will largely handle the entire interior work ourselves (electrical, plumbing, heating) in close cooperation with professional tradespeople. Then still needed are roof tiles and photovoltaics, screed work, and flooring – nothing will be done to the interior walls; they will remain natural. All exterior work will come later and to the extent the budget (hopefully) allows. We plan to move in by Easter (yes, you can laugh now :p), but without ambitious goals, you won’t finish; besides, we will soon have drawn a large loan amount, so the double financial burden will weigh heavily on us.
In any case, this is already by far the most exciting, exhausting, and nerve-wracking project we have ever undertaken – and unfortunately, we are just at the very beginning 😀
Thanks to your abundant feedback, you luckily prevented us from building a dark dwarf cave, and we completely restarted the floor plan from scratch. Now we have finally reached the point where our building start notification is with the building authority *cheers* So now it’s a four-week wait, and then construction could begin.
Below are the final floor plans, elevations, and sections. Also included is the site plan showing our house on our plot. Here is the link to our floor plan thread: https://www.hausbau-forum.de/threads/grundrissplanung-efh-massivholzbauweise-140qm-in-niedersachsen.44745/
If there is interest, I could create a small "construction diary" here from this thread… Since we are not building turnkey with a general contractor, there will surely be some avoidable mishaps, but that somehow also belongs to the experience… 😀 We would definitely appreciate feedback and will likely have some questions during the build where we will need your assistance… 🙂
A brief overview of our project:
We (m37, f30, and little m6) dream of a cozy home and were fortunate to get a plot in a new residential area in a neighboring village through the city in May 2022. The brutal price surge and material shortages almost made us give up, but in November we re-evaluated what we really want. The budget is limited, the times unpredictable, and interest rates naturally much higher than we would like… But ultimately, the decision was clear: with a lot of own effort, we still want to give it a try. Now or never, and if so, it should be a place with a feel-good factor. Those who have read our floor plan thread know: we are building a timber house. Wall construction: inside 10.0 x 21.8 cm (4 x 8.6 inches) spruce planks – 20.0 cm (8 inches) blown-in cellulose insulation – 5.8 cm (2.3 inches) spruce paneling as exterior cladding = KfW40 standard, which was important to us. The house has a continuous one-meter (3.3 feet) roof overhang. Roof insulation, visible roof structure, and *unfortunately* only a permitted eaves height of 4.00 meters (13.1 feet) according to the development plan, which was a major challenge for us as first-time builders… 🙁 But we believe we have now found a solution so that our upper floor will still be reasonably usable despite the only 30 cm (12 inches) knee wall, thanks to the south dormer for the children's rooms and the north side for the staircase.
Currently, our plan looks like this (in practice, everything will probably take 1-3 months longer anyway 😀):
Earthworks by the end of September (no fixed date yet), immediately followed by the foundation slab – both coordinated by myself. Then the house builder will come at the end of October and erect the entire house within 4-5 weeks (walls, ceilings, roof frame including insulation, windows, front door), after which we will largely handle the entire interior work ourselves (electrical, plumbing, heating) in close cooperation with professional tradespeople. Then still needed are roof tiles and photovoltaics, screed work, and flooring – nothing will be done to the interior walls; they will remain natural. All exterior work will come later and to the extent the budget (hopefully) allows. We plan to move in by Easter (yes, you can laugh now :p), but without ambitious goals, you won’t finish; besides, we will soon have drawn a large loan amount, so the double financial burden will weigh heavily on us.
In any case, this is already by far the most exciting, exhausting, and nerve-wracking project we have ever undertaken – and unfortunately, we are just at the very beginning 😀
i_b_n_a_n schrieb:
Regarding the untreated interior walls, I would recommend seriously considering oiling them once, preferably twice (an experienced painter could also apply this using a spray gun). This helps keep the wood lighter in color (it won’t darken as much and, importantly, won’t vary as much depending on the light angle). Additionally, dirt can be much easier to clean off (with a small child in the house, this would be a no-brainer for me :cool 🙂 Thank you very much for this valuable tip! I will bring it up during my next call with the home builder to see if they have relevant experience... Which oil did you use? 🙂
i_b_n_a_n schrieb:
Regarding earthworks: Due to an insufficiently precise planning by the excavator, we had significantly more excavation than expected, which led to considerable discrepancies between the quote and the invoice. Please make sure that as much of the excavated material as possible remains on the property and is redistributed (ideally used for landscaping). He agreed on a fixed price for excavation based on length × width × height, including soil replacement with mineral mix. The excavated material will initially stay on the site, but if necessary, he already has someone lined up for removal at a price per cubic meter. If the working area becomes critically tight due to the excavation volume, we have nearby farmers who could, if needed at short notice, easily take some of it away (former farmland, with 50cm (20 inches) of topsoil above sand). Thanks for the advice – we planned to keep everything if possible anyway, since this soil is really good for reuse 🙂
Hi, the painter sprayed the ceiling twice with "ADLER Lignovit Interior UV 100." After the first coat, it still looked quite streaky, but the final result turned out very well. After 2 years, there is no visible graying or noticeably darker spots.
The ceiling is made of 16 / 18cm (6 / 7 inches) thick glued laminated timber (glulam), which we ordered from the shell builder in green wood quality.
The ceiling is made of 16 / 18cm (6 / 7 inches) thick glued laminated timber (glulam), which we ordered from the shell builder in green wood quality.
One more small point regarding the floor plan that, in my opinion, could still be changed (if desired). The small recess in the utility room—what is it intended for? I would partition it off and plan a door to the hallway. This way, instead of a cupboard, you would have a cloakroom that offers significantly more storage space than a shallower cupboard.
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Pinkiponk26 Jul 2023 12:17Is it okay to comment on the exterior planning? I just had a thought.
(And if I wait until you start with the outdoor area, I might be dead due to my age by then. 🙂 This only has to do with my age, not with your planning. ;-) )
(And if I wait until you start with the outdoor area, I might be dead due to my age by then. 🙂 This only has to do with my age, not with your planning. ;-) )
Pinkiponk schrieb:
Is it okay to comment on the outdoor planning? I just had a thought.
(And if I wait until you start with the landscaping, I might be dead due to my age. 🙂 That only has to do with my age, not your planning. ;-) )😀
Of course you can. I am following the garden thread closely, and we would like to have an insect-friendly, colorful garden instead of just a fence and lawn... But the garden will only come if/when we have the money :p
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