Construction company wanted in the Stuttgart metropolitan area!

Has your house been built by now? Are you satisfied? :)

Sorry for the late reply, I had already started back then but unfortunately forgot to finish writing. But you are right, it’s about time for an update after more than a year.

September 2020 to February 2021
We submitted our building permit application in September or rather at the end of August 2020. According to the state building regulations, they in Baden-Württemberg only have 3 months time, unfortunately the building permit took until the end of February 2021. I had written details about this in another thread:

March to June 2021
Our builder had quite a few construction projects for which the building permits arrived at the same time and had to be scheduled. Therefore, there was a small "backlog". At some point in April, we received the first version of the work planning and then made some changes together with the architect.

An interesting point was the laundry chute. Originally, we wanted to plan for one, but couldn’t find a suitable spot throughout the house. In the execution planning, we brought it up again, but unfortunately the general contractor and architect could not find a solution. At the same time, we had an appointment with the stove builder to discuss the masonry chimney and during small talk we told him about the laundry chute issue. He then found the suitable solution.

By the end of May, we were finished with the work planning and it was sent to the electricians, plumbers as well as the structural engineer. We had a very good appointment with the electrician, that part fit well. The plumbing company then noticed that the pipes for the central ventilation system were not considered in the planning and wanted to install a 60x40 cm box in the living room (to route pipes from the upper floor to the basement). I think you can imagine that this was met with only moderate enthusiasm from us. To this day, I have not understood how one can talk for 1 year about the planning including a central ventilation system and no one plans it in. It’s not like pipes suddenly have to be installed, it should have been known beforehand. Well, in the end after a long discussion we agreed on a compromise.

July 2021
Actually, they wanted to start excavation at the end of June, which was postponed week after week. Sometimes it was the previous construction site that wasn’t finished, then the structural engineer wasn’t done, then the excavator driver was on vacation, and sometimes it was blamed on bad weather. This was somewhat frustrating for us at the time because we had been occupied with the house and planning for over a year and wanted to finally get started but were postponed week after week.

August to today 2021
Construction start! Finally, it started and then the construction site could no longer be stopped. In the last 3 weeks, the entire excavation including the supply shafts has been carried out, the cistern was installed, the foundation and slab were made, two basement walls poured in concrete and the other basement walls were built with masonry as well as preparing the foundation and slab for the garage.

At the same time, the second half of the semi-detached house was started by another construction company, which has already led to some errors and unfavorable coordination. More about that in the next post ;)

With the bathroom selection, we were unfortunately also a bit disappointed or surprised – more on that in the post after next :rolleyes:

To the question whether we are satisfied:
On the whole, yes so far. The planning phase was actually very good and ideas from the general contractor were repeatedly incorporated. In tricky cases, they sought the path of least resistance instead of thinking about the best solution, but I think that is due to the current order situation. As the client, you simply have to think along yourself and also sometimes reject proposals. Just like the delays at the start of construction. The site manager is really good, motivated, always reachable and answers every question. But since we are not finished yet, I can’t make a final statement.

We brought it up again during the detailed planning phase, but unfortunately, the general contractor and architect couldn't find a solution. At the same time, we had an appointment with the stove manufacturer to discuss the masonry chimney, and during small talk, we told him about the laundry chute issue. And he then found the appropriate solution.

Sorry, but he must be a top architect if the stove manufacturer is the one "planning" the laundry chute. :D

At the same time, we had an appointment with the stove builder to discuss the masonry chimney and during small talk, we told him about the laundry chute issue. And then he found the suitable solution.

Am I correct in assuming that he suggested a spiral duct like those used for air conditioning systems and with inspection flaps?

Sorry for the late reply, I had already started back then but unfortunately forgot to finish writing.
But you are right, it’s about time for an update after more than a year.

I don’t know where my thoughts were before, the long post was actually supposed to go in my planning thread, now it ended up here :rolleyes:

Am I correct in assuming that he suggested a spiral duct like those for air conditioning with inspection flaps?

For the laundry chute? No, that will be a straight 25mm KG pipe.

The problem was not the execution, but the positioning. Explaining the whole topic would be too complicated, simply put it was like this:
The only suitable spot would have been next to the chimney that goes from the upstairs bathroom through the living room on the ground floor into the technical room in the basement. All other positions in the house were always blocked somewhere. And right by the chimney it didn’t fit in front, behind, left or right in any of the considerations, because something was always in the way. And in all discussions and also in our own considerations, one always wondered on which side of the chimney the chute could still go and what would possibly have to be adjusted upstairs/ground floor/basement to somehow make it fit.

The stove builder then came up with the idea to simply move the chimney, in this case downward. We had briefly considered that at first, but then the wall to the kids’ room and the door were directly there. But that was all shifted a bit so that it fit.

Altogether nothing magical, but in the talks and considerations one was simply fixated on "where else must the chute go" and did not think about moving the chimney.

I don't know if the problem with the [Zentralen lüftungsanlage] is resolved, but: They should damn well embed the pipes in the ceiling, the engineer can calculate the steel and thickness, done.

The problem was not the horizontal routing of the pipes, that is laid into the concrete ceiling. The problem was how to get the pipes from the ceiling above the ground floor into the basement, that is vertically. You have to go through the wall somewhere or down in front of the wall, etc.