Hanging house in the Southwest Palatinate - Our House Construction 2.0

You are clearly still north of Stuttgart, so Northern Germany ;) I just measured roughly and it should be about 175km as the crow flies. If you ever come towards the western Lake Constance, you can get in touch. The main problem is that my general contractor is poorly organized. A lot is done spontaneously and on the fly, which has worked pretty badly over the last two years because the materials are not on the construction site within 2 days. The construction management is more like butterfly collectors. And then the problems only come up afterwards, of course. The bricklayers were partly quite off, the house completely drained into the rainwater sewer. I’m still waiting for an acceptable acceptance protocol 3 months after moving in because no one is updating the corrections from the original version. Stuff like that.

I first had to check how far north we really are from Stuttgart. A little. =) That about the general contractor sounds really stressful. Especially with the materials and such – planning is the be-all and end-all. Officially, our site manager is someone else, but I think our builder basically handles nearly everything himself. He actually feels better organized than our first (large) construction company. I didn’t get two DIN A4 pages with a tabular overview of the planned construction progress from him, but he regularly calls me and tells me what will happen in the next 2-4 weeks. Or also if nothing will happen because, for example, the screed is drying. We also can’t complain about foresight. He had already ordered our heat pump when we had only given him a verbal contract. And even before the construction really began, we had selected bricks so that he could order them. That is important both price-wise and regarding availability these days. But “selecting bricks” with this builder means that he has two of them in the back of his pickup truck, shows them to us and says, “I actually install these almost everywhere. Are these okay? Really? Then I’ll order them.” Sort of a mobile showroom with limited selection. ;) Of course we could have had something else – in general, where we had special requests, he moved heaven and earth. But I had to take care of some things myself (bathroom fixtures). So if I had wanted different bricks, I would probably have had to search on the internet myself and then give him a model number.

Communication is also a bit of an issue with us... I almost always had to chase after information about the construction progress, and then it kept changing. Between the rough installation and the interior plastering, we had a two-month standstill, during which we were always told work would resume next week. A similar problem now with the exterior plaster. Originally, they were scheduled for early April, then the end of April. Last week they finally showed up, taped all the windows upstairs, and now progress is very slow again because sometimes the plasterers are there and sometimes not. I can understand that with this changeable weather it’s no fun to work outside right now. But it also annoys me to live behind plastic sheeting when nothing is happening yet, not even the remaining preparatory work. By now I also fear that we won’t get the scaffolding down until the end of June or early July, with base plaster, top plaster, two coats of paint, and all the drying times in between... I’m now just trying to do what’s somewhat possible with the outdoor facilities... it’s just a bit frustrating.

Communication is also such a thing with us... I almost always had to chase after information about the construction progress and then it constantly changes. Between rough installation and interior plaster, we had a 2-month standstill, during which it was always said that it would continue next week. A similar problem now with the exterior plaster. Originally they were scheduled for early April, then the end of April. Last week they finally showed up, taped all the windows on the upper floor, and now progress is again very slow because the plasterers are sometimes there and sometimes not. I can understand that with the changeable weather it’s no fun to work outside right now. But it also annoys me to live behind plastic when nothing is happening yet, not even the remaining preparatory work. Meanwhile, I also fear that we won’t get the scaffolding down until the end of June or beginning of July, with base plaster, top plaster, two coatings, and all the drying times in between... I’m just trying now to do whatever is reasonably possible with the outdoor facilities... it just frustrates me a bit

I can completely understand that, that would frustrate me enormously too. Doesn’t he have any interest in getting his invoices paid? I mean, as long as everything isn’t finished, you can’t settle the final invoice and so on. Surely the contractor can’t be interested in such a standstill either. Did you have a completion date in the contract?

If with the 12 kWp system we rarely exceed 6 kW, then pure surplus charging into the car battery would probably make more sense than the storage.

If you have the possibility, you should charge the car over midday. But very few people have this possibility.
This is what it looks like with me:

9.5.2023 Bavaria

To see:
Storage was not empty and is charging over the day.
I come home at 5 pm and charge my car.
Scenario:
Car can charge with 6.6 kW.
Storage can discharge 3.3 kW.
Photovoltaics produce 2 kW (falling)
Perfect (5 pm) would be:
Car = sun + storage + grid draw
6.6 kW = 2 kW + 3.3 kW + 1.1 kW

I, for example, could charge with about 8 kW, but I have throttled my go-e charger to 4.5 kW.
Also, I want my car to “sit around” at a maximum of 90% charge.
Reason: Significant extension of the car battery’s lifetime.
A disadvantage: Electronics are stressed longer – this affects their lifetime. I accept that (inverter ~1500€ vs. car battery ~7000€).

Example: if I still have power in the storage in the morning and the car is at 90%, I start charging again with the app. By the time I leave 30 minutes later, the car has 94%. At work, the car then stands on the parking lot with about 80%.

Normally I say that storage systems are too expensive at the moment, but ~8k€ for ~12kWh storage? Take it! : )

Regards

If you have the opportunity, you should charge the car during lunchtime. But very few people have this option. This is how it looks for me: 9.5.2023 Bavaria Seen: Battery was not empty and charges throughout the day. I come home at 5 p.m. and charge my car. Scenario: Car can charge with 6.6 kW. Battery can discharge 3.3 kW. Photovoltaics produce 2 kW (falling) Perfect (5 p.m.) would be: Car = Sun + Battery + Grid consumption 6.6 kW = 2 kW + 3.3 kW + 1.1 kW For example, I could charge at about 8 kW, but I throttled my go-e Charger to 4.5 kW. I also want my car to "sit around" at a maximum of 90% charge. Reason: Significant extension of the lifespan of the car battery. A disadvantage: Electronics are stressed longer – shortens their lifespan. I accept that (inverter ~1500€ vs. car battery ~7000€). Example: If I still have electricity in the battery in the morning and the car is at 90%, I start charging again with the app. By the time I leave, 30 minutes have passed and the car is at 94%. At work, the car then sits at about 80% in the parking lot. Normally, I say that batteries are currently too expensive, but ~8k€ for ~12kWh battery? Take it! : ) Best regards

With the discount, we are actually closer to 6.5-7k for the battery alone. We will probably take it, yes. We are even lucky that we can charge the car during the day; we work remotely. We want to only charge with surplus if possible. We rarely need the car fully charged. In everyday life, 90% charged is enough for us since we rarely drive far. Unfortunately, our car can only charge AC at a maximum of 6.6 kW. At the 11 kW wallbox, we would probably not exceed 3.3 kW, as someone explained to me. I have not fully understood why. Something to do with single-phase / three-phase.

Only clinker bricks in the new development area above. Here in the southwest, you won’t find anyone who can do that.

Especially some decorative friezes, that's where you can really separate the wheat from the chaff; roll layers are often already the height of special features.

My construction contractor said he would have to organize a bricklayer crew from the north for that.

Alright then, what do you want with clinkers here in the Palatinate ...