House building - How do I go about it? I'm going around in circles!

Hi everyone!

Right off the bat: I'm afraid this is going to be a longer text…

First, about the „current state“:

I currently live in an older house (owned property). Built sometime at the end of the 1800s. I modernized the ground floor and the basement a few years ago. Now it’s time to spruce up the first floor and the roof. That will cost a lot of money and yet the place will still be old. On top of that, the location isn’t that great. However, I still have a building plot available. It’s quite small (about 480mm²), awkwardly shaped (about 14m wide and 34m deep), side boundary distance 3m each, and from the street I have to keep an 8m (!) distance. I don’t have the rear building line in mind right now.

Well, I’ve started planning for myself and also held initial talks with house manufacturers (timber frame construction). But I keep going in circles…

If I stick to the building boundaries, I can’t get my ideas „inside the house“. The main sticking point is the 8m distance from the street. If I could reduce that distance, it would look better.

Of course, it could also be that an architect has such brilliant ideas that he can implement my ideas within the building limits after all.

But if the architect can’t manage that, then I’m back at the point „leave the building boundaries“. And then the question is, how do I best do that? If I present my own ideas at the municipality, it could be that I don’t „sell“ myself well because I don’t really know the subject well. Result: application rejected. Or do I hand it over to an architect who knows „tricks“ on how to better convince the municipality. Acceptance would still not be guaranteed, of course. If the architect roughly sticks to the fee schedule, this „probing“ alone will cost me a pretty penny… And naturally without any guarantee of success. Don’t get me wrong! I realize that the work also has to be paid for.

If I now choose to go the architect route, then the question would be: do I take my own, or the one from the potential house building company? I would prefer the „company-owned“ one because then I can assume that he knows the peculiarities of timber construction. On top of that, the question remains whether the architect I pick would „be any good“ or not… If you ask around, of course, they have all done everything before, know everything excellently, and all the customers are super satisfied. Whether they would also give you the names of dissatisfied customers… ;-) So choosing the right architect is really a choice between the devil and the deep blue sea ;-)

But I can already imagine the laughter from the construction company if I go to them with my concerns: „Listen, if you can solve it so that my ideas fit into the building window or make sure I can leave the building window, then you’ll probably get the contract…“ And since the company currently leading my list has full order books, they don’t have to bother about customers.

At the moment I’m stuck and don’t know how to proceed best…

Do you have any suggestions?

Thanks and regards

T :) m

Tom, go to the commune yourself and discuss your issue. If you really have reasonable grounds for your plans, the caseworker will support and assist you with advice. That will be the case. Just don't try to pull the wool over their eyes....

Don't be mad... I didn't even finish reading. From my own experience that I'm currently going through... go to an architect. It's their job to make it happen. It's best to find one who has built in your town several times, they know the people there and what gets approved or what exceptions are possible. You'll be surprised what an architect can accomplish.

We also have a "problematic plot" - the shape is a bit like a slice of cake :D Our experience was: the general contractor only brings rubbish ideas, they want a quick contract, finish quickly, build everything as usual. We also stayed far too long in the prefabricated house sector. Find an architect, talk through exactly what your wishes are with him. We are now - with an architect and individual contracts - not cheaper than with a general contractor. However, we have achieved a much better standard. In addition, with each trade you still have the choice yourself... We are definitely very glad that we chose this path!

At the moment, I'm stuck and don't know the best way to proceed…

Then put your ideas up for discussion here: excerpt from the development plan, textual determinations, excerpt from the cadastral map (1:500), floor plan draft with explanation of your ideas.

If I present my own ideas to the municipality, it may be that I "sell" myself badly because I am not really familiar with the subject matter. Result: application rejected.

You don't have to submit a complete preliminary request. An exploratory discussion already helps. You cannot expect an intensive effort for planning law exceptions from an outsider architect from a company located far away either. The possibilities for exceptions and exemptions are in §31 of the Building Code. The chance of success is all the greater the older the development plan is. It is also important how many neighbors have already received exemptions. If everyone to your right and left complies with the 8m, you can probably forget an exemption, because your property does not seem that small and unfavorably shaped to me now (subject to the fact that the cadastral map does not show anything close to a rectangle). The municipality will be able to give you an assessment on which your architect can later still have argumentative influence.

I would try to stick to the development plan. Why the 8m to the street bothers you now is a mystery to me. There are still 26m of land left at the back, where of course the building boundary would be good to know. I still consider the house width of 8m (14-6) normal. For an architect, it is certainly no problem at all to conjure up something nice there.

Or are your wishes so extravagant that you’re bursting at the seams? Then just show us. We’ll give you a good talking to. ;)