Opinions on the hillside property

Hello, Kisska,

Your main problem seems to be the slope of the property, although I don't see it as a problem unless you value a flat garden. For the house, this supposed disadvantage can also be seen as an advantage because you can save on light wells in the basement on the north, northwest, and northeast sides. If you enter the house from the street at approximately ground level, the terrain at the house drops by about 1 meter, which would give your basement windows with free access to light.

Whether the terrain can/should be additionally filled in to the north and supported with L-bricks can surely be explained to you by an architect. More info gladly via PM.

Best regards
Dirk Grafe

Hello,

Slopes are not a problem, rather a nice challenge. However ...

... the house itself can also be somewhat more unusual. :)

not only does the slope significantly increase the cost of building the house, but also the idea of an overall "unusual" single-family home. Are you aware of this and have you planned an appropriate budget?

Rhine regards

The question is also what or to what extent you are allowed to have edge development and filling toward the edge. To my knowledge, it is stated in the development plan. In my opinion, a) such a problematic plot (little depth) as well as a slope belong in the hands of an architect. I would avoid trying to squeeze a standard single-family house with a basement onto or into it. An architect who is familiar with hillside development can conjure up something better for you :)

It is clear to us that an architect needs to be involved. I was a bit uncertain because of the slope. After all, it is 3 meters and on a north-facing slope. You can see the length and width of the plot in the picture. According to the development plan, only about three meters around must be maintained from the neighboring property or the street. That means the house can extend a maximum of 9 meters in depth and be up to 27 meters wide. The garage can reach up to the neighboring property. Haha, of course we don’t want it that wide. ;) We still want to have gardens for the kids.

@Dirk: Thanks already for the tips. We don’t need a terraced garden. I have already thought about how it could roughly look like. But I don’t dare to put anything here yet... My drawing looks amateurish. Does a basement on a slope still have to be poured or can it also be built with masonry? Or can it be half and half??? If I have full wall height on the basement on the north side of the house and floor-to-ceiling windows, then it can only be masonry, right?

@BuildingExpert: But the plot is less expensive, so a somewhat unusual house can definitely fit on it. “Financially,” I mean. :D I was a construction financing consultant for years and can assess that well. :D

@ypg: As I said, it doesn’t have to be a standard single-family house. :)

I can share a little from our limited experience with a sloped plot, maybe it will help.

We have a slope of 3.30m diagonally over about 35m, and that’s already something, at 3m over 15m we are talking about a 24% gradient, if I haven’t miscalculated. We consulted several architects and presented our project, and not all of them recognized the opportunities of a slope or were motivated to plan there. We now have an "extraordinary" split-level style house (design) that fulfills ALL our wishes and much more. But it wasn’t easy even for the professional...

My advice: if you’re keen on extraordinary living and have a capable and above all motivated architect by your side, you can get a completely individual house from a slope. The only problem I see for you is the north orientation, but with an architect you’ll solve that.

What I wouldn’t do: a ready-made floor plan with basement and ground floor --> boring and wasted potential. You can never really adapt that to the slope. I have studied slopes, floor plans, and split-level houses very intensively. It hurts when you see that.

What you must not underestimate: costs! Even as a construction financier you have the total costs in view, but a slope is a slope, the foundation, slab, etc. are not necessarily standard, as well as the security measure towards neighbors, all of which cost things the average builder doesn’t have.

Conclusion: a slope can be cool if you like that and also have an architect who thinks the same way and sees it as a challenge and professional honor to plan you a cool thing. But you also have to expect that it won’t be done with standard prices.

Demian

Thanks demian!!!
Your answer was very helpful and I think it is really too complicated... Apart from the fact that I don't like split-level at all, I also don't know any capable architects around here. Mostly just the standard floor plan types. Well, and how I'm supposed to find one is also a mystery to me. Some of our more distant relatives have built on a slope and later had total problems... We found out today. And otherwise, everyone in our social circle has built houses on flat land... We will probably have to continue searching and rather invest a bit more money in the plot. :o