Our log house construction 2023/24 in Lower Saxony

didn’t you want to continue with your kitchen planning?

The kitchen planning is primarily handled by my husband :D At least the use of the planning tools - but we still discuss the details together, of course. There are certainly a few things to improve, although as the main user of the kitchen, I am satisfied with the current version. Maybe it can be even better.

Here is the current "top view" plan. Top left a tall cabinet for storage that "encloses" the kitchen unit, then 2x 80cm units for everyday dishes (in the 80cm unit to the left of the cooktop, the upper drawer is for spices), 80cm cooktop with pots and pans below, 20cm for oils etc., 60cm dishwasher, 80cm sink with trash bin in the drawer below, 40cm for cleaning supplies and small items. On the other side, left a freestanding fridge-freezer, 2x 60cm units for Tupperware etc., tall cabinet with oven and space for provisions.

Exit to the terrace on the left with a 1.20m wide door (not double-leaf - the hinge is on the side facing the countertop), on the right it leads to the utility room. Both windows are 1.50m wide. The dining table starts where the chair is indicated...

The kitchen planning is primarily my husband's responsibility :D At least the handling of the planning tools - but of course we still discuss the details together. [...] as the main user of the kitchen

... hopefully you find the mistake yourself. Men may enjoy planning tools more, but showing once a year that you can conjure up not only grilling skills but also "Duck á l'Orange with subsequent battlefield" does not make them practitioners of kitchen planning. For men, it's technical tinkering; in everyday life, however, it's about optimizing walking distances. If you rack up as many kilometers in the kitchen for a normal lunch as for a Christmas menu including cake, the joy of a microwave with a freely programmable ringtone doesn't really make up for it ;-)

... hopefully find the mistake yourself. Men might enjoy planning tools more, but showing once a year that besides being grill masters, they can also conjure up "Duck à l'Orange with a battlefield afterwards" does not make them practitioners of kitchen planning. For men, it's all about tinkering with technology, but in everyday life, it's about optimizing walking distances. If you rack up as many kilometers in the kitchen for a regular lunch as you do for a Christmas menu including cake, the joy over a microwave with a freely programmable ringtone doesn't really make up for it ;-)

Yes, the battlefield thing sounds familiar to me :D But it was actually just about the fact that he is already planning his fourth kitchen with the Ikea tool, and each one has gotten better through our shared experience – in theory and later in practical long-term testing by me. He enjoys "just moving things around" in the tool and is really into it. I always just say "no, I think that's dumb, do it the other way around" or "try this here" and maybe also "absolutely not, I need this and that here and there." If I had to move things around myself, I'd probably end up with no kitchen at all o_O

Yesterday there was some chaos here, the earthworks contractor suddenly asked out of nowhere if he could start on Monday o_O

After a few phone calls, we managed to get the surveyor for the staking out on the property Tuesday noon and the earthworks contractor can then get started... At the same time, I scheduled the concrete contractor, who is coming in 14 days. Everything went too fast for me :eek: I need to digest that first...

Wednesday morning the first excavator rolls in. It’s starting :cool:

Price for the excavation stored to the side with a foundation size of 09x10m and 80cm depth including soil replacement with mineral mixture and compaction 3,500 net (material, machine hours, labor included)

Price for creating the frost apron, clean layer, laying the perimeter insulation as well as KG and multi-utility connection, mats and concreting 6,400 net (machine hours and labor - material by the client)

After the earthworks contractor comes the surveyor again for fine staking, once the rebar is in place the foundation earth conductor is installed.

The slab would then have a good four weeks until the truck arrives. The concrete contractor recommended that we do the bitumen membranes or foil only with the floor construction so that they are not damaged - then apply the membranes on the walls in narrow strips accordingly, and later fully bond the inner surfaces. Sounds logical to me - should we do it like that?

Hello Lotte,
may I ask who you are building with? I have read a lot in your posts, but I don’t think I saw it? Or is it not allowed to say that in the forum? We are also currently planning a timber frame house with a log facade from a small 5-person company from Schleswig-Holstein, near Husum. So far, I haven’t received any cheaper offers on the table...

Hello Lotte, may I ask who you are building with? I have read a lot in your posts, but I don't think I have seen it? Or is it not allowed to say that in the forum? We are also currently planning a timber frame house with a log facade from a small 5-person company from Schleswig-Holstein, near Husum. So far, I haven't received any cheaper offers.

Of course you may ask, I mentioned it somewhere in the floor plan thread... We are building with a medium-sized company from near Oldenburg. The company is called Nordic Haus - they can also do timber frames (they call it Swedish wall), but we are building with the jumbo plank in spruce. They build about 50 houses per year - the commitment so far is really great. We already had many inquiries and the answers/ideas/tips never came later than 24 hours - more than thorough. We feel very comfortable with them so far because nothing is unknown and the interfaces as well as their price have been communicated very clearly from the beginning. That part is absolutely top. Our house will be erected from early October to mid-November, after that I can say more about the work and its execution.

A colleague of my husband built with them a few years ago and is very satisfied, now his son is also building with them.

How do you define affordable?