With whom to plan/build a single-family house?

What are the reasons for moving the living space downwards?

The proximity to the garden?

The proximity to the garden! The garden has to be cultivated, maintained, and used. You like to do that occasionally in between. You don’t just grill. You sometimes sit on the terrace for 10 minutes, go to the bushes, prune here, water there... all on the side, when you have time. While the potatoes are cooking on the stove, etc. With children, there are even more situations: they play in the paddling pool, need juice or a plaster or have to go to the bathroom. The garden becomes a living space... nonsense: IS living space. The terrace is d

We want to put a staircase outside – probably even from the balcony – down to the garden, so that you are quickly down when you want to grill or the little one wants to play (although a playground will be built diagonally opposite our house).

Playgrounds are great, but a trip. Most of the time you have to be able to combine daily work in the house and garden with the children.

And independently of that, I would prefer to build more sideways anyway, rather than having to run up and down stairs for every little thing.

You will have to use this garden staircase 20 to 30 times a day in theory with normal garden use. You cut off a piece of quality of life with the stairs, which is why you build a house with a garden.

An elderly couple we met who were thinking of building again because the man can no longer manage with their current house after a stroke, I found that somehow bitter for them. And if that can be alleviated with some foresight, why not.

It’s not bitter to build anew or to reorganize your living space. That is always a new chance. Meanwhile, “the house for life” is no longer the focus – our generation has options. If it is bitter for you, then you shouldn’t build on a slope because you already have barriers here that cannot be mastered in old age. Just a little food for thought :)

House on a slope? Ideal conditions for a wooden cellar!

We have one and are very happy with it. It makes our home builder very exclusive, but he is always ready to support others.

However, we are convinced wooden house residents and wanted a wooden house from the start. Originally with a "normal" cellar, meaning concrete or solid, but since we couldn’t find a cellar builder who gave us firm commitments, our home builder suggested he build us a wooden cellar. That was his third cellar of this kind and we took the plunge. Although it was really not a risk in itself, it’s just still a bit unusual. Meanwhile, he supports the university in Zurich on a project where a multi-family house with a wooden cellar is being built. The Swiss are very open and interested, here in Germany the concrete lobby is running amok (very amusing to see – they obviously see it as serious competition, otherwise they wouldn’t freak out like that).

If, apart from the fact that we love wooden houses, I read your first post, Holz1 would definitely have been my choice in terms of approach and commitment. If you are interested in a wooden cellar, since the cellar is living space for you, please get in touch. I am convinced that if Holz1 contacts our home builder, Holz1 will be supported in the wooden cellar project. He is so convinced of it that he is always happy when more people jump on board.

Just google "Staudenschreiner" and look at the individual projects. Meanwhile, I believe he is building the fifth wooden cellar. You can see pictures of all projects there. And you can also find reports about wooden cellars.

And if something has to go underneath, Massiv 2 suggested, analogous to an already existing house, to add a basement and make this space accessible both from outside and inside. We thought it was a clever idea to use the space well and free up room in the house. It's surprising that this is so uncommon.

It’s not uncommon at all. In our very hilly area, it is often done on the valley side.

Interesting! I would have thought that young builders don’t think much about that, while people like us in middle age already keep an eye on the looming aches and pains. ;) Of course, there are other possibilities, and I don’t have to stubbornly stay in this house until the end of my days, but if some flexibility can be achieved through foresighted planning without much additional effort and cost, I consider that reasonable. And I would anyway prefer to build more horizontally rather than having to run up and down stairs for every little thing.

:D I would have thought so too, but several young coworkers in their late 20s are currently building here and they think much more about these things, and one is even already planning a grab bar next to the toilet :eek: no joke! Building outwards sounds good, especially if in the end 3 bedrooms move to the basement. We debated a lot back and forth about having the living floor in the basement facing the garden. Unfortunately, with us you only have the nice view from the ground and upper floors... I imagine it like this: we use the balcony (also with stairs down) especially in spring and fall or for a glass of red wine in the evening, and the terrace below in summer when the sun is blazing and for grilling. And yes, then you just have to carry things downstairs. For that, I have longer light and view in the living area all year round.

Regarding the companies: Holz 2 builds using timber frame construction, Holz 1 talks about timber frame construction (which I had written incorrectly in the initial post). But it's the same thing, right?

It is common to build the walls as storey-high panels with timber frames. It is also common to refer to this (incorrectly, because the term actually refers to posts that are not storey-high but house-high) as "post" construction. If the infill between the "posts" does not consist of insulating wool or foams but is "solid" made of wood-based materials, it is called "solid timber construction." I welcome this term because "solid wood construction" is often mistakenly associated with log cabins. However, there are also solid timber builders who build their wall panels completely without "posts," comparable to plywood.

Massiv 1 says they insulate inside; Massiv 2 outside.

Interior insulation is usually only done in old masonry houses, so I suspect that he means filled stones (insulating materials in the chambers of porous bricks) which are "monolithically" mortared, whereas the competitor boards thinner walls on the outside with insulation panels (called "ETICS" because of the direct application without an air gap).

So in our case, with Holz 1, it would be such that the garden/basement floor would partly be made of concrete (where there is lateral earth contact) and then construction could continue as timber or also solid.

I think this kind of hybrid construction (earth-contact area masonry, only above-air area timber construction) leads to nothing but spacing problems. You can hardly better pre-program settlement cracks ;-)

- nicer view from the living area into the green / into the mini-valley I described than in the basement

We have numerous threads here on this topic (mostly from 2018, as far as I recall; I currently lack the time for a compilation) and have specifically discussed a layout dividing into an upper living room with a view and a lower living room with garden access in one thread where there is also a basement garage:

Sorry, I don’t understand what you’re getting at here.

Timber and "prefab" house builders usually build on stone or concrete basements, for which they themselves have no manufacturer expertise. This means they either leave the procurement "on site" to the builder (= offer "from top edge of basement ceiling") or subcontract the basement to a basement construction specialist. In the first case, they earn nothing from it; in the other, the added value of refining the rooms into a living basement would at least be a quasi "pass-through item" for them. However, the provider prefers to pocket the better paid living space construction for themselves and leaves only the unavoidable to the basement supplier. I can’t imagine scenarios where the above-house builder would profit just as well from commission on the living basement construction by the below-house builder as from living space they create themselves. Therefore, a timber or "prefab" house provider tends to advise against a living basement.

Thanks again for your great contributions! I will address it later; I just uploaded the floor plan draft of Holz 1. We look forward to comments, thanks! :)

Without really reading the other comments extensively - here is my opinion/experience, since we will sign next week after a 9-month search/planning :D
[...]
We have actually found someone who has pretty much met all these requirements so far :) So that we feel good about signing the contract for work.

Thank you very much for your great list! You definitely encouraged us not to give up on the others too quickly.
Although I have the feeling with all GUs that they believe that after presenting a first floor plan and a guideline price offer, it is time to commit.
That sounds very different for you, as your companies were prepared to invest more time in advance and free of charge in potential customers.
I am happy for you that you found someone. :)

House on a slope?
Ideal condition for a wooden basement!
We have that and are very happy with it. It makes our home builder very exclusive, but he is always willing to support others there.
However, we are convinced wooden house residents and wanted a wooden house from the start.

Thank you for the tip, I have never heard of that and currently imagine it to be difficult.
But I will gladly inform myself on the website.
What makes you convinced wood enthusiasts and how long have you already been living in your house?

It is not unusual at all. In our very hilly environment, you often have that on the valley side.

I was already a bit surprised that this should not be known...

:D I would have thought so too, but several young colleagues in their late 20s are currently building here, and they put a lot more thought into it, and one is even already planning a grab bar next to the toilet :eek: no joke!

Hehe! o_O :oops:
Building wide sounds good, especially if in the end 3 bedrooms move into the basement.

We thought long and hard about the living floor in the basement towards the garden. Unfortunately, one only has the nice view from the ground floor and upper floor here...
I imagine it like this: we use the balcony (also with stairs down) mainly in spring and autumn or for a glass of red wine in the evening, and the terrace below in summer when the sun is blazing and for barbecues.
And yes, then you just have to carry the stuff down.
In return, I have longer light and view in the living area all year round.

Thanks, I already thought we were the only ones who see/have these advantages.
I can fully understand the living-on-garden-level argumentation and we will certainly think about that again, but I also see advantages in having it upstairs. Well, let's see what finally comes out of it.
But that means you are not living in it yet and you cannot share any experience yet, right?

Interior insulation is generally only done in masonry houses with old buildings, so I suspect he means filled stones (insulation materials in the chambers of porous bricks) and "monolithically" bricked, while the competitor plasters thinner walls outside with insulating panels (called "ETICS" due to the direct application without an air layer).

Thanks again for sharing your knowledge, both regarding timber frame construction as well as here concerning massive construction.
Is monolithic bricking with filled bricks qualitatively different from ETICS?

I do not think much of such a mixed construction method (stone construction in the earth-contact area, only timber construction in the open-air area) except for distance. You cannot better preprogram settlement cracks ;-).

Yes, I was also very surprised and certainly asked three times. But they always said it was not a problem.
As you can see in one photo, it is also done like that there currently.
Holz 1 has been in business for a long time – something would have happened in the meantime if it did not work?
We will definitely ask for a detailed explanation of why that should not be a problem.
How would one typically do such a garden/basement floor – concrete and masonry?

Thanks for the link to the thread about the floors, sounds very suitable for us and we will read it carefully!

Therefore, a timber or "prefab" house provider tends to advise against a residential basement.

And learned something again.
That is definitely not the case with Holz1. First, he has no problem "taking over" the basement started with concrete and continuing to build it, and secondly, they initially spoke of living in the garden/basement floor. That was quite the opposite of advising against it. ;)