Every builder has his own idea of ​​the dream house: the look, the room layout, the furnishings and the perfect location. But it quickly becomes clear that there are numerous restrictions that you have to come to terms with. Be it building regulations, financial limitations or practical advice from tradesmen who point out the disadvantages of certain wishes. In this blog post I tell you how our first ideas became a building application - and ultimately our own house.

The first considerations

At the beginning of our planning, the focus was not on the look of the house, but on the interior design. How many rooms do we need? How can we arrange them optimally? Since we have three children, three children's rooms were firmly planned. We also wanted a large, open living and dining area.

A basement was out of the question for us: it is expensive and often leads to hoarding things that you no longer need. In addition, our building site consists of granite-like rock, which would have made building a basement even more expensive.

Our dream location with a detached house and a view of the Alps brought with it other clear wishes: as many balconies as possible and a dormer window on the south side in the attic. I also needed a large office for my self-employment. Two bathrooms were also a given. Originally we also planned a guest room to accommodate family and friends more comfortably.

From concept to building application

With this basic framework we went to a carpentry company to discuss how our wishes could be implemented. Since our property is long and narrow, the building dimensions were severely restricted by the property boundaries - a maximum of 7.5 meters in width.

A few weeks later we received three suggestions for the room layout. We quickly realized that a guest room was not feasible: it would have reduced the size of the open living area too much. In addition, the children's rooms, which are not fully used at first, provide enough alternatives for guests.

We also developed the idea of ​​an external staircase that makes it possible to enter the house on the upper floor. This would allow us to separate the floors in the future and rent out the ground floor as a holiday home, for example. To facilitate later renovation work, we planned a children's room so that it could be converted into a kitchen if necessary - including empty pipes for water and electricity.

Energy and water supply

We were lucky when it came to energy supply: a neighbor runs his own local heating network. So the decision to connect was easy. This means we don't need our own heating system, just a buffer tank and a small transfer station. Underfloor heating was the best choice for us because it works more efficiently and takes up less space than wall radiators.

When it came to water, we wanted to be environmentally conscious. So we decided to supply the toilet flush and washing machine with rainwater from a cistern. This step was motivated less by financial reasons than by idealism.

In Baden-Württemberg there is a solar roof requirement, but given our optimal south-facing location at an altitude of 630 meters, a solar system was a no-brainer anyway. The question was more whether we should rely on maximum self-sufficiency with battery storage from the start. In the end, we decided against it because we were not yet able to accurately estimate our electricity consumption.

Additional construction decisions

In another round of coordination with the carpentry company, we decided on two exposed concrete wall elements per floor. These had two major advantages:

They simplify the statics, which reduced construction costs.

They serve as heat storage for the planned tiled stove and thus ensure pleasant heating behavior.

Building application and approval

After the room layout and energy and water supply had been clarified, we were able to submit the building application after around four months of planning. We received the building permit just a few weeks later - so construction could start in the spring.

You can find out what happened next in the next blog post!