A visit to Hanse Haus homeowners Ann-Kathrin and Stefan Keller
One year ago, Ann-Kathrin and Stefan Keller were able to move into their new home. Out of the rented apartment and finally into their own four walls – that was the goal of the two young homebuilders. Only later did they decide on a prefabricated house – one by Hanse Haus.
“At first, we looked around the market for existing properties,” says Stefan Keller. “After all, they come with a plot and you can better assess the costs – that’s what we thought, at least in the beginning.”
However, it quickly became clear that there were no houses in the desired area to the east of Hesse that the two liked.
“The size, location, layout and look of the houses on offer never really suited us. We would have had to make many compromises and would still not have had our dream home,” notes Ann-Kathrin Keller about their search for a home.
Since the energy standards of the houses were mostly out of the question, they decided to build their own home from scratch.
| Characteristics | |
|---|---|
| House series | Variant |
| House name | Variant 45 |
| Use | Single-family house |
| Roof form | Pitched roof |
| Roof inclination | 25° |
| Jamb wall | 200 cm |
| Living space | 171,00 m² |
| Number of floors | 1 |
| Year of construction | 2016 |
| Level of completion | Turnkey houses |
From the search for a plot to the decision for a prefabricated house
plot
Fortunately, the search for a suitable building plot went surprisingly fast. “We both know from our childhood how beautiful life in the countryside is. For us, therefore, nothing else was worth considering,” says the client on the choice of the building site, and adds: “On the outskirts of my home village, we found a plot that was immediately a perfect fit.”
Or rather, it would have been perfect. Because the plot had already been reserved by other homebuilders. “We were already making inquiries at the municipality for alternative plots when the reservation was suddenly withdrawn – so we struck immediately!” the two report.
At the time, the young couple was not completely sure how to build the right house for the plot. The only thing that was certain was that it should be quick and result in little additional work for them. A turnkey prefabricated house was just right – but the floor plan had to suit both of them.
The building plot itself was a real stroke of luck. Quietly and tranquilly located on the outskirts, it still offers a good infrastructure with fast connections to cities such as Fulda.
The shiny black piano is a real eye-catcher. Thanks to the large terrace doors, bringing the piano into the new home was much easier than moving it out of the old rented flat.
Hanse Haus as the first choice for a prefabricated house with individual planning
house
“We looked at different prefabricated house manufacturers in the region. Although individual planning was talked about everywhere, the extra costs for redesigning layouts were often frightening,” remembers Ann-Kathrin Keller.
At Hanse Haus, however, things were different from the start. “We immediately felt that we were in good hands. The support was so pleasantly unobtrusive – we were able to plan exactly at our own pace, without any pressure,” the two reminisce about the planning process and add with a laugh: “Individuality is standard at Hanse Haus.”
The Variant 25 prefabricated house with pitched roof as a basis
The basis for the house planning was a model from Hanse Haus’s Variant 25 series. As regards the roof pitch and jamb wall, the design ideally suited the development plan, and its layout could be perfectly adapted to the clients’ wishes. Both of them immediately took a liking to the large, bright living and dining area with open kitchen.
“We like to be together with family and friends – that’s why the large dining table and the kitchen quickly became the main meeting place in our house. After all, the best parties have always taken place in the kitchen,” says Ann-Kathrin Keller with a laugh.
Additional utility rooms instead of a basement
Since the house was built on a floor slab, sufficient storage space was also essential.
“For us, it was always clear that a house needs a basement underneath it. Unfortunately, this was not possible due to a thick layer of rock underneath our plot. Thanks to the well-planned storage in the pantry, the utility room with space for the washing machine, and a storage room under the stairs, we don’t miss having a basement,” note the builders.
Additional space is provided by the attic, a garage and soon a garden shed.
Flexibility in planning creates space for your own music room and a study
Moreover, it was already clear during the house planning that the new home had to provide space for their shared passion – making music at home.
But more was needed than just a nice place in the living room for the piano. “We treated ourselves to our own music room!” With space for Ann-Kathrin’s keyboards, my electronic drums and the guitar collection including amplifiers. So we can play at any time without always having to set up and dismantle everything – that’s true luxury for us!” says Stefan Keller.
For the upper floor, we opted for a more classic room layout. Here, in addition to the bedroom, there is a chic bathroom with a floor-level shower, bath and double washbasins, as well as a study. IT specialist Stefan and teacher Ann-Kathrin often work at home for their jobs. It’s practical when you can just close the door and find peace and quiet.
If you ask the two if they would have done something different in the house planning in hindsight, the clear answer is “no”.
“The house has really proven itself in our everyday life and we feel really comfortable here. We can’t even say what our favourite place is – so many great places come immediately to mind.”
“It was extremely important for us to have enough time to plan the house.
The more precisely you can formulate your wishes for the architect and the Hanse Haus consultant, the more perfect the plan becomes.
Moreover, one should be able to honestly and realistically estimate:
How much time can I invest in doing my own work, and do I really want to do so?
Am I so skilled at trades that I will be satisfied with the result?
Building with Hanse Haus was really the right thing to do, it really has become ‘our perfect home.’”
Modern and high-quality standard fixtures make furnishing a new home an experience
During their first visit to the Hanse Haus Sample Centre, the homebuilders were already certain that they would find all the fixtures there to suit them and their wishes for their home. “That was indeed decisive for choosing Hanse Haus as a construction partner. The fixtures are of very high quality already in the standard version, and we knew soon that we wouldn’t have to plan a big budget for additional sampling,” the two reminisced happily about their visit to Hanse Haus.
Thanks to the KfW Efficiency House 55 standard, we were able to take advantage of a large repayment subsidy and a low-interest loan
subsidy
The heating technology was based on a combination of a ventilation heat pump and a solar heating system. The house therefore achieved the KfW Efficiency House 55 standard and the building owners were able to take advantage of a low-interest loan and a repayment subsidy from the Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW).
The technical installations may be supplemented later on by a photovoltaic system – the necessary connections are already prepared.
By choosing the final completion level, a turnkey house, the family decided for all-round service by Hanse Haus
of completion
As regards construction, the Keller family relied entirely on Hanse Haus and had a turnkey house built.
“It was important for us to have as little stress as possible with the building of the house. We had neither the time nor the leisure to do lots of work by ourselves – alongside our usual work, after work and at weekends,” says homeowner Stefan Keller, and adds with a chuckle: “Well, I wouldn’t say that we have the necessary trade skills either...”
The client is very happy with the decision: “We would have been upset if we had invested the time into doing our own work and were not satisfied with the result. That’s why we gladly left that to the professionals at Hanse Haus.”
Both of them did discover the construction worker in them later on: operating an excavator, paving, mixing concrete and planting trees were on their agenda.
In the near future, they will build flowerbeds, sow lawns and plant plants, and then homebuilder Stefan will perhaps finally find the time to set up the new barbecue, which is in the garage waiting to be used for the first time.