From an old industrial hall with heavy machinery, Norman and Roland have created a spacious, modern loft. Where others saw only a dilapidated pile of junk, the two developed a plan: an open, bright, loft with high ceilings, no walls or doors. They spent two and a half years remodeling everything themselves and enlisted the help of the entire family to create their dream home in Stuttgart Feuerbach. For twenty years, the old cidery with the cooperage workshop next door stood idle until Norman and Roland bought it in 2017. The building was nothing more than a huge hall - it was cold, dripping from the ceiling and the floor was crooked. Juice used to be pressed there, and matching wooden barrels were built next door. "When we were here for the first time, all the machines from the former cidery were still in the hall. A huge juice press, old barrels full of fermented must, a scale that was embedded in the floor, everything still fully functional." Electricity, water, heating - everything had to be relaid first. To save money, the two did almost everything themselves. With video tutorials from the Internet, Norman and Roland taught themselves everything, meanwhile building cabinets and doors, masonry and plastering the walls. "We save a lot and always. When we have a bit of money left over again, we move on to the next construction site." For the kitchen, the two then even had to borrow money from their parents. "I feel sick," was Norman's mother's first reaction when she learned that the two were going to the notary to buy the cidery. The purchase price: 300,000 euros. Actually, only the value of the land, because the building itself had hardly any value. But instead of tearing everything down and building anew, Norman and Roland decided to preserve the old cidery as best they could. "Our naivety was our salvation," the two joke today, because there were many surprises during the rebuilding process. The house stands directly on the boundary with the neighboring house, which meant there were many restrictions and hidden costs, for example in fire protection. "Actually, we wanted to keep a lot of the machinery, but that was much more difficult than we thought because we had to re-pour the entire floor." That's why the two are particularly proud that they were able to preserve the old solid steel ceiling, a fire escape and the old bridge in the exterior in their original condition. Norman and Roland have invested a total of 400,000 euros in the renovation so far, but it is far from finished. The outbuilding is also to be completely renovated to make room for Roland's office and a guest area. The cidery is a long-term project: the two have planned ten years for the complete conversion. A film by Marina Schulz (editor), Oleg Kauz, Feline Gerhardt (camera), Bjarne Taurnier (sound), Daniela Schramm Moura (editor), photos: Dominik Hatt. Production: EIKON Media GmbH, on behalf of SWR. 00:00 Old cidery becomes loft 00:30 Dining area 03:12 Old man's corner 03:44 Kitchen 04:34 Guest toilet 05:23 Living area 07:24 Bedroom 08:30 Bathroom 09:36 Connecting bridge 09:50 Storage room / future guest area 10:20 Workshop / future office 10:48 Inner courtyard