ᐅ Single-Family Home Construction Plan: Key Issue – Basement Living Space, Dream or Nightmare
Created on: 13 Oct 2015 16:19
M
MarcWen
Dear forum members, we need some support. To possibly take some concerns off our minds or to gather more courage. For about four weeks now, we have been going in circles without making real progress.
Without going into too much detail, it should be possible to provide a realistic assessment of whether our project is feasible:
We are leaving out landscaping and so on. Otherwise, no major frills or anything like that planned. Room and floor layouts are practical and functional. For example, there is only one bathroom per floor (~10 sqm (110 sq ft), so no wellness area or cost drivers). The house type also does not include many extras at this stage—no bay windows, balconies, many windows, etc., just a simple gable roof on top.
Of course, I could now calculate the 210 sqm (2,260 sq ft) of living space at the commonly quoted rate of 2,000 euros per sqm + garage + basement.
The sticking point is always this living basement. Everyone seems to struggle with it, or we haven’t found the right builder yet. At the beginning, we looked at some online sources and roughly budgeted around 60,000 euros. However, the feedback from our current contacts is mostly just a dismissive smile. Some of the estimates even made me hold back laughter:
Surely, the truth lies somewhere in between, but what would be realistic? Unfortunately, conversations usually fail at this point, with the question of what else to consider or revise. Then the house ends up costing 600,000+ euros, and I have the uneasy feeling that we are planning our living basement more as a goldmine for the builder.
Without going into too much detail, it should be possible to provide a realistic assessment of whether our project is feasible:
- Plan for a one-and-a-half-story single-family house, footprint approximately 10 x 12 meters (knee wall about 1 meter)
- KFW 55 standard
- If I roughly calculate, the ground floor and upper floor together add up to about 210 sqm (2,260 sq ft) of living space
- Move-in ready construction
- Now I take this hypothetical single-family house and instead of building on a concrete slab, plan a basement with about 75 sqm (810 sq ft) of living space (rest as usable space)
- We complete our dream with a double garage including a walkable roof terrace
We are leaving out landscaping and so on. Otherwise, no major frills or anything like that planned. Room and floor layouts are practical and functional. For example, there is only one bathroom per floor (~10 sqm (110 sq ft), so no wellness area or cost drivers). The house type also does not include many extras at this stage—no bay windows, balconies, many windows, etc., just a simple gable roof on top.
Of course, I could now calculate the 210 sqm (2,260 sq ft) of living space at the commonly quoted rate of 2,000 euros per sqm + garage + basement.
The sticking point is always this living basement. Everyone seems to struggle with it, or we haven’t found the right builder yet. At the beginning, we looked at some online sources and roughly budgeted around 60,000 euros. However, the feedback from our current contacts is mostly just a dismissive smile. Some of the estimates even made me hold back laughter:
- Sometimes costs are double-counted; the living basement costs a total sum x, plus cost per sqm of living space
- The ground floor is projected downward: 120 sqm (1,290 sq ft) x 2,000 euros per sqm, totaling 200,000 euros
- The living basement is almost like a separate house or bungalow, so it costs about 250,000 euros
Surely, the truth lies somewhere in between, but what would be realistic? Unfortunately, conversations usually fail at this point, with the question of what else to consider or revise. Then the house ends up costing 600,000+ euros, and I have the uneasy feeling that we are planning our living basement more as a goldmine for the builder.
If the basement is supposed to be visible, possibly a living basement with access to the terrace or garden, it already reads like a two-story house with an attic.
Is accessibility a must? Then why have a roof terrace?
Consider the planned 120 m² (1,292 sq ft) plus attic plus basement—altogether, this results in a house more than twice the size of an average home for four people. And you’re surprised that the dream might fall apart?
Is accessibility a must? Then why have a roof terrace?
Consider the planned 120 m² (1,292 sq ft) plus attic plus basement—altogether, this results in a house more than twice the size of an average home for four people. And you’re surprised that the dream might fall apart?
Hello Marc Wen,
Your planned house is quite similar to our building project. We have 221 sqm (2,378 sq ft) of living space and 85 sqm (915 sq ft) of usable space. The garage is 9 x 3.6 meters (30 x 12 feet) with direct access to the house.
We included some rather expensive extras like an integrated conservatory in the pitched roof (about 16,000 euros), insulated basement, waterproof concrete shell, and a central ventilation system. In my opinion, the build quality is high-end: expensive roof tiles, experienced craftsmen planned, flooring costing 60 to 70 euros per sqm (6 to 7 USD per sq ft), and improved insulation.
The architect estimated around 450,000 euros for the house, nearly all-inclusive except for landscaping and connection fees. We already have a shell construction offer, and we saved 12,000 euros in estimates.
I don’t think your house necessarily needs to have a price starting with a 5.
Your planned house is quite similar to our building project. We have 221 sqm (2,378 sq ft) of living space and 85 sqm (915 sq ft) of usable space. The garage is 9 x 3.6 meters (30 x 12 feet) with direct access to the house.
We included some rather expensive extras like an integrated conservatory in the pitched roof (about 16,000 euros), insulated basement, waterproof concrete shell, and a central ventilation system. In my opinion, the build quality is high-end: expensive roof tiles, experienced craftsmen planned, flooring costing 60 to 70 euros per sqm (6 to 7 USD per sq ft), and improved insulation.
The architect estimated around 450,000 euros for the house, nearly all-inclusive except for landscaping and connection fees. We already have a shell construction offer, and we saved 12,000 euros in estimates.
I don’t think your house necessarily needs to have a price starting with a 5.
S
Sebastian7914 Oct 2015 05:19Merlin, build the shell first – the structural shell is usually where you can still save money.
We also have a basement living area of about 55m2 (590 sq ft) on a slope. The additional cost was around 35,000. This includes underfloor heating, an extra load-bearing wall, and about 5,000 extra for external work since the windows and patio door are exposed.
The basement still needs to be plastered, tiled, etc.
The basement still needs to be plastered, tiled, etc.
ypg schrieb:
If the basement is supposed to be visible, maybe a living basement with access to the terrace or garden, then it reads like a two-story house with an attic. Why? By definition, it still counts as a one-and-a-half-story house plus basement, right?
ypg schrieb:
Is accessibility a must?
Okay, I actually wanted to go into that later, once we perhaps already had plans and were a bit further along with our project.
At this point, I was just looking for some feedback on what a single-family house might cost and what is reasonable.
Parents-in-law (father-in-law, with a disability rating of 100% with severe disability, permanent incapacity) will move into the 75 sqm (800 sq ft) apartment in the basement. The father-in-law can basically roll in on the same level.
My wife and I (disability rating of 100% with severe disability, permanent incapacity) will move into the approximately 120 sqm (1,290 sq ft) on the ground floor. Here I can reach all rooms without stairs and also enter the apartment on the same level.
Now to the attic, which is an extra space we don’t really need in that size. Currently one daughter, second child planned. We are thinking of dividing the attic into two children’s rooms and a self-contained apartment. Later, a child (when grown) could move in there, or we seriously consider renting out this apartment.
ypg schrieb:
So why the rooftop terrace?
We need a double garage, which will be attached to the house. A flat roof was planned anyway. The flat roof is at ground floor level, so a balcony door can be installed on the ground floor, giving access to the garage roof. The rooftop terrace will therefore be used by us from the ground floor. Among other things, we have to expect that we won’t have much garden space.
ypg schrieb:
If you take the dreamed 120 sqm + attic + basement, that adds up to a house more than twice the size of an average 4-person home. And you’re surprised that the dream might fall apart?
And that’s exactly how most sellers think. They first see 300–400 sqm (3,230–4,305 sq ft), quickly calculate, and immediately quote a price starting with a 6 or 7.
@merlin83
That sounds promising. That’s roughly what we had in mind. We had already cut almost everything out, really reduced to the minimum. For example, we could have planned a children’s bathroom in the attic, but we don’t need one; the children come to our floor on the ground level.
@Sebastian79, Building Expert
Were all questions answered?
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