Good evening!
I come from the Tübingen district and I am 27 years old. My wife and I have now received confirmation for our desired plot, which we will buy in the next few days. Now the planning for the actual house begins.
I am a complete beginner and have browsed this forum a bit, but it’s overwhelming. All the information drives me crazy and discourages me; I don’t even know where to start!
We don’t have a huge budget and want to build with a construction company such as Heinz von Heiden, Town & Country, or Scanhaus Marlow. Some kind of builder that is not the most expensive but still delivers good quality work, preferably solid construction. There are good and bad reviews about every builder online, so I won’t even ask here for recommendations, right?
What I have found out so far are the following hidden costs: (House only, no landscaping)
On top of the “turnkey price,” I have to calculate:
1. About 25,000€ (27,500 USD) additional construction costs
2. Kitchen
3. Lighting fixtures
4. Own work, usually: flooring/wall work + materials
5. Basically add about 20,000€ (22,000 USD) for selections to the stated “turnkey price” because the standard is often too basic
I need to pay attention to the construction description included with “turnkey”:
1. Is triple glazing included?
2. What standard is installed?
3. Heat pump, etc.?
4. What extras do I want + what does all that cost?
I would like to know now:
1. What is the best way to proceed? I want to schedule appointments with the companies mentioned above. How do I best prepare for meetings with these somewhat opaque builders?
2. What other hidden costs should I watch out for that I haven’t mentioned or don’t know yet?
3. What must the house absolutely have in terms of “equipment”/standard?
An example of how I calculate:
House standard turnkey: about 170,000€ (187,000 USD)
Selections: about 20,000€ (22,000 USD)
Additional construction costs: about 25,000€ (27,500 USD)
Flooring + wall materials: about 6,000€ (6,600 USD)
Kitchen: about 15,000€ (16,500 USD)
Lighting: about 3,000€ (3,300 USD)
Financial buffer: about 5,000€ (5,500 USD)
= 244,000€ (269,000 USD)
Is this correct? Am I missing anything? Do I need to add anything else, if yes, what?
I would really appreciate your help!
Best regards
I come from the Tübingen district and I am 27 years old. My wife and I have now received confirmation for our desired plot, which we will buy in the next few days. Now the planning for the actual house begins.
I am a complete beginner and have browsed this forum a bit, but it’s overwhelming. All the information drives me crazy and discourages me; I don’t even know where to start!
We don’t have a huge budget and want to build with a construction company such as Heinz von Heiden, Town & Country, or Scanhaus Marlow. Some kind of builder that is not the most expensive but still delivers good quality work, preferably solid construction. There are good and bad reviews about every builder online, so I won’t even ask here for recommendations, right?
What I have found out so far are the following hidden costs: (House only, no landscaping)
On top of the “turnkey price,” I have to calculate:
1. About 25,000€ (27,500 USD) additional construction costs
2. Kitchen
3. Lighting fixtures
4. Own work, usually: flooring/wall work + materials
5. Basically add about 20,000€ (22,000 USD) for selections to the stated “turnkey price” because the standard is often too basic
I need to pay attention to the construction description included with “turnkey”:
1. Is triple glazing included?
2. What standard is installed?
3. Heat pump, etc.?
4. What extras do I want + what does all that cost?
I would like to know now:
1. What is the best way to proceed? I want to schedule appointments with the companies mentioned above. How do I best prepare for meetings with these somewhat opaque builders?
2. What other hidden costs should I watch out for that I haven’t mentioned or don’t know yet?
3. What must the house absolutely have in terms of “equipment”/standard?
An example of how I calculate:
House standard turnkey: about 170,000€ (187,000 USD)
Selections: about 20,000€ (22,000 USD)
Additional construction costs: about 25,000€ (27,500 USD)
Flooring + wall materials: about 6,000€ (6,600 USD)
Kitchen: about 15,000€ (16,500 USD)
Lighting: about 3,000€ (3,300 USD)
Financial buffer: about 5,000€ (5,500 USD)
= 244,000€ (269,000 USD)
Is this correct? Am I missing anything? Do I need to add anything else, if yes, what?
I would really appreciate your help!
Best regards
Evolith schrieb:
If they don’t like it, they’ll have to play at their friends’ place, who hopefully have a bigger room.I find that rather cheeky. Outsourcing the kids to the neighbors just because you prefer to have a 20m² (215 sq ft) bedroom yourself. That’s one way to make yourself popular... (I remember some neighborhood kids who didn’t have a TV at home; their parents considered that a good thing and bragged about raising their children TV-free. The kids ended up regularly showing up at the neighbors’ place—not to play with the local children but to sit in front of the neighbors’ TV. Those two kids sure were popular when they came by. Everyone knew the reason why.)
Regarding the location of children’s rooms versus bedrooms, I agree with previous posters. What do I do in a bedroom? I go in at night and come out in the morning. That’s it. Why would I need a ballroom there?
And I don’t even have children myself, but I would never design a house like that...
Climbee schrieb:
I find that almost cheeky. Outsourcing the playing children to the neighbors because you’d rather have a 20m² (215 sq ft) bedroom for yourself.
That’s one way to make yourself popular... (I remember neighbors’ kids who didn’t have a TV at home; the parents thought that was good and were proud of raising their kids TV-free. The dear little ones regularly ended up at the neighbors—not to play with the kids there, but to sit in front of their TV. Those two kids were very popular when they showed up. You knew why.)
Regarding the location of children’s rooms and bedrooms, I also agree with my predecessors. What do I do in a bedroom? I go in at night and out in the morning. That’s it. Why would I need a dance hall there?
And I don’t even have kids myself, but I would never plan that way... I’ve already responded to your “accusations” above.
But I am surprised at how much some people idealize their children from my perspective. Does a teenager really need a couch and a small table next to their bed? Does the 15m² (161 sq ft) room have to be big enough to almost set up an apartment? Why aren’t 4m² (43 sq ft) of play space enough for playing with Lego anymore? Our teenager manages to move around on just 8m² (86 sq ft) within his current 20m² (215 sq ft) room. He doesn’t use the rest at all. He’s even happy about his smaller room. “Then I won’t have to walk so far anymore.” The youngest zips around the living room and hallway on his balance bike, chases the cats, or plays in his little play area (1m x 1.5m (3 ft 3 in x 5 ft) carpet in the living room).
For the original poster: from the discussion, which risks drifting away from your topic, you can take away that you should really think carefully about what you actually need. If you don’t have children yet, it can be a bit hard to estimate. I also always imagined that the kids would play in their rooms. Well, now it’s mostly the living room. Define clearly what’s important to you. Maybe think not only about the children, but also about yourselves. YOU will still live there once the children have moved out. YOU will still be paying for the house.
Now, I’ll send you the list first.
The same argument again. Why isn’t a 110 m² (1,184 sq ft) house enough instead of 150 m² (1,615 sq ft)? Why not a 5 m² (54 sq ft) bathroom instead of 10 m² (108 sq ft)? Simply because bigger is better (ok, at some point this probably changes). The same applies to the children’s rooms. A larger children’s room is better than a small one; the same goes for bedrooms, living rooms, and other rooms. Even your youngest would prefer a big room over a small one. Of course, sometimes you just have to convince yourself of certain things. At the latest, when a girlfriend comes to visit, you need at least a 1.40 m (4 ft 7 in) bed, a desk, a bigger wardrobe, a TV shelf, a small corner for cozy private sitting, etc. — or at least that’s what the teenager wants. But of course, you can always keep persuading yourself that smaller=better.
Evolith, this is my first time commenting here...
Exactly, I primarily live here, so for example, I planned our bedroom facing north. A third room faces south. Since we don’t have children, we use that room as a hobby/office space during the day; we sleep at night and I prefer the bedroom cooler and without much sunlight, and I don’t need much more space than what fits our bed comfortably (and, if you don’t have a walk-in closet, enough room for a wardrobe).
Especially when you consider that children won’t live in the house forever, you should carefully think about how you can use these rooms FOR YOURSELF later. For many couples, the situation develops so that they sometimes sleep separately (because one partner starts snoring heavily). A good solution is when both rooms can fit double beds (since you don’t want to sleep apart ALL the time and want all options). I don’t know how this can work in 10m² (107ft²). Then I could also use the former children’s room as a guest room; it also makes sense there to at least fit a small double bed (children might visit again someday, maybe even as a couple). One room I can use as a hobby/office space, and as I mentioned above, I find it more practical for such a room to be in the brighter location facing the garden, as it is used during the day, unlike the bedroom.
When you think about how to use children’s rooms after the child-rearing phase, this kind of planning is not advisable.
Exactly, I primarily live here, so for example, I planned our bedroom facing north. A third room faces south. Since we don’t have children, we use that room as a hobby/office space during the day; we sleep at night and I prefer the bedroom cooler and without much sunlight, and I don’t need much more space than what fits our bed comfortably (and, if you don’t have a walk-in closet, enough room for a wardrobe).
Especially when you consider that children won’t live in the house forever, you should carefully think about how you can use these rooms FOR YOURSELF later. For many couples, the situation develops so that they sometimes sleep separately (because one partner starts snoring heavily). A good solution is when both rooms can fit double beds (since you don’t want to sleep apart ALL the time and want all options). I don’t know how this can work in 10m² (107ft²). Then I could also use the former children’s room as a guest room; it also makes sense there to at least fit a small double bed (children might visit again someday, maybe even as a couple). One room I can use as a hobby/office space, and as I mentioned above, I find it more practical for such a room to be in the brighter location facing the garden, as it is used during the day, unlike the bedroom.
When you think about how to use children’s rooms after the child-rearing phase, this kind of planning is not advisable.
Bigger is always possible. But the preferences were NOT for a larger children’s room, rather for a spacious living area.
I wonder how I managed it. Later, my room was 12 sqm (130 sq ft) with a standard bed. Visitors slept on a mattress next to me. My boyfriend cuddled up with me in my single bed.
I had a huge desk with two PCs on it, a 180-liter (48-gallon) aquarium with a cabinet underneath, a chest of drawers with a TV on top, and a wall unit with a wardrobe and shelves for my books. There was even room for a beanbag. And I never felt my room was small.
There would theoretically have been space for a large bed. Sure, a piano wouldn’t have fit anymore. That would have had to go into the living room.
I wonder how I managed it. Later, my room was 12 sqm (130 sq ft) with a standard bed. Visitors slept on a mattress next to me. My boyfriend cuddled up with me in my single bed.
I had a huge desk with two PCs on it, a 180-liter (48-gallon) aquarium with a cabinet underneath, a chest of drawers with a TV on top, and a wall unit with a wardrobe and shelves for my books. There was even room for a beanbag. And I never felt my room was small.
There would theoretically have been space for a large bed. Sure, a piano wouldn’t have fit anymore. That would have had to go into the living room.
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