ᐅ Add a vestibule to an existing shell structure after the initial construction phase

Hello everyone,

Our shell construction is almost finished; only the roof is still missing. I was already unhappy with our entrance area during the planning phase. It feels too tight to me, and the staircase is located directly next to the front door, which made me worry that dirt from outside would accumulate there, especially in winter. It’s also worth mentioning that we have two toddlers. Unfortunately, it wasn’t possible to solve this differently during planning, as otherwise one of the other rooms would have become too small. So we accepted the compromise of having a small hallway/entrance area. Expanding it or adding a separate vestibule wasn’t an option for us at that time because we were concerned it would exceed our budget. Since we are building with an architect, you can never be sure exactly how much everything will cost in the end. But you do hear everywhere that it usually ends up being more than planned.

Now, it turns out that for almost all trades, the costs have come in below what the architect originally estimated. So, of course, we’re quite annoyed that we didn’t plan the vestibule after all. We are now considering having a vestibule added retroactively since the shell is almost complete. My husband plans to talk to the architect in the coming days. My question is: Has anyone ever done something like this? Would it be a major issue, or can anyone estimate how high the costs might be? The vestibule would be only about 6 sqm (65 sq ft) in size.