ᐅ Have we considered everything? Looking for experiences and advice :)
Created on: 5 Mar 2019 19:41
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NattySchw86
Hello dear forum members, we registered today to exchange information.
The financing is secured, the plot is purchased, the house is planned, and construction should (hopefully) start in summer. Currently, we have a feeling that we might have forgotten or overlooked some important details...
Regarding the timeline:
The construction contract and building permit / planning permission documents are to be signed in April.
The plot will be cleared for building from July onward (new development area).
We have contacted the telecom provider and sent the necessary documents today.
This brings us to a major uncertainty: the utility connections. No one (neither the municipality nor the site manager) has informed us about the utility connection process, costs, or timeline.
After a meeting at the building authority, we now know that we must fully handle the connections from the plot boundary to the house ourselves.
We are completely unsure about this and no one can give us clear answers. One person says, “You have to coordinate this with so and so,” another says, “You first need to apply for this and that,” and so on.
Can someone please explain in simple terms how the entire utility connection process usually works?
We want to ask the site manager if he can also take care of the civil engineering work for the 4 meters (13 feet) from the street to the house as part of his contract. This should probably save costs compared to hiring a separate company.
But at what stage of construction does the utility connection typically take place?
Of course, we will ask the site manager about all this, but it’s good to gather some information and knowledge beforehand. 😉
Are there any other important things that absolutely should be considered?
The plot purchase is fully finalized (purchase price paid, land register and mortgage recorded, tax office payments done).
Only the soil survey is still missing.
Are there any hidden costs that might be overlooked due to excitement, or simply unknown to us?
Maybe someone has time and interest to answer a few questions 🙂 We would appreciate it.
Best regards
The financing is secured, the plot is purchased, the house is planned, and construction should (hopefully) start in summer. Currently, we have a feeling that we might have forgotten or overlooked some important details...
Regarding the timeline:
The construction contract and building permit / planning permission documents are to be signed in April.
The plot will be cleared for building from July onward (new development area).
We have contacted the telecom provider and sent the necessary documents today.
This brings us to a major uncertainty: the utility connections. No one (neither the municipality nor the site manager) has informed us about the utility connection process, costs, or timeline.
After a meeting at the building authority, we now know that we must fully handle the connections from the plot boundary to the house ourselves.
We are completely unsure about this and no one can give us clear answers. One person says, “You have to coordinate this with so and so,” another says, “You first need to apply for this and that,” and so on.
Can someone please explain in simple terms how the entire utility connection process usually works?
We want to ask the site manager if he can also take care of the civil engineering work for the 4 meters (13 feet) from the street to the house as part of his contract. This should probably save costs compared to hiring a separate company.
But at what stage of construction does the utility connection typically take place?
Of course, we will ask the site manager about all this, but it’s good to gather some information and knowledge beforehand. 😉
Are there any other important things that absolutely should be considered?
The plot purchase is fully finalized (purchase price paid, land register and mortgage recorded, tax office payments done).
Only the soil survey is still missing.
Are there any hidden costs that might be overlooked due to excitement, or simply unknown to us?
Maybe someone has time and interest to answer a few questions 🙂 We would appreciate it.
Best regards
Do you need a gas connection? Even if you are building on a slab foundation with 100-120 m² (1,076-1,292 sq ft), you won’t get below that cost if you don’t have to fill in some area somewhere. It’s easy to make mistakes as a layperson. It’s not just the landfill fees but also the LAGA analysis, which is different from the soil report for the construction site. That typically adds another €800 plus landfill costs. The network connection costs €2,000-2,500, water an additional €2,500, and gas, if needed for heating, starts from €3,000.
On top of that, there may be installation costs that are separate from the utility connection fees. These are paid to the municipal utility.
What does your general contractor’s contract include for site preparation? Temporary power meter, toilet, access road? Also, the amount of steel is usually estimated in the offer if there is no structural engineering calculation yet, so additional costs can still arise.
Will the downspouts be connected to the drainage system? Is there a stair landing? What about the house base?
I think you haven’t fully thought through or clarified these points yet, especially if you assumed the house utility connections were included in the general contractor’s contract.
At least you haven’t reached the limit of calculable expenses, even if you know the costs for the house connections.
On top of that, there may be installation costs that are separate from the utility connection fees. These are paid to the municipal utility.
What does your general contractor’s contract include for site preparation? Temporary power meter, toilet, access road? Also, the amount of steel is usually estimated in the offer if there is no structural engineering calculation yet, so additional costs can still arise.
Will the downspouts be connected to the drainage system? Is there a stair landing? What about the house base?
I think you haven’t fully thought through or clarified these points yet, especially if you assumed the house utility connections were included in the general contractor’s contract.
At least you haven’t reached the limit of calculable expenses, even if you know the costs for the house connections.
NattySchw86 schrieb:
So should the civil engineering work related to utilities be scheduled so that the providers (electricity, telecom, and water) can lay their lines promptly? Because so far, it’s unclear to us when all this will take place... Hello NattySchw86,
We also built in central Hesse, and regarding the utility connections, everything went completely smoothly. The telecom company always coordinates with the energy provider. Both coordinate their work together. The energy provider and the water company are familiar with each other as well—they have already connected several houses jointly. There was a joint on-site meeting together with our architect and construction manager. The energy provider had a red spray can and marked on the street from where the utility connection would start. The representative from the waterworks followed suit with his blue spray can. For the connection into the house, our construction manager had planned three conduits of different diameters. The conduits for electricity and telecom were used as planned. Only the waterworks representative wanted a different access, as the conduit was 70 cm (28 inches) too deep. Apparently, there are standards on how deep excavation is typically done during repairs. So, a new core drill hole in the basement was required here.
Our civil engineer took care of the trench to the house as well. This was comparatively inexpensive (both the energy provider and water company had specified their costs precisely in advance).
The day before the planned utility connection, our civil engineer excavated the trench. The next day, the energy provider and waterworks came and completed their work. Finally, the telecom company came and pulled in their cable. It all went completely smoothly.
Regarding the timing: The waterworks representative said they have very specific requirements: the shell construction must be in place first. That makes sense, since there needs to be a wall to mount the water meter on. Likewise, the energy provider needs a place for the main service panel, which is usually installed in a recess in the masonry.
Best regards
Axel
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NattySchw866 Mar 2019 08:17gmt94 schrieb:
No, it actually doesn’t make sense. Because the utility companies have their own procedures anyway. They have to open up the street and will come with an excavator regardless. And as I mentioned, usually the connection price already includes a fixed number of meters whether you need them or not, you pay for them anyway. In the end, you’re paying twice: once for your excavation contractor and once for the utility company. And if you’re unlucky and the trench doesn’t meet the utility company’s specifications, they will dig it again according to their requirements.
So just let your excavation contractor come and start as soon as possible, that should be the priority.
Better find out the requirements of each utility company for the house entry. In our case, every utility wanted their own system.Telecom said they will only come to lay the cables. So we should plan empty conduits there.
We’ll sort out electricity in the next few days – water is handled by the municipality, and we don’t need to apply for that until the plot is officially released.
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NattySchw866 Mar 2019 08:28Zaba12 schrieb:
Do you need a gas connection? Even if you’re building with a slab foundation, for 100-120 sqm (1,076-1,292 sq ft) you won’t get under that without filling in somewhere. It’s easy to underestimate as a layperson. It’s not just landfill costs but also the LAGA analysis, which is separate from the soil report. That’s at least another 800€ plus landfill fees. The network connection costs 2,000-2,500€, water another 2,500€, gas, if required for heating, starts at 3,000€.
Additionally, there may be construction costs that are unrelated to the utility connection fees. These are paid to the local utility company.
What does your general contractor include in site preparation? Temporary electric meter, portable toilet, construction access road? Usually, the amount of reinforcing steel is estimated in the offer unless there is a structural engineering report, so additional costs may apply.
Are the downspouts connected to the drainage system? Is a stair landing included? What about the house plinth?
I think you haven’t fully thought through or clarified all of this yet if you assumed the utility connections were included in the general contractor contract.
At the very least, you haven’t reached the end of your calculable expenses, even if you know the costs for the utility connections.We have an air-to-water heat pump.
According to the construction manager, he takes care of all pipes and connections up to the property boundary. From the property boundary to the house, it’s logically our responsibility.
The construction description states that costs for construction electricity, construction water, and portable toilets are included in the fixed price.
Regarding costs for the house itself, there shouldn’t be any major surprises. It is a solid prefabricated house with a complete offer, itemized costs, and in my opinion, a well-detailed construction description.
So the focus is mainly on the few meters between the property boundary and the house 🙂
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NattySchw866 Mar 2019 08:33AxelH. schrieb:
Hello NattySchw86,
We also built in Central Hesse, and the utility connections were completely unproblematic. The telecom company always coordinates with the energy provider. Both coordinate their work together. The energy provider and water utility also know each other well – after all, they have installed utilities for several houses together. There was a joint on-site meeting with our architect and site manager. The energy provider had a red spray can and marked on the street where the connection would be made. The water utility representative did the same with a blue spray can. For the connection inside the house, our site manager planned three conduits of different sizes. The conduits for electricity and telecom were used as planned. However, the water utility representative wanted a different access point because the conduit was 70cm (28 inches) too deep for his liking. Apparently, there are regulations about how deep you normally dig for repairs. So, a new core drill hole was needed in the basement.
Our excavation contractor also handled the trench to the house. This was comparatively inexpensive (both the energy provider and water utility clearly stated their costs upfront).
The day before the scheduled connection work, our excavation contractor dug the trench. The next day, the energy provider and water utility carried out their work. Finally, the telecom company came and pulled their cable. Everything went smoothly.
Regarding the timing: The water utility representative said they have very precise requirements: the shell (structural frame) must be completed. That makes sense because there needs to be a wall to mount the water meter on. The energy provider also needs a place for the house connection box, which is usually installed in a recess in the masonry.
Best regards
AxelYes, it definitely makes sense if the shell is already standing 🙂
Telecom is already in progress. We will clarify the energy provider (Ovag) in the next few days.
I assume the actual excavation for the connections will either be organized by us or carried out by the water utility?
In our building specification, I just read that the costs for earthworks related to the connections are the homeowner’s responsibility. But I think it can certainly be arranged for them to handle it.
May I ask roughly how much water/sewage, electricity, and telecom cost you?
NattySchw86 schrieb:
May I ask roughly how much you spent on water / sewage, electricity, and telecommunications?Sure, but please don’t be alarmed. The distance from the street to the house is 14 meters (46 feet). Here are the approximate amounts:
Water: 3,550
Sewage: 5,100
Electricity: 1,500
Telecommunications: 800
Best regards
Axel
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