Hello,
we are planning to build a single-family house in Bavaria, and due to groundwater pressure in the soil, the fully waterproofed concrete basement will be quite expensive. The general contractor said, "the basement costs more than the above-ground living space." Is it really possible that increasing the size of the above-ground house by nearly the same usable area that is lost by omitting the basement results in cost savings? In other words, is a 150 m² (1,615 sq ft) house with an expensive waterproof concrete basement more costly than a house without a basement but with 150 m² (1,615 sq ft) of living space plus 50-70 m² (540-750 sq ft) of utility rooms (the latter with cheaper flooring, etc.)? The general contractor only had a few rough rules of thumb, which obviously didn’t apply well in this case, and did not provide any actual cost calculations. Strangely, he also refused to calculate both options side by side, saying it would be too time-consuming.
Does anyone here have real experience with this? It would be very helpful, thanks in advance!
Best regards
we are planning to build a single-family house in Bavaria, and due to groundwater pressure in the soil, the fully waterproofed concrete basement will be quite expensive. The general contractor said, "the basement costs more than the above-ground living space." Is it really possible that increasing the size of the above-ground house by nearly the same usable area that is lost by omitting the basement results in cost savings? In other words, is a 150 m² (1,615 sq ft) house with an expensive waterproof concrete basement more costly than a house without a basement but with 150 m² (1,615 sq ft) of living space plus 50-70 m² (540-750 sq ft) of utility rooms (the latter with cheaper flooring, etc.)? The general contractor only had a few rough rules of thumb, which obviously didn’t apply well in this case, and did not provide any actual cost calculations. Strangely, he also refused to calculate both options side by side, saying it would be too time-consuming.
Does anyone here have real experience with this? It would be very helpful, thanks in advance!
Best regards
We are currently building a house with a "basement replacement room" of about 16 sqm (172 sq ft) interior floor area. The room costs approximately €14,000, including earthworks, foundation, slab, insulated (walkable) ceiling, exterior plaster, interior plaster Q2 quality, etc., but excluding underfloor heating.
We are building in western Central Hesse.
Just so you have an example for such a room.
We are building in western Central Hesse.
Just so you have an example for such a room.
H
hausbauer28 Jul 2019 21:56Yosan schrieb:
We are currently building a house with a “basement substitute room” of about 16 sqm (172 sq ft) floor area. Thanks, that’s a helpful example. How do you manage your storage needs? Attic? Garage? Something else?Hausbauer schrieb:
Thanks, that’s a helpful example. How do you manage your storage needs? Attic? Garage? Something else?You’re welcome. We have a guest room that will not host guests for most of the year, and an attic that isn’t very large but can still hold some boxes and similar items. Additionally, we have a basement substitute room.
Hausbauer schrieb:
Above ground, I would keep the "basement substitute rooms" quite simple as well, but all with underfloor heating, inexpensive tiles, and painted walls. Let’s say 1000€/sqm (around $107/sq ft) for the basement equals 70,000€. Add a bit extra for waterproofing, and the utility basement might cost about 90,000€.
If you skip 70sqm (750 sq ft) of utility rooms, and instead plan 10sqm (110 sq ft) of more expensive living space on the ground floor at 1500€/sqm (around $160/sq ft), plus a 10sqm (110 sq ft) storage room above, that totals 20sqm (215 sq ft) for 30,000€. That should be plenty for four people.
I averaged the price since the additional space is in a house already equipped with HVAC, etc. However, you might want to make the children’s rooms larger because a play basement is then no longer available.
Either way: a basement is expensive if you only use it for utility and storage space; it becomes even more costly if there’s water involved. I don’t understand why anyone insists on it instead of designing a slightly larger house. Not only because you won’t be taking lawnmowers, bicycles, and such downstairs anyway, requiring an outdoor shed above, but also because the risk of the basement eventually becoming damp would deter me.
As long as it’s not just a 200sqm (2150 sq ft) townhouse, you usually have the freedom to generate storage space differently.
H
hampshire28 Jul 2019 22:20With soil class 7 (under our house), the basement is a money pit. As always, comparisons have their limits. Whether a basement or living space is more expensive cannot be answered in general terms, so the original poster cannot make a valid statement for their project.
H
hausbauer28 Jul 2019 23:18ypg schrieb:
As long as it’s not just a 200sqm (2,150 sq ft) terraced house, you usually have the freedom to create storage space in other ways.In this case, that is only somewhat possible; otherwise, we wouldn’t be considering the basement so seriously. With a rather compact floor plan, the basement would immediately provide a large usable area. This space is needed for various hobbies and potentially three children in the future. Still, giving up the basement seems to be the more economical solution overall, even though it comes with some disadvantages...
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