ᐅ Prefabricated Home Builders – What Should You Watch Out For? Are There Any Unforeseen Issues?

Good evening everyone,

We are currently gathering several quotes for a small single-family home. Comparing these offers is quite difficult for us, so we would like to know the following:
What are your experiences regarding which items Company A includes that Company B does not?

What should you pay close attention to?

We mean things such as:
- Concrete slab foundation (for example, not included with Danwood)?
- Optional extras that are often omitted (such as roller shutters, which you might at least partially need)
- Is the floor covering included (laminate/tiles)
- …………………….


This is just so we can pay a bit more attention to these details.
What are your experiences, and what differences have you noticed?

THANK YOU VERY MUCH!!!
Best regards
Caroline

Well, no supplier will give you anything for free. Whether features like roller shutters are included in the basic package or not is already factored into the price.

Caro0103m schrieb:

Good evening everyone,

we are currently gathering several quotes for a small single-family house. Comparing these is, of course, difficult for us, so we are interested in the following:
What are your experiences regarding which items are included by prefabricated house provider A, but not by provider B?

What should you pay close attention to?

We mean things such as:
- Foundation slab (for example, not included with Danwood)?
- Optional features that are often left out (e.g., shutters, which you at least partly need)
- Is the flooring included (laminate/tiles)
- …………………….


Just so we pay a little more attention to these points,
what are your experiences and what differences have you noticed?

THANK YOU VERY MUCH!!!
Best regards
Caroline

No one will do that work for you. The only option is to study the construction service specifications carefully and compare them using Excel.

Read the BLBs. With Scanhaus Marlow, there is nothing included and you have to do everything yourself. Huf Haus will probably be more helpful if you ask nicely…

In the end, for us, an expensive construction company was cheaper per m² (square meter) than a cheaper one plus the upgrades needed to reach the same standard as the expensive one…

- Excitement and drama occur when the unavoidable upgrade is only offered at the construction site, and you are completely taken by surprise.

Caro0103m schrieb:

What are your experiences? Which items are included by prefab house provider A but not by provider B?

Caro0103m schrieb:

We have now received the first offer (including the complete cost calculation) from Heinz von Heiden:

Heinz von Heiden is a typical solid construction builder—I personally think it’s better not to limit yourself to prefab builders.

Caro0103m schrieb:

We mean things like:
- Concrete slab foundation (e.g. not included with Danwood)?

For me, a car price without wheels would be a deal-breaker.

Zaba12 schrieb:

The only solution is to thoroughly study the service specifications and compare them using Excel.

Counterproposal: (preferably with an architect) create your own service specification—the (in my opinion, generally recommended) regional solid builders are usually willing to act as general contractors.

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11ant schrieb:

For me, a car price without wheels would be the end of the conversation.

I don’t understand why the topic of the foundation slab is criticized so often. On the one hand, it is one of the first issues that comes up when you look into house building more closely, and on the other hand, it is more common than not that offers are given “starting from the top edge of the foundation slab” (out of 13 companies I contacted, 9 did not include the foundation slab in their quotes). Also, the wording “starting from top edge of foundation slab” is rarely hidden.

What happened to me recently was that in a consultation call, I was told the foundation slab was included in the price, but when I asked again, the groundwork was not covered. I can understand that to some extent, as the groundwork depends heavily on the site conditions, but I was still surprised.

The points I have often encountered as common variations are:
- Construction stages: When “shell construction” is mentioned, it is usually clear that a lot is missing. However, with “turnkey” it looks different because things like floor coverings, wall paint, and even interior doors can be missing. Danwood calls this the “muscle mortgage,” elsewhere it is called “almost finished” and in other places it is simply called turnkey.
- Transportation of materials to the construction site
- Underfloor heating: not something you would really expect and not usually a major problem if it’s missing, but sometimes it is included, mostly not.
- KfW55 standard compliance: sometimes this is included, and in rare cases even KfW40. If both are optional extras, the surcharges vary widely.
- Costs for the building permit / planning permission and architect services
- Earthworks: Sometimes there is a distinction between earthworks for the foundation slab and earthworks plus disposal within the overall construction scope.
- Roller shutters: see underfloor heating

I have not really come across any “traps.” Either I was lucky and received the right explanations from the start, or the providers have learned from experience.