ᐅ Looking for a construction company in the Greater Stuttgart area!

I can only advise staying away from Haus der Handwerker. We signed with them in June 2018, by which time the building permit / planning permission was already in place. The "completion" of the detailed planning was only at the end of January 2019! However, they didn’t want to hand over any reinforcement plans except for the foundation slab. As a result, we had the structural calculations redone by an external structural engineer and then withdrew from this company, managing the trades ourselves.

Unfortunately, we were not the only ones with this experience. Just search for Franks Blog and HDH. Some people have been building for 4 years and still are not finished.

I cannot say anything specific about the others.

We also visited Speidel; the price was good, but that was about it. They just told us what we wanted to hear. Without knowing how the execution would have gone later, I fear we would have encountered some unpleasant surprises. I think their service is only suitable for clients who want to be involved on-site every day and who already have some experience. So, not for us. Just try googling "Town & Country Bau Blog"...

Otherwise, Härtter-Bau from Renningen was very good and likeable, and we had a good feeling, but they were somewhat more expensive. The same goes for AWS, also from Renningen—good and transparent, but even pricier than Härtter. Both are rather small companies but active in the local region.

We also looked at Fermo, of course high-end, but that just wasn’t our world. The consultant was great, but for us it all felt a bit too “upscale.” And then, of course, the price...

erazorlll schrieb:

Can you share some of your experiences with Hauser? How were the first meetings, how would you rate price/performance, why did you decide to build with Hauser? And what kind of house are you building?

For us, Hauser has so far been a stroke of luck in hindsight. When building a house, I don’t think a layperson can plan and calculate everything upfront, so you need someone you can trust 100%. And even before signing, we were given so much trust and felt quickly like part of the “Hauser family” (which really isn’t just a marketing phrase for them). We haven’t been disappointed so far; on the contrary, we are currently slightly under budget cost-wise.

Consultation before signing was very good (Ms. Ker….), and we received a detailed offer and planning even before the first meeting. Initially, we feared they only build their standard houses. But their approach is very individual without costs becoming extremely high. The price/performance ratio was the best (compared to timber-frame houses and local solid construction providers), and nothing was added later that wasn’t mentioned before signing. We really appreciate this honesty, which was ultimately the reason we decided on them. I also find their system brilliant: solid construction but still industrially prefabricated. Although, unfortunately, it doesn’t go much faster than regular solid construction in the end.

We are building something rather “special,” a kind of semi-detached house—nothing you would find in the standard catalogues of prefabricated home builders.

If things get more concrete with Hauser from Vöhringen on your side, feel free to contact me again via private message.

P.S. I have written a lot of positive things about Hauser, but of course, things do go wrong sometimes… So far, any mistakes have been quickly and cleanly resolved without much pressure.

The construction blog Town & Country explains this fairly well, although it is somewhat dramatic, and anyone who overreacts to an extra cost of 100 euros should probably consider buying a two-room apartment instead. However, the blog also points out that the work was very thorough, and if a few plaster splashes on the windows are considered a major issue, then maybe building a house isn’t for that person at all. Clearly, the blogger had a lot of time on their hands. Every house and construction process is different. Fermo always emphasizes the high standard, which ultimately refers to bathroom ceramics that add about 2,000 euros (approximately $2,200) in value. But if that house is then located 100,000 euros (about $110,000) further away, that advantage quickly becomes irrelevant. A house from Hauser is basically a prefab house, just made with lightweight expanded clay aggregate blocks and then covered with polystyrene insulation. I compared four suppliers and got the best price from Speidel. You can then decide what the shell builder will do—brick construction, Liaplan, monolithic, or external thermal insulation composite system (ETICS), and so on.

arnonyme schrieb:

I can only advise staying away from Haus der Handwerker. We signed with them in June 2018, at which point the building permit / planning permission was already in place. The "completion" of the working plans was only at the end of January 2019! They didn’t want to hand over any reinforcement plans except for the foundation slab. As a result, we had the structural calculations redone by an external engineer and then quit this company, managing the trades ourselves.
Unfortunately, we were not the only ones affected. Just google "Franks Blog" and "HDH". Some people have been building with them for four years and still aren’t finished.
I can’t really comment on the others.

At first, we were very enthusiastic about HdH because they made a lot of promises and also gave the impression they had nothing to hide. For example, they said that every build includes site supervision by DEKRA, but you are welcome to choose another inspector who can visit the site at any time. Or that a certain percentage of the contract price would be withheld until a few months (or even years? I don’t remember) after completion before final payment was due.

Unfortunately, further discussions turned out to be rather ordinary. I didn't get the impression that much effort was put in before signing the contract, although that phase is, in my opinion, the most important one for the salesperson. They also couldn’t explain why, for example, a specific type of heating was chosen and just dismissed it by saying that most customers want that.

On top of that, there are negative experiences here in the forum and in several building blogs. Clearly, people with negative experiences are more likely to speak up, but it still left me with a bad feeling.

Markuss85 schrieb:

We also visited Speidel. The price was good, but that was about it. They just told us what we wanted to hear. Without knowing how the execution would actually turn out, I fear we would have faced some unpleasant surprises. I think this is only for homeowners who want to manage the site daily and already have some experience. So, it wasn’t for us. Just google "Town & Country Build Blog" for more info...

I skimmed through that blog and saw two other comments elsewhere that put me off a bit. It’s important to me that you get some kind of support and don’t have to handle everything yourself.

Markuss85 schrieb:

We also visited Fermo, which is naturally high-end, but that wasn’t really our world. The consultant was great, but for us it all felt somewhat too "upscale." And then, of course, the price...

I had exactly the same impression. I believe they build very well and professionally, but they charge accordingly. Even considering their higher "basic package," they are a considerable step above other providers. Roughly estimated, it would have been about €100,000 (approx. $110,000) more for us, and that’s a serious amount.

I can’t explain it precisely, but in the conversation, I felt a little uncomfortable because they came across as quite detached. They talked about expensive houses, wine cellars, and wellness areas, while I just wanted to build a nice, simple house. The quality is really good and the standard is high, no question, but unfortunately, it was beyond our budget.

Markuss85 schrieb:

For us, in hindsight, Hauser has so far been a stroke of luck. As a layperson, you can’t plan or calculate everything perfectly before building, so you need someone you can trust completely. Even before signing, we received so much trust that you quickly feel part of the "Hauser family" (and that’s not just a marketing phrase). So far, we haven’t been disappointed; in fact, we are even slightly under budget.

[...]

P.S.: I have written quite a bit of praise for Hauser, but of course things can go wrong with them too. So far, though, mistakes have always been corrected quickly and neatly without us having to put much pressure on them.

That is always an important point for me in these experiences. Things inevitably go wrong during any build, and the big question is how the provider handles it.

We visited Hauser’s model homes and had a brief talk. The newer houses look really good, even though we feel they still lack a bit of the final touch, but that can be discussed. Now we are looking forward to our appointment.

Stuttgart0711 schrieb:

The Town & Country Build Blog describes it well, but quite hysterically, and anyone who freaks out over €100 (approx. $110) in extra costs should just buy a two-room apartment instead.

Thanks for the tip, I’ll read it carefully again tonight.

Does anyone have experience with the construction method of Kern-Haus? Or with Lechner Solid House?
Otherwise, feel free to share more experiences—every bit of advice helps.

In the Stuttgart area, there is Talbau Haus. We will be building with them this year. The consultation was quite good.
However, since we haven’t started yet, I can’t say much about them. Unfortunately, you only find 1 or 2 construction blogs online.

A bit further east, toward Crailsheim, there is Keitel-Haus. They were our second choice.

Both are smaller construction companies, building about 50 houses per year (according to their own information).

Stuttgart0711 schrieb:

I compared 4 suppliers and got the best price with Speidel.

That was the case for us as well. And I also think that in the end, you get a good and functional house. They know what they’re doing. But I believe the process involves significantly more “stress” than with traditional general contractors. With Speidel, in my opinion, you also need to have some building knowledge yourself, which was not the case for us…

erazorlll schrieb:

The newer houses look really good, even though we still feel they’re missing a bit of that final “wow” factor here.

Yes, that’s true, the real “wow” effect is a bit lacking. We felt the same. But later we found out why: At the show homes in Vöhringen, everything you see is included as standard. In Fellbach, there are many highlights to see, but often the “wow” effects come with additional costs.

erazorlll schrieb:

Kern-Haus

We also liked Kern-Haus conceptually, but in the end, it wasn’t flexible enough for our needs.

FoxMulder24 schrieb:

In the Stuttgart area, there is also Talbau Haus.

Yes, we went for a consultation there too. It was excellent (Mr. Voss...) and Talbau was another supplier I would trust. The pricing was also good. The consultation was personal and fair. It didn’t work out for us in the end because we were more convinced by the solid construction concept from Hauser.