ᐅ Calculating the Cost of an Architect-Designed Home Including Owner-Performed Work?
Created on: 12 Mar 2013 09:13
K
KollisionskursK
Kollisionskurs12 Mar 2013 09:13Hello everyone,
We are planning to build a single-family house (passive house) in the near future and are currently in the initial planning phase.
We already have a plot of land, and our budget has an upper limit of 300,000€.
At first, we looked at several prefabricated house providers and compared them (to get a sense of the costs). Conclusion: we were overwhelmed by the sheer number — and of course, each claims to be the best quality on the market.
At the same time, we are considering building most of the house ourselves, as there are several carpenters and other tradespeople in our family (I am an electrician, my uncle is a painter, and so on). For this reason, we approached an architect to get a rough design and a cost estimate for a traditionally designed and built house.
He sketched a preliminary design and in his preliminary cost estimate listed the house as turnkey
(including exterior landscaping and garage).
The individual trades were not specifically calculated; instead, a base value of 350€ per m³ (cubic meter) was assumed.
This results in total costs of about 420,000€, which exceeds our budget.
The additional construction costs (permit fees, surveys, structural engineer, safety coordinator, geotechnical expert, etc.) were estimated at 15% of the total amount.
As I see it, these figures are realistic, aren’t they? However, in our case, they are not affordable. As mentioned, these costs reflect a house built entirely by external companies—but we need the cost estimate for the house if we contribute a significant amount of our own labor. Therefore, we are considering having the architect complete the detailed drawings and plans. Only then could, for example, our carpenters calculate the material costs in advance, and so on. This would result in a cost per trade and, in the end, a total cost including our family’s own labor share.
If the total costs decrease accordingly, wouldn’t the architect’s fee be lower as well?
The fee is usually based on the projected construction costs, right?
Setting aside whether we will end up within our targeted budget and accepting that we would already have to pay the architect’s planning fees without knowing for sure if we can afford to build this house based on the resulting costs:
Do I have any other way to calculate the costs upfront in our situation?
How would experienced people approach this? As mentioned, we are at the very beginning and possibly still a bit naïve and indecisive... better now than later.
Any tips are greatly appreciated...
Good luck
We are planning to build a single-family house (passive house) in the near future and are currently in the initial planning phase.
We already have a plot of land, and our budget has an upper limit of 300,000€.
At first, we looked at several prefabricated house providers and compared them (to get a sense of the costs). Conclusion: we were overwhelmed by the sheer number — and of course, each claims to be the best quality on the market.
At the same time, we are considering building most of the house ourselves, as there are several carpenters and other tradespeople in our family (I am an electrician, my uncle is a painter, and so on). For this reason, we approached an architect to get a rough design and a cost estimate for a traditionally designed and built house.
He sketched a preliminary design and in his preliminary cost estimate listed the house as turnkey
(including exterior landscaping and garage).
The individual trades were not specifically calculated; instead, a base value of 350€ per m³ (cubic meter) was assumed.
This results in total costs of about 420,000€, which exceeds our budget.
The additional construction costs (permit fees, surveys, structural engineer, safety coordinator, geotechnical expert, etc.) were estimated at 15% of the total amount.
As I see it, these figures are realistic, aren’t they? However, in our case, they are not affordable. As mentioned, these costs reflect a house built entirely by external companies—but we need the cost estimate for the house if we contribute a significant amount of our own labor. Therefore, we are considering having the architect complete the detailed drawings and plans. Only then could, for example, our carpenters calculate the material costs in advance, and so on. This would result in a cost per trade and, in the end, a total cost including our family’s own labor share.
If the total costs decrease accordingly, wouldn’t the architect’s fee be lower as well?
The fee is usually based on the projected construction costs, right?
Setting aside whether we will end up within our targeted budget and accepting that we would already have to pay the architect’s planning fees without knowing for sure if we can afford to build this house based on the resulting costs:
Do I have any other way to calculate the costs upfront in our situation?
How would experienced people approach this? As mentioned, we are at the very beginning and possibly still a bit naïve and indecisive... better now than later.
Any tips are greatly appreciated...
Good luck
B
Bauexperte12 Mar 2013 12:10Hello,
You probably mean an Efficiency House 70 – a true passive house is not feasible with this budget!
I still find this quite ambitious when assuming a real passive house. Furthermore, the lump-sum calculation carries huge risks regarding the final price. Only when the individual bills of quantities (BOQ) are available will the final price become gradually binding and the figures be progressively adjusted.
Only marginally, since construction supervision is omitted; however, a building permit / planning permission must still be applied for. The bills of quantities are also part of the construction costs, and in order for the family to obtain offers, the architect must prepare the BOQ. And finally, even for BOQ, you will need a site manager who coordinates the individual trades.
The costs incurred so far are owed to the architect; these cannot be saved anymore. However, you already have a rough sketch.
You should first decide whether you want a prefabricated house or a solid masonry house. Then obtain comparable offers based on the architect’s rough sketch, and you will get a rough reference point for what your new home will finally cost.
Best regards, Bauexperte
Kollisionskurs schrieb:
We want to build a single-family house (passive house) in the near future and are currently in the initial planning phase.
The plot of land is available, and the budget has a maximum limit of 300,000€.
You probably mean an Efficiency House 70 – a true passive house is not feasible with this budget!
Kollisionskurs schrieb:
He sketched a rough design and included the turnkey house in his preliminary cost estimate
(including outdoor landscaping, garage). The individual trades were not explicitly calculated; instead, a base value of 350€ per m³ was assumed. This results in total costs of about 420,000€ and exceeds the budget.
The additional construction costs were estimated at 15% of the total sum (architect, structural engineer, surveyor, building permit / planning permission, soil expert, safety coordinator).
I still find this quite ambitious when assuming a real passive house. Furthermore, the lump-sum calculation carries huge risks regarding the final price. Only when the individual bills of quantities (BOQ) are available will the final price become gradually binding and the figures be progressively adjusted.
Kollisionskurs schrieb:
If the total costs decrease, does the architect’s fee also become smaller accordingly?
Because the fee is always based on the previously estimated construction costs.
Only marginally, since construction supervision is omitted; however, a building permit / planning permission must still be applied for. The bills of quantities are also part of the construction costs, and in order for the family to obtain offers, the architect must prepare the BOQ. And finally, even for BOQ, you will need a site manager who coordinates the individual trades.
Kollisionskurs schrieb:
Regardless of whether we will meet our targeted budget in the end, and that we have to pay the architectural planning costs upfront (without knowing exactly if we can afford to build this house based on the resulting costs):
Is there any other way for us to calculate the costs in advance in our case?
How would experienced people proceed in our situation? As mentioned, we are at the very beginning and might be a bit naive and somewhat scattered... better now than later
The costs incurred so far are owed to the architect; these cannot be saved anymore. However, you already have a rough sketch.
You should first decide whether you want a prefabricated house or a solid masonry house. Then obtain comparable offers based on the architect’s rough sketch, and you will get a rough reference point for what your new home will finally cost.
Best regards, Bauexperte
K
Kollisionskurs12 Mar 2013 13:41Hello,
and thank you for the quick response.
The goal was definitely a passive house – the passive house surcharge in the architect’s rough cost calculation is 7% of the construction costs, so about 20,000€.
That’s exactly what I meant, or rather, we would never start our building project based on a lump-sum calculation. Therefore, precise specifications or bill of quantities (BoQ) are necessary so that the family can request quotes, and the final price can be determined step by step. Hopefully, our budget will be enough. So far, the architect hasn’t cost us anything – it was just an initial proposal based on a hand-drawn draft and a cost estimate.
For the architect to create the BoQ now, the detailed planning of the house must actually be complete – every single trade. And especially this time-consuming planning for our house is not something the architect will necessarily want to do for free.
So, we first need to invest money in the planning so that the architect can ultimately prepare the BoQ and we can see if we can actually afford the project. If we cannot afford it, then the planning costs were, objectively speaking, lost. It is not like with a prefab house where you can relatively quickly get a price for the standard model; instead, I have to pay for the architect’s planning in order to know exactly what the project will cost. Or have I misunderstood something here?
Construction supervision should not be omitted, or rather, I want our building project to be monitored by the architect. What I don’t fully understand is this: assuming the roughly estimated final price gets smaller after the tendering because of a lower owner’s contribution. Then the additional building costs and the architect’s fees also decrease, since those are based on the total construction costs, right?
It will definitely be a timber frame house. I’m curious whether the carpentry will be able to provide a cost estimate based on the sketch drawing. At the moment, basically all I can give them are the approximate m² per floor and a floor plan.
Thanks... Best regards!
and thank you for the quick response.
Bauexperte schrieb:
Hello,
You probably mean an efficiency house 70 – a true passive house cannot be realized with this budget!
The goal was definitely a passive house – the passive house surcharge in the architect’s rough cost calculation is 7% of the construction costs, so about 20,000€.
Bauexperte schrieb:
I still consider that quite a challenge when assuming a real passive house. Furthermore, the lump-sum calculation carries huge risks regarding the final price. Only once the detailed bill of quantities (BoQ) is available does the final price become more firm and the numbers get adjusted step by step.
That’s exactly what I meant, or rather, we would never start our building project based on a lump-sum calculation. Therefore, precise specifications or bill of quantities (BoQ) are necessary so that the family can request quotes, and the final price can be determined step by step. Hopefully, our budget will be enough. So far, the architect hasn’t cost us anything – it was just an initial proposal based on a hand-drawn draft and a cost estimate.
For the architect to create the BoQ now, the detailed planning of the house must actually be complete – every single trade. And especially this time-consuming planning for our house is not something the architect will necessarily want to do for free.
So, we first need to invest money in the planning so that the architect can ultimately prepare the BoQ and we can see if we can actually afford the project. If we cannot afford it, then the planning costs were, objectively speaking, lost. It is not like with a prefab house where you can relatively quickly get a price for the standard model; instead, I have to pay for the architect’s planning in order to know exactly what the project will cost. Or have I misunderstood something here?
Bauexperte schrieb:
Only marginally, since construction supervision is omitted; however, a building permit/planning permission must be applied for. Also, the energy certificate is part of the construction costs, and in order for the family to obtain quotes, the architect must prepare the BoQ. In the end, you also need a project manager/site supervisor to coordinate the individual trades – even with the energy certificate.
Construction supervision should not be omitted, or rather, I want our building project to be monitored by the architect. What I don’t fully understand is this: assuming the roughly estimated final price gets smaller after the tendering because of a lower owner’s contribution. Then the additional building costs and the architect’s fees also decrease, since those are based on the total construction costs, right?
Bauexperte schrieb:
You should first decide whether you want a prefab (modular) house or a solid (masonry) house. Then, based on the architect’s sketch drawing, get comparable quotes – absolutely comparable – and you will have an approximate indication of what your new home will cost in the end.
It will definitely be a timber frame house. I’m curious whether the carpentry will be able to provide a cost estimate based on the sketch drawing. At the moment, basically all I can give them are the approximate m² per floor and a floor plan.
Thanks... Best regards!
B
Bauexperte12 Mar 2013 13:58Hello,
No way. A passive house is a building that maintains a comfortable temperature both in winter and summer without a separate heating or cooling system. It provides increased living comfort with a heating demand of less than 15 kWh/(m²a) and a primary energy demand including hot water and household electricity of under 120 kWh/(m²a). In my opinion, even with a timber frame construction, this is not achievable in the range of about €20,000 (TEUR 20) – even though I primarily come from solid construction; the required windows alone cost a small fortune.
No, you understood that correctly.
No – the calculation of pure construction costs includes the owner-supplied work, because the house can’t be completed without this. Therefore, the total construction costs – including owner-supplied work – form the basis for calculating the architect’s fee.
Regards, Bauexperte
Kollisionskurs schrieb:
The goal was definitely a passive house – the passive house surcharge in the architect’s rough cost estimate is 7% of the construction costs, about €20,000
No way. A passive house is a building that maintains a comfortable temperature both in winter and summer without a separate heating or cooling system. It provides increased living comfort with a heating demand of less than 15 kWh/(m²a) and a primary energy demand including hot water and household electricity of under 120 kWh/(m²a). In my opinion, even with a timber frame construction, this is not achievable in the range of about €20,000 (TEUR 20) – even though I primarily come from solid construction; the required windows alone cost a small fortune.
Kollisionskurs schrieb:
Or did I misunderstand something?
No, you understood that correctly.
Kollisionskurs schrieb:
What I don’t quite understand: suppose the roughly estimated final price decreases after the tender due to owner-supplied work. Then the ancillary construction costs and the architect’s fee would also decrease, since the fee is based on the total construction costs, right?
No – the calculation of pure construction costs includes the owner-supplied work, because the house can’t be completed without this. Therefore, the total construction costs – including owner-supplied work – form the basis for calculating the architect’s fee.
Regards, Bauexperte
K
Kollisionskurs13 Mar 2013 15:51Hello,
thank you for the explanation. I understand that the construction costs including ancillary costs (AC) form the basis for calculating the architect’s fee. However, I still need to play the slow learner here – for example: let’s assume the architect estimates the house to be built at 300,000€ in his preliminary cost estimate. The client is excited and wants to proceed with the project – the architect then goes back to the drawing board and prepares the plans, after which the individual trades are tendered and the respective companies submit their bids. From these bids, the total and actual construction costs arise (now completely ignoring AC), which amount to 250,000€ (affordable contractors). Which amount now serves as the basis for the architect’s fee: the 300,000€ from the preliminary estimate or the 250,000€ (total construction costs)?
So, just to be clear – the 20,000€ is the additional cost to achieve the passive house standard for the offered property, basically the energy-efficient base design plus 7% equals passive house. That’s how I interpret it, and the architect has already built many passive houses and is even mentioned in the 2013 Passive House Compendium (the section was something like best/most beautiful passive houses). So in my opinion, it should fit accordingly…
Winter regards!
thank you for the explanation. I understand that the construction costs including ancillary costs (AC) form the basis for calculating the architect’s fee. However, I still need to play the slow learner here – for example: let’s assume the architect estimates the house to be built at 300,000€ in his preliminary cost estimate. The client is excited and wants to proceed with the project – the architect then goes back to the drawing board and prepares the plans, after which the individual trades are tendered and the respective companies submit their bids. From these bids, the total and actual construction costs arise (now completely ignoring AC), which amount to 250,000€ (affordable contractors). Which amount now serves as the basis for the architect’s fee: the 300,000€ from the preliminary estimate or the 250,000€ (total construction costs)?
Bauexperte schrieb:
Hello,
No chance. A passive house is a building in which a comfortable temperature is maintained both in winter and summer without a separate heating or air conditioning system. It offers increased living comfort with a heating demand of less than 15 kWh/(m²a) and a primary energy demand, including hot water and household electricity, below 120 kWh/(m²a). In my opinion – even with a timber frame construction in the area of €20,000 it is not achievable – even though I primarily come from solid construction; the required windows alone cost a small fortune.
So, just to be clear – the 20,000€ is the additional cost to achieve the passive house standard for the offered property, basically the energy-efficient base design plus 7% equals passive house. That’s how I interpret it, and the architect has already built many passive houses and is even mentioned in the 2013 Passive House Compendium (the section was something like best/most beautiful passive houses). So in my opinion, it should fit accordingly…
Winter regards!
B
Bauexperte13 Mar 2013 23:26Hello,
But anyway: You enter into a contract with your architect covering service phases x to y. In this contract, you can also agree on everything that matters to you—provided the architect agrees—including the question of fees in relation to the initial cost estimate versus potentially lower construction costs after receiving all tenders. What remains unchanged here, however, is that the HOAI (fee ordinance for architects and engineers) always serves as the basis.
Best regards, Bauexperte
Kollisionskurs schrieb:I don’t want to disappoint you… but in my opinion, that won’t happen.
I still have to play the role of the slow learner here – for example: Let’s assume the architect estimates the construction cost of the house at 300,000€ in his preliminary cost calculation. The client is excited and wants to move forward with the project – the architect then goes back to the drawing board and prepares the plans, after which the individual trades are tendered and the respective companies submit their bids. From these bids, excluding energy-related costs for now, the actual total construction costs ultimately amount to 250,000€ (thanks to affordable contractors ). Which amount is then the basis for the architect’s fee: the 300,000€ from the preliminary estimate or the 250,000€ (total construction costs) ??
But anyway: You enter into a contract with your architect covering service phases x to y. In this contract, you can also agree on everything that matters to you—provided the architect agrees—including the question of fees in relation to the initial cost estimate versus potentially lower construction costs after receiving all tenders. What remains unchanged here, however, is that the HOAI (fee ordinance for architects and engineers) always serves as the basis.
Kollisionskurs schrieb:What exactly do you mean by "energy-efficient basic execution"?
… kind of energy-efficient basic execution + 7% = Passive House …
Best regards, Bauexperte
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