Hello dear forum community,
I have a question and I hope you can help.
We are building a house measuring 8.84 x 10.64 meters, so the ground floor area is 85 sqm (915 sq ft). My husband really wants to have a basement. Our prefab house manufacturer has already told us that this would cost at least €50,000 (watertight concrete, purely functional basement).
My husband does not want to accept these costs and is currently looking for a local basement specialist to work with him so they can build the basement themselves, with some support.
I do not want this basement. Either we can afford the one from the prefab manufacturer, or we will do without. Any discussion with my husband about this leads to an argument.
I have researched online and read several times that building yourself might save at most 20%, but I worry that the local basement builder might charge less.
Could you please give me a realistic assessment whether it is possible to build a watertight basement of this size with a budget of €25,000 in cash? I would sleep better if we were talking about a price of €30,000 to €40,000 because then the basement would definitely be off the table.
Thank you,
Julia
I have a question and I hope you can help.
We are building a house measuring 8.84 x 10.64 meters, so the ground floor area is 85 sqm (915 sq ft). My husband really wants to have a basement. Our prefab house manufacturer has already told us that this would cost at least €50,000 (watertight concrete, purely functional basement).
My husband does not want to accept these costs and is currently looking for a local basement specialist to work with him so they can build the basement themselves, with some support.
I do not want this basement. Either we can afford the one from the prefab manufacturer, or we will do without. Any discussion with my husband about this leads to an argument.
I have researched online and read several times that building yourself might save at most 20%, but I worry that the local basement builder might charge less.
Could you please give me a realistic assessment whether it is possible to build a watertight basement of this size with a budget of €25,000 in cash? I would sleep better if we were talking about a price of €30,000 to €40,000 because then the basement would definitely be off the table.
Thank you,
Julia
Der Da schrieb:
If it gets more expensive, you can just say: I told you so. Oh-oh-oh, I will be careful not to say something like that!!! There is nothing worse than when the wife knows better!
We would only have the necessary "spare cash" if we cut back on other things (carport, new kitchen, landscaping, etc.). His killer argument: "You can do all those things later. But you can’t build a basement underneath afterwards!"
P
perlenmann26 Mar 2013 15:07Well, I wouldn’t want to do without my basement. But that’s also because we weren’t allowed to build the house any larger (semi-detached house). I admit, if that hadn’t been the case, I probably would have built a bigger house without a basement.
But your husband is right. Well, not entirely, but adding a basement to an existing house gets really expensive.
But your husband is right. Well, not entirely, but adding a basement to an existing house gets really expensive.
N
nordanney26 Mar 2013 15:37If I could, I would prefer to build a basement in our new house rather than relying on alternative rooms (utility room + converted attic). However, our architect convinced us that a 100-120 m² (1,076-1,292 sq ft) basement is more expensive than adding knee walls to the attic and converting it. But now, where should my home theater go – problems upon problems...
Don’t get me wrong: If money were no object, I would be the first to build a basement. But our budget is limited at some point.
We are building such a large house because we regularly have visits from three part-time children (from my husband’s previous marriage). So, we need two extra bedrooms. Since the older kids are already 16, 14, and 12 years old, it’s clear that the two bedrooms will eventually be converted into an office and/or storage rooms.
We currently have 120 sqm (1292 sq ft) plus an additional basement space. With another 85 sqm (915 sq ft) of basement area, we would have more space than we actually need. And that also means more cleaning (sorry, home-maker thinking...).
But okay, I will wait for the quote now and maybe discuss it again with my husband.
@ Der Da
Yes, we need to talk, and to be honest, I am not willing to put any more money into the house construction and restrict myself for life.
We are building such a large house because we regularly have visits from three part-time children (from my husband’s previous marriage). So, we need two extra bedrooms. Since the older kids are already 16, 14, and 12 years old, it’s clear that the two bedrooms will eventually be converted into an office and/or storage rooms.
We currently have 120 sqm (1292 sq ft) plus an additional basement space. With another 85 sqm (915 sq ft) of basement area, we would have more space than we actually need. And that also means more cleaning (sorry, home-maker thinking...).
But okay, I will wait for the quote now and maybe discuss it again with my husband.
@ Der Da
Yes, we need to talk, and to be honest, I am not willing to put any more money into the house construction and restrict myself for life.
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