Hello everyone,
I have read a lot about this topic, but I’m still not any wiser. Here in Munich, we generally have the problem that plots of land are very scarce and expensive. Now we have found an offer for a plot measuring 420 m² (4,520 sq ft), and the house plan is already finalized. Our question is whether we should invest an additional 33,000 euros in building a solid construction house (massive house) with 190 m² (2,045 sq ft) of living space or not. The following questions are on my mind:
1.) I was told that achieving KfW 40 energy efficiency standard is not possible with a solid construction house. Why exactly is that?
2.) Is a solid construction house really more expensive? I have read everywhere that prefab houses are more costly.
3.) I find it hard to create a checklist comparing the advantages and disadvantages of the two building methods. In my mind, I only think: if there is a fire, I won’t have a house afterward. But how stable is wood compared to stone?
Could someone please help me with this?
Good luck
Yasemin
I have read a lot about this topic, but I’m still not any wiser. Here in Munich, we generally have the problem that plots of land are very scarce and expensive. Now we have found an offer for a plot measuring 420 m² (4,520 sq ft), and the house plan is already finalized. Our question is whether we should invest an additional 33,000 euros in building a solid construction house (massive house) with 190 m² (2,045 sq ft) of living space or not. The following questions are on my mind:
1.) I was told that achieving KfW 40 energy efficiency standard is not possible with a solid construction house. Why exactly is that?
2.) Is a solid construction house really more expensive? I have read everywhere that prefab houses are more costly.
3.) I find it hard to create a checklist comparing the advantages and disadvantages of the two building methods. In my mind, I only think: if there is a fire, I won’t have a house afterward. But how stable is wood compared to stone?
Could someone please help me with this?
Good luck
Yasemin
Hello,
as usual, at least two opinions will emerge here.
Some people swear by solidly built houses, others prefer prefabricated homes...
Okay, I belong to the first group. 😎
In my opinion, solid houses are not more expensive overall than prefabricated houses.
The former can be customized more easily, while prefabricated houses often incur additional costs.
Fire protection has already been mentioned and is probably overrated; personally, I feel more comfortable in a stone house.
KfW standards can certainly be met with both options, but whether it is absolutely necessary is questionable and should be decided individually.
The value retention or resale value is probably better with a solid house.
And what happens with possible later changes or repairs?
I also don’t believe prefabricated houses are built much faster.
Preparations (earthworks, foundation/slab or basement, building permit/planning permission, etc.) are the same for both.
The house itself can indeed be erected faster, but the final finishing work also takes a lot of time.
There are additional costs for crane and delivery as well.
Whether the time saved is really significant in practice should not be overestimated either.
As I said, this is all my personal opinion.
About 20 years ago, I built a solid terraced house without any problems.
Now I will again build solidly with a local general contractor.
Collect tips and experiences from the other participants and then make an overview with pros and cons of what is important for you personally.
Best regards, Olli
as usual, at least two opinions will emerge here.
Some people swear by solidly built houses, others prefer prefabricated homes...
Okay, I belong to the first group. 😎
In my opinion, solid houses are not more expensive overall than prefabricated houses.
The former can be customized more easily, while prefabricated houses often incur additional costs.
Fire protection has already been mentioned and is probably overrated; personally, I feel more comfortable in a stone house.
KfW standards can certainly be met with both options, but whether it is absolutely necessary is questionable and should be decided individually.
The value retention or resale value is probably better with a solid house.
And what happens with possible later changes or repairs?
I also don’t believe prefabricated houses are built much faster.
Preparations (earthworks, foundation/slab or basement, building permit/planning permission, etc.) are the same for both.
The house itself can indeed be erected faster, but the final finishing work also takes a lot of time.
There are additional costs for crane and delivery as well.
Whether the time saved is really significant in practice should not be overestimated either.
As I said, this is all my personal opinion.
About 20 years ago, I built a solid terraced house without any problems.
Now I will again build solidly with a local general contractor.
Collect tips and experiences from the other participants and then make an overview with pros and cons of what is important for you personally.
Best regards, Olli
W
WilderSueden3 Jan 2021 11:35Forget about saving time. With the larger manufacturers, it can easily take half a year or more until the house is assembled. The fact that production for your house only started a week before doesn’t really help you 😉
Interior finishing is quite similar. Sure, in a prefabricated house some wiring can be preinstalled, but overall that doesn’t make a big difference. Both types have lengthy processes like screed drying that require waiting. In short: a concrete (or masonry) builder usually takes longer but often starts earlier, while a prefab builder waits a long time and then assembles the house in about three days.
At first, we were quite focused on prefab houses, as they suggest being quick, affordable, budget-secure, and requiring little personal work. In reality, quality and features always come at a cost—cheap options are usually promotional houses with air heating. If you want to avoid that, the price goes up quickly. Changes to the floor plan are expensive. The promised “all-inclusive” care you expect from a prefab house vanishes once you see that the manufacturer wants nothing to do with the specific plot: no earthworks, no building permit/planning permission, construction power supply at the builder’s expense, and so on. The first thing you have to do after signing the contract is to go to the architect and spend quite a bit more money.
We are now leaning towards a local concrete (or masonry) builder who actually offers the package we originally hoped for from a prefab house. They handle earthworks, construction power, building permit/planning permission, and so forth, so we expect to have much better cost security than with the big prefab companies.
Interior finishing is quite similar. Sure, in a prefabricated house some wiring can be preinstalled, but overall that doesn’t make a big difference. Both types have lengthy processes like screed drying that require waiting. In short: a concrete (or masonry) builder usually takes longer but often starts earlier, while a prefab builder waits a long time and then assembles the house in about three days.
At first, we were quite focused on prefab houses, as they suggest being quick, affordable, budget-secure, and requiring little personal work. In reality, quality and features always come at a cost—cheap options are usually promotional houses with air heating. If you want to avoid that, the price goes up quickly. Changes to the floor plan are expensive. The promised “all-inclusive” care you expect from a prefab house vanishes once you see that the manufacturer wants nothing to do with the specific plot: no earthworks, no building permit/planning permission, construction power supply at the builder’s expense, and so on. The first thing you have to do after signing the contract is to go to the architect and spend quite a bit more money.
We are now leaning towards a local concrete (or masonry) builder who actually offers the package we originally hoped for from a prefab house. They handle earthworks, construction power, building permit/planning permission, and so forth, so we expect to have much better cost security than with the big prefab companies.
H
Hausbautraum203 Jan 2021 12:17I only know Hoffmann, like Allkauf Haus and Massa Haus, from some low listing prices on Immoscout. I’m not sure about Hoffmann, but for Allkauf Haus the plot of land usually wasn’t even available. At the moment, Hoffmann has several listings on Immoscout—do you mean one of those?
We received offers from "good" prefab house companies and the prices were almost the same. However, the KfW subsidy would have been more beneficial because the masonry builders mostly excluded KfW 40 standards.
With the price difference you had, we probably would have built a prefab house, but since the difference was only a low four-figure amount, we chose the masonry house.
But in the end, it really was just a gut feeling and a fear of the unknown. We were especially concerned about sound insulation.
By now, I know many people who definitely wanted a wooden house, so who knows how the resale value will look in 30 years.
We received offers from "good" prefab house companies and the prices were almost the same. However, the KfW subsidy would have been more beneficial because the masonry builders mostly excluded KfW 40 standards.
With the price difference you had, we probably would have built a prefab house, but since the difference was only a low four-figure amount, we chose the masonry house.
But in the end, it really was just a gut feeling and a fear of the unknown. We were especially concerned about sound insulation.
By now, I know many people who definitely wanted a wooden house, so who knows how the resale value will look in 30 years.
D
Daniel-Sp3 Jan 2021 12:19It is not generally true that custom designing a timber frame house (prefabricated house) is more expensive than building with solid construction. It really depends on the provider. Some only build their standard model homes, allowing at most interior walls to be moved—sometimes at no extra cost, sometimes with a significant surcharge. This applies to both solid construction and timber frame methods. There are providers that also offer fully custom designs, for both solid and timber frame construction. Standard or catalog homes tend to be cheaper because, for example, the structural engineering is calculated once and not redone for every individual house. With custom planning, it has to be done anew each time, which naturally adds costs. This is true of both solid and timber frame construction.
The deciding factor is indeed the choice of the general contractor (GC). If they only build catalog homes, then that’s how it is. When we were at Viebrockhaus, we were told not to request too many changes because it should still be recognizable as a Viebrock house...
In the end, we hired an architect and had a GC build a timber frame house who does not offer catalog homes—that kind of option does exist.
The main cost drivers are individuality and quality, in both solid construction and timber frame building. In both construction methods, compromises can be made in these areas to save money. I believe there aren’t major price differences between timber frame and solid construction in this regard. But @11ant can probably provide more insight here.
Putting that aside, you mentioned the house design is finalized. Is there a binding building contract?
We had a real estate agent who repeatedly offered us plots of land—each one included a pre-designed urban villa, "custom and specifically adapted to the plot," always planned with the same GC. Curiously, it was always exactly the same urban villa on plots facing different directions. The agent’s commission was somewhat below average, but there would have been a considerable fee payable for the “custom” design work done by the agent. Strange times we live in...
The deciding factor is indeed the choice of the general contractor (GC). If they only build catalog homes, then that’s how it is. When we were at Viebrockhaus, we were told not to request too many changes because it should still be recognizable as a Viebrock house...
In the end, we hired an architect and had a GC build a timber frame house who does not offer catalog homes—that kind of option does exist.
The main cost drivers are individuality and quality, in both solid construction and timber frame building. In both construction methods, compromises can be made in these areas to save money. I believe there aren’t major price differences between timber frame and solid construction in this regard. But @11ant can probably provide more insight here.
Putting that aside, you mentioned the house design is finalized. Is there a binding building contract?
We had a real estate agent who repeatedly offered us plots of land—each one included a pre-designed urban villa, "custom and specifically adapted to the plot," always planned with the same GC. Curiously, it was always exactly the same urban villa on plots facing different directions. The agent’s commission was somewhat below average, but there would have been a considerable fee payable for the “custom” design work done by the agent. Strange times we live in...
D
Daniel-Sp3 Jan 2021 12:27Hausbautraum20 schrieb:
I know quite a few people who absolutely wanted a wooden house, so who knows how the resale value will look in 30 years. This certainly depends a lot on the region and how land prices develop. For us, a 30-year-old house only partly determines the purchase price. Land is so expensive and scarce that beyond a certain age, the existing house hardly influences the value anymore. How it will be in 30 years? No idea! But we built for our family now, not with a resale in 30 years in mind...
A
allstar833 Jan 2021 12:36Daniel-Sp schrieb:
The idea that customizing a timber frame house (prefabricated house) is always more expensive than building with solid construction isn’t generally true. It really depends a lot on the provider. There isn’t actually that much wood involved... More drywall and insulation.
With solid construction, the question is also what exactly “solid” means. Aerated concrete isn’t really stone but a building material.
I think prefab houses are less stressful because a lot is fixed and defined upfront. I’m currently shoveling snow and water out of the shell every day... So you do look at prefab houses a bit enviously. However, that’s what we wanted (also still do now).
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