Hello,
we are slowly entering the final phase.
The building permit / planning permission is approved, the plot has been paid for, detailed plans are currently being created, and the selections for the house and tiles have been completed. Only the bathroom design and sanitary selections at the wholesaler are still outstanding.
What bothers me somewhat about our general contractor is the poor communication regarding the process, basically "When do I do/apply for what?" I suspect that this is deliberately delayed since the company is building at least nine houses in this newly developed residential area. While it is not a very small company, building nine houses at the same time seems like a lot to me.
Maybe we are just moving too fast and the information would have come later anyway. We wanted to complete the selections now because a new baby is expected next month. However, this was difficult for the sanitary fittings since planning and selections are done through the wholesaler, and we can only get pricing information via a specialized plumbing company. But that company has not yet been appointed. How can detailed plans be finalized if, for example, the water and wastewater routing changes again during bathroom planning?
The next topic is temporary construction power and water supply.
The application deadline for building permits was recently extended until mid-August. We did not own the plot until now because the development area was not yet completed. Everything indicated that construction would only start in September.
Then suddenly things moved quickly. The building permit / planning permission has now been approved, the plot is completed and has been paid for, and so forth. All the prerequisites for starting construction have thus been met. According to the contract, the builder now has one month before construction starts.
From my point of view, temporary construction power and water are needed as soon as possible. But again, no information like "You urgently need to do this if you want to start in July."
What are your experiences in this regard?
Did you have a checklist or a schedule to help you with timing?
When did you do your sanitary selections?
Best regards
we are slowly entering the final phase.
The building permit / planning permission is approved, the plot has been paid for, detailed plans are currently being created, and the selections for the house and tiles have been completed. Only the bathroom design and sanitary selections at the wholesaler are still outstanding.
What bothers me somewhat about our general contractor is the poor communication regarding the process, basically "When do I do/apply for what?" I suspect that this is deliberately delayed since the company is building at least nine houses in this newly developed residential area. While it is not a very small company, building nine houses at the same time seems like a lot to me.
Maybe we are just moving too fast and the information would have come later anyway. We wanted to complete the selections now because a new baby is expected next month. However, this was difficult for the sanitary fittings since planning and selections are done through the wholesaler, and we can only get pricing information via a specialized plumbing company. But that company has not yet been appointed. How can detailed plans be finalized if, for example, the water and wastewater routing changes again during bathroom planning?
The next topic is temporary construction power and water supply.
The application deadline for building permits was recently extended until mid-August. We did not own the plot until now because the development area was not yet completed. Everything indicated that construction would only start in September.
Then suddenly things moved quickly. The building permit / planning permission has now been approved, the plot is completed and has been paid for, and so forth. All the prerequisites for starting construction have thus been met. According to the contract, the builder now has one month before construction starts.
From my point of view, temporary construction power and water are needed as soon as possible. But again, no information like "You urgently need to do this if you want to start in July."
What are your experiences in this regard?
Did you have a checklist or a schedule to help you with timing?
When did you do your sanitary selections?
Best regards
🙂 Hello Musketier,
we had the same experiences regarding schedules. We had our building permit / planning permission, and in the meantime, we needed to arrange for construction water and electricity. We did that, and the supply was set up on time after the frost period. It wasn’t easy because even the licensed utility providers are under "construction stress." You end up in a waiting loop of about 3-4 weeks, so check with the general contractor (GC)!
They can’t start beforehand.
After the permit, the detailed execution plans (1:50) were delayed. These need to be signed. Then more waiting – everyone wants to start quickly, but the GCs apparently shuffle projects back and forth 😉 The GCs usually don’t report anything bad; if you expect this, it’s not so bad 😀
Finally, the site manager came to our plot with the excavator operator and mason. Then they said the surveyor had to measure the house first... another week of waiting...
We chose plumbing fixtures and tiles during the permit waiting time. We have one bathroom where the elements aren’t moved around anymore but have already been located in a rough plan. It should not be a problem, for example, to shift the sink by 30cm (12 inches) left or right... We don’t yet have an offer for the selected sanitary fixtures, nor any contact with the individual trades. That will probably come after the topping-out ceremony.
You can read more about our waiting frustration on our construction blog, linked here in the forum 🙂
we had the same experiences regarding schedules. We had our building permit / planning permission, and in the meantime, we needed to arrange for construction water and electricity. We did that, and the supply was set up on time after the frost period. It wasn’t easy because even the licensed utility providers are under "construction stress." You end up in a waiting loop of about 3-4 weeks, so check with the general contractor (GC)!
They can’t start beforehand.
After the permit, the detailed execution plans (1:50) were delayed. These need to be signed. Then more waiting – everyone wants to start quickly, but the GCs apparently shuffle projects back and forth 😉 The GCs usually don’t report anything bad; if you expect this, it’s not so bad 😀
Finally, the site manager came to our plot with the excavator operator and mason. Then they said the surveyor had to measure the house first... another week of waiting...
We chose plumbing fixtures and tiles during the permit waiting time. We have one bathroom where the elements aren’t moved around anymore but have already been located in a rough plan. It should not be a problem, for example, to shift the sink by 30cm (12 inches) left or right... We don’t yet have an offer for the selected sanitary fixtures, nor any contact with the individual trades. That will probably come after the topping-out ceremony.
You can read more about our waiting frustration on our construction blog, linked here in the forum 🙂
I’m glad to hear it’s not just us experiencing this. The seller is no longer really responsible, the construction manager hasn’t been assigned yet, and I think the employed architect is currently overwhelmed.
I’ve checked your building blog several times already, as well as some others from this forum like Nordanney’s. When reading posts, you want to know how far others have progressed. 🙂
I have also thought about starting a blog like that. But besides the construction topic, you also have to take care of everything for the child.
ypg schrieb:
You can find more details about our waiting frustrations on our building blog, which is also linked here in the forum 🙂
I’ve checked your building blog several times already, as well as some others from this forum like Nordanney’s. When reading posts, you want to know how far others have progressed. 🙂
I have also thought about starting a blog like that. But besides the construction topic, you also have to take care of everything for the child.
Musketier schrieb:
I’m glad to hear it’s not just the same with us. The salesperson is no longer really responsible, the construction manager hasn’t been assigned yet, and the employed architect seems to be completely overwhelmed at the moment. It’s the same situation for us. At first, we were still emailing with the salesperson until the architect advised us to use the official email address for all communication. Now it seems the construction manager is handling the discussions... after the topping-out ceremony, the architect will probably get in touch to schedule when the plumbing and other trades will arrive 😉
Musketier schrieb:
I’ve already looked at your building blog several times. Also at some others here on the forum, like Nordanney for example. You want to know how far others are along when you read their posts. Oh, I should check to see if I can find it too... he writes a lot 🙂
Musketier schrieb:
I’ve also thought about starting a blog like that. But besides building, I also had to get everything ready for the child. Well, that’s another wonderful anticipation to look forward to. Just wait until the baby is born and start the blog if you have trouble sleeping at night 😉 Photos are really important! The internet is a much better place for them... before your hard drive crashes one day 😀
Hehe, good luck and stay patient. I definitely wouldn’t take on a child and building a house at the same time anymore 🙂
Temporary construction power was arranged and connected for us within a week. However, first you need a provider who won’t try to overcharge you and is actually authorized to do it.
Construction water shouldn’t be a problem; you just need a water meter installed on the water connection.
When selecting your finishes and fixtures, you will probably have to expect additional costs if you don’t yet have all the details from your plumbing contractor. In our case, changes after the selections were very expensive.
If you don’t use the plumbing services from the general contractor, they will definitely charge extra there as well.
Temporary construction power was arranged and connected for us within a week. However, first you need a provider who won’t try to overcharge you and is actually authorized to do it.
Construction water shouldn’t be a problem; you just need a water meter installed on the water connection.
When selecting your finishes and fixtures, you will probably have to expect additional costs if you don’t yet have all the details from your plumbing contractor. In our case, changes after the selections were very expensive.
If you don’t use the plumbing services from the general contractor, they will definitely charge extra there as well.