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
@ DerDa
That couldn’t be avoided. 🙂
Originally, we planned to buy an existing property. That would have made things easier. Buy a good used home, renovate it, have a child, and that’s it. But since there was nothing suitable on the real estate market, it’s going to be a new build.
We pushed the plumbing wholesaler to at least provide an initial consultation, which resulted in a rough bathroom layout. However, they couldn’t confirm whether it would be technically feasible. We have now sent this rough plan to the architect so they can check feasibility and incorporate it without any extra cost to us. Since we haven’t received any pricing yet, we don’t know if what we have chosen fits into our additional plumbing budget. Our budget is somewhat smaller than your 400,000.
That couldn’t be avoided. 🙂
Originally, we planned to buy an existing property. That would have made things easier. Buy a good used home, renovate it, have a child, and that’s it. But since there was nothing suitable on the real estate market, it’s going to be a new build.
We pushed the plumbing wholesaler to at least provide an initial consultation, which resulted in a rough bathroom layout. However, they couldn’t confirm whether it would be technically feasible. We have now sent this rough plan to the architect so they can check feasibility and incorporate it without any extra cost to us. Since we haven’t received any pricing yet, we don’t know if what we have chosen fits into our additional plumbing budget. Our budget is somewhat smaller than your 400,000.
B
Bauqualle14 Jun 2013 17:46Musketier schrieb:
I suspect that something is being deliberately delayed here because the company is building at least nine houses in the newly developed residential area. While it’s not a very small company, building nine houses at once is quite a lot... you are looking at this way too narrowly and are only focused on your own house. Having nine houses in one development is actually a huge advantage for you, since all the tradespeople are always "on site," and the professionals are familiar with the project... so just stay very, very relaxed...B
Bauexperte14 Jun 2013 18:16Hello Musketier,
That is indeed an organizational challenge, even for a larger provider :-)
The basic framework for the sanitary rough installation is fixed; whether the bathroom is positioned 30cm (12 inches) to the right or left doesn’t depend on a specific tradesperson and can therefore be incorporated relatively easily into the detailed plans by the later plumbing contractor … as far as technically possible and practically reasonable.
Didn’t your sales representative inform you about the essential preparations?
Just arrange the standpipe and construction electricity meter through your utility provider. That way, you can avoid any statements like “We can’t start because there is no water or electricity at the construction site” in advance :-)
This usually takes place before construction starts or at the latest during the shell construction phase, since the plumbing contractor is almost the first one involved in the interior work who has to carry out their trade – the rough installation. By that time, it should be clear where the sanitary fixtures will be installed.
No matter who writes “supposedly important” or “wise” things here — don’t let yourself be intimidated and stay engaged. It’s never wrong for the builder to make it clear from the start that they are dealing with a smart person, someone who doesn’t just let everything happen, someone who thinks along. Don’t push aggressively into confrontation, but show presence and a willingness to compromise in ways both parties can accept. Then your building project will work out well.
And finally: the phase you are currently in is commonly the time when all builders get restless, as they are obviously waiting for construction to begin … often feeling like it’s been a long time already … a really long time :-) You’ll feel that way again once the screed is laid, because then almost nothing happens … absolutely nothing … nada :-) Meaning, you’ll need to keep a bit of patience and calm too 😉
Best regards, Bauexperte
Musketier schrieb:
It’s not exactly a small company, but having 9 houses at the same time seems like a lot to me.
That is indeed an organizational challenge, even for a larger provider :-)
Musketier schrieb:
The specialist company hasn’t been decided yet. But how can detailed plans be made if, for example, the water/sewage layout changes again due to bathroom planning?
The basic framework for the sanitary rough installation is fixed; whether the bathroom is positioned 30cm (12 inches) to the right or left doesn’t depend on a specific tradesperson and can therefore be incorporated relatively easily into the detailed plans by the later plumbing contractor … as far as technically possible and practically reasonable.
Musketier schrieb:
The next topic is construction electricity/water.
Now, in my opinion, you need construction power and water as soon as possible. But again, no information like “You urgently need to do this … if we want to start in July.”
Didn’t your sales representative inform you about the essential preparations?
Just arrange the standpipe and construction electricity meter through your utility provider. That way, you can avoid any statements like “We can’t start because there is no water or electricity at the construction site” in advance :-)
Musketier schrieb:
When did you do the sanitary material selection?
This usually takes place before construction starts or at the latest during the shell construction phase, since the plumbing contractor is almost the first one involved in the interior work who has to carry out their trade – the rough installation. By that time, it should be clear where the sanitary fixtures will be installed.
No matter who writes “supposedly important” or “wise” things here — don’t let yourself be intimidated and stay engaged. It’s never wrong for the builder to make it clear from the start that they are dealing with a smart person, someone who doesn’t just let everything happen, someone who thinks along. Don’t push aggressively into confrontation, but show presence and a willingness to compromise in ways both parties can accept. Then your building project will work out well.
And finally: the phase you are currently in is commonly the time when all builders get restless, as they are obviously waiting for construction to begin … often feeling like it’s been a long time already … a really long time :-) You’ll feel that way again once the screed is laid, because then almost nothing happens … absolutely nothing … nada :-) Meaning, you’ll need to keep a bit of patience and calm too 😉
Best regards, Bauexperte
B
Bauexperte14 Jun 2013 18:17Hello,
Regards, Bauexperte
Bauqualle schrieb:With all due respect, a rather foolish statement 🙄
.. you see everything way too narrowly and are only focused on your own house, ...
Regards, Bauexperte
Hello Building Expert,
thank you very much for the information.
I agree, especially since it has already come up a few times in conversations, and now they have even placed an office container for additional staff in front of headquarters.
We did not just shift it by 30 cm (12 inches), but completely rethought the entire bathroom design. However, most of the water supply and drainage systems, including the walk-in shower, should remain as originally planned. Only the toilet was moved to a different wall. Since the utility room is below, that should actually work. At least that’s my assumption as a layperson.
At some point, that surely was a topic—what we needed to do—but not with specific dates or anything like that. Those conversations took place almost a year ago.
My wife spoke to the responsible electrician yesterday and completed the application for electricity and temporary power. Water supply is probably the bigger issue, since there are only three hydrants for 54 building plots. However, the construction company will try to find a solution, because nine houses do not require nine separate connections. She also inquired about the current status. Apparently, they are not as far along with the detailed planning as we had thought.
I am rather the calm one. My wife is a bit different, but she has already learned to be a bit more relaxed during the land purchase and the long winter. 😉
Best regards, Musketier
thank you very much for the information.
Bauexperte schrieb:
That is an organizational challenge even for a larger provider :-)
I agree, especially since it has already come up a few times in conversations, and now they have even placed an office container for additional staff in front of headquarters.
Bauexperte schrieb:
The basic framework for the sanitary rough-in is set; whether the bathroom is located 30 cm (12 inches) further to the right or left does not depend on any particular tradesperson and can therefore be easily incorporated into the detailed plans by the later plumbing contractor ... as far as technically possible and practically sensible.
We did not just shift it by 30 cm (12 inches), but completely rethought the entire bathroom design. However, most of the water supply and drainage systems, including the walk-in shower, should remain as originally planned. Only the toilet was moved to a different wall. Since the utility room is below, that should actually work. At least that’s my assumption as a layperson.
Bauexperte schrieb:
Didn’t your sales representative inform you about the essential preparations?
At some point, that surely was a topic—what we needed to do—but not with specific dates or anything like that. Those conversations took place almost a year ago.
Bauexperte schrieb:
Just get the standpipe and temporary electricity meter through your utility provider. That way you can avoid excuses like “We can’t start because there’s no water or power on site” beforehand :-)
My wife spoke to the responsible electrician yesterday and completed the application for electricity and temporary power. Water supply is probably the bigger issue, since there are only three hydrants for 54 building plots. However, the construction company will try to find a solution, because nine houses do not require nine separate connections. She also inquired about the current status. Apparently, they are not as far along with the detailed planning as we had thought.
Bauexperte schrieb:Thank you for the good advice. I will try to take it into account.
No matter who “apparently important” people write something “smart”—don’t be intimidated and stay on top of things. It’s never wrong if the builder’s representative knows from the start that you are a knowledgeable person, someone who doesn’t let everything be dictated, someone who thinks ahead. Don’t force confrontation at any cost, but show presence and willingness to find compromises that both sides can live with. Then your building project will work out.
Bauexperte schrieb:
And finally: the phase you are currently in is typically when all homeowners get restless, because they are obviously waiting for the construction to start ... for what feels like a long time .... quite a while :-) You’ll feel the same when the screed is in place, because then very little to nothing happens .... absolutely nothing .... nada :-) In other words, you have to keep some calmness yourself 😉
I am rather the calm one. My wife is a bit different, but she has already learned to be a bit more relaxed during the land purchase and the long winter. 😉
Best regards, Musketier
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