ᐅ Average Construction Time for a Semi-Detached House with a Basement

Hello everyone,

The question might not be 100% answerable.
However, I’m interested in how long you (or others’ experiences) have found the completion of a house typically takes.
A brief overview of the details:

Semi-detached house, 7 x 12 m (23 x 39 feet) measured externally
Basement approx. 70 sqm (750 sqft)
Ground floor approx. 70 sqm (750 sqft)
Attic approx. 70 sqm (750 sqft)
Flat roof with green roofing
One pellet heating system for all four houses

Two semi-detached houses are being built.

The desired date from the builder was given as June 30, 2014, but contractually the project must not take longer than September 30, 2014, otherwise compensation will be due.

What is your experience regarding how long a build generally takes, assuming a normal winter?
As of yesterday, the waterproof concrete basement (“white tank”) for house 4 has started.

The problem is that we have to vacate our condominium by August 30, 2014, where we still currently live.

Looking forward to your responses.

Hello,

italiano83 schrieb:

However, the contract states that it must not last longer than September 30th, otherwise compensation is due.
Work on the white tank (waterproof concrete basement) started yesterday at House 4.
The problem is that we have to vacate our condominium, where we still live, by August 30th, 2014.

I don’t have a crystal ball regarding the upcoming winter... but your question has basically already been answered. You have a written contract promising September 30th, 2014. If your builder actually needs until September 2014, then you made a bad deal, and, well, I’d say that’s a very long time... do they still need to dismantle the bricks?

How can anyone with a clear mind sign such contracts 😕

Regards, Bauexperte

I also thought that it is quite a long time. All the other offers we had reviewed before promised a construction period of 6 to 8 months, but 14 months would be a complete disaster. On the other hand, it reduces the risk of poor workmanship since there is no pressure to rush, although that is of course no guarantee.

What else could we have done regarding the contract? Then we would have had to let the project die.

No, staying an extra month isn’t possible. I sold my condominium to a woman who is using the Wohnriester program, so she has to live in the apartment herself within a maximum of 12 months after the payment (purchase price paid on 15.9.13). Otherwise, she loses her subsidy.

In the meantime, as I said, we are renting my own apartment 😀

In the worst case, we would have to move into a holiday apartment for one month. That wouldn’t be a problem since we don’t need to take much furniture with us—we are completely redoing the house anyway. We’re coming from a two-room apartment, so it wouldn’t be stressful.
We’ll take the couch, TV, and bed with us. All the other furniture, like the walk-in closet, office furniture, kitchen, and dining table, will be newly purchased.

We took the risk because we didn’t realize it would actually take this long.
By the way, the compensation after September is 1200 euros per month.

Since we are really looking forward to the house, I wanted to know if it normally goes faster for other users based on their experience.

If we’re lucky and everything goes according to plan, it could be finished by May, right? 🙂
That’s why I was interested in your construction times to get a rough idea.

italiano83 schrieb:
No, staying one month longer is not possible. I sold my condominium to a woman who uses the residential Riester subsidy, and she must live in the apartment herself within a maximum of 12 months after the payment (purchase price paid on 15.9.13), or else she loses her subsidy.
Until then, as I said, we are renting my own apartment 😀

In the worst case, we would have to move into a holiday apartment for one month. That wouldn’t even be a problem since we don’t need to take much furniture with us, as we plan to completely refurnish the new house. We are moving from a two-room apartment, so it wouldn’t be stressful.
We will bring the couch, TV, and bed. All other furniture, like the wardrobe, desk, kitchen, dining table, etc., will be newly purchased anyway.

We took the risk because we can’t imagine it really taking that long.
By the way, the compensation after September is 1200 euros monthly.
Since the excitement about the house is obviously so great, I wanted to know if, based on your experiences, it usually goes faster for others.

If we are lucky and everything goes according to plan, it could be finished by May, right? 🙂
That’s why I’m interested in your construction times, so I can have an approximate reference.

Let’s see if the building expert can pull out the crystal ball right away 😎 Well, the Riester representative will come and inspect........... :o Otherwise, you will have everything arranged then

He should wipe them off again beforehand to remove any dust 😀