ᐅ Project: Single-family house with double garage in the Lower Rhine region
Created on: 12 Jun 2020 14:57
A
ArthHaus
Hello everyone,
I would like to use this thread to share our building project with you and also to ask some questions.
I have been following this forum for over six months now and have already gathered many useful ideas.
First, a bit about us:
My partner, 25 years old, and I, 28, bought a plot of land at the beginning of 2019 in a neighboring village. It is 1000 m² (about 10,764 sq ft), 90 €/m² (approximately $90 per square meter), additional costs are covered from our own equity, and 90,000 € (about $90,000) is variably pre-financed through our bank. The land is a free building plot within the village area, with a farmyard on the right, another single-family house on the left, and fields behind. The garden faces north. The local development plan allows for our planned build.
Requirements for our house:
After initial discussions with regional general contractors (GCs), developers, and other builders, the offers and price indications were all quite vague, and without suitable drafts, most GCs wouldn’t proceed further or their offers were far from what we actually wanted. We do not want a prefab house. Large concrete construction companies like Viebrockhaus also didn’t convince us.
On the recommendation of several GCs, we decided to commission a recommended architect to create the designs (services phases 1–4). This is now nearing completion, and based on the designs, we have requested suitable offers from local GCs for our project. I would now like to share the cost breakdown from our preferred GC and also compare it to the architect’s cost estimate. The GC has an excellent reputation in the area and, according to the architect, is somewhat more expensive than competitors. However, they consistently deliver high-quality work with minimal stress for the client. We had a very good feeling during the initial meetings, and everything has been very transparent.
(All figures are rounded slightly up or down from the original offer. We have all the detailed offers from the individual trades the GC works with, so we know exactly what we are getting for the money. For this first look, I do not want to list all details here.)
Architect
General Contractor (GC)
Painting work and landscaping will be done by ourselves.
This brings us, including the remaining mortgage on the land and some buffer, to about 500,000 € (approximately $500,000) for the entire project.
This was the limit we set at the start, and I think it is realistically achievable with this GC. Basically, we have internally decided on this GC already, but I want to share this breakdown here for discussion, and I am happy to answer any questions. I will continue to update this thread with current information.
PS: Unfortunately, I am not allowed to publish the architectural designs yet. Once I can, I will share them. Thanks to the many planning threads here in the forum, I have already spotted many potential mistakes.
Best regards!
I would like to use this thread to share our building project with you and also to ask some questions.
I have been following this forum for over six months now and have already gathered many useful ideas.
First, a bit about us:
My partner, 25 years old, and I, 28, bought a plot of land at the beginning of 2019 in a neighboring village. It is 1000 m² (about 10,764 sq ft), 90 €/m² (approximately $90 per square meter), additional costs are covered from our own equity, and 90,000 € (about $90,000) is variably pre-financed through our bank. The land is a free building plot within the village area, with a farmyard on the right, another single-family house on the left, and fields behind. The garden faces north. The local development plan allows for our planned build.
Requirements for our house:
- Approximately 170 m² (about 1,830 sq ft) of living space
- Two full stories
- Hipped roof
- Brick cladding
- Double garage
- Ground-source heat pump and mechanical ventilation for indoor air
- KfW 55 energy standard
- Ground floor (open plan kitchen-living-dining area, office with two workstations, utility/technical room, bathroom with shower, access from utility room to garage)
- Upper floor (two children’s rooms, master bedroom with walk-in closet, bathroom with shower, bathtub, and double sinks, laundry room for washing/ironing)
After initial discussions with regional general contractors (GCs), developers, and other builders, the offers and price indications were all quite vague, and without suitable drafts, most GCs wouldn’t proceed further or their offers were far from what we actually wanted. We do not want a prefab house. Large concrete construction companies like Viebrockhaus also didn’t convince us.
On the recommendation of several GCs, we decided to commission a recommended architect to create the designs (services phases 1–4). This is now nearing completion, and based on the designs, we have requested suitable offers from local GCs for our project. I would now like to share the cost breakdown from our preferred GC and also compare it to the architect’s cost estimate. The GC has an excellent reputation in the area and, according to the architect, is somewhat more expensive than competitors. However, they consistently deliver high-quality work with minimal stress for the client. We had a very good feeling during the initial meetings, and everything has been very transparent.
(All figures are rounded slightly up or down from the original offer. We have all the detailed offers from the individual trades the GC works with, so we know exactly what we are getting for the money. For this first look, I do not want to list all details here.)
Architect
| House (167 m² at 2010 €/m²) | 335,700 € |
| Garage (47 m² at 585 €/m²) | 27,495 € |
| Additional costs (architect, structural engineer, authorities, survey, KfW support, safety coordinator, utility connections, soil survey, landscaping, etc.) | 35,000 € |
| Total | 398,195 € |
General Contractor (GC)
| Shell construction (calcium silicate blocks, brick cladding, concrete staircase, earthworks, sewage system) | 170,000 € |
| Roof (clay tiles) | 30,000 € |
| Windows, front door, electric blinds, terrace sliding door, window sills | 35,000 € |
| Heating, deep drilling, ventilation, plumbing, wastewater | 59,000 € |
| Electrical, satellite system, blind controls, network | 11,500 € |
| Interior plaster | 13,000 € |
| Screed | 5,000 € |
| Roof insulation and walkable attic insulation | 7,000 € |
| Tiles (all floors tiled/baseboard, bathrooms tiled floor to ceiling, tiles own contribution 30 €/m²) | 24,000 € |
| Metalwork (stainless steel/glass railings) | 5,800 € |
| Interior doors | 4,600 € |
| Sealing of windows/bricks | 1,500 € |
| Painting preparation (wallcovering without painting work) | 4,000 € |
| Total | 370,400 € |
| 2231 €/m² |
| Additional costs (architect, energy performance certificate, structural engineer, safety coordinator, efficiency house support, blower door test) | 20,000 € |
| Other additional costs (authorities, landscaping, etc.) | 20,000 € |
| Total house costs | 410,000 € |
| KfW 55 subsidy (efficiency house support, heating, mechanical ventilation, etc.) | 30,000 € |
Painting work and landscaping will be done by ourselves.
This brings us, including the remaining mortgage on the land and some buffer, to about 500,000 € (approximately $500,000) for the entire project.
This was the limit we set at the start, and I think it is realistically achievable with this GC. Basically, we have internally decided on this GC already, but I want to share this breakdown here for discussion, and I am happy to answer any questions. I will continue to update this thread with current information.
PS: Unfortunately, I am not allowed to publish the architectural designs yet. Once I can, I will share them. Thanks to the many planning threads here in the forum, I have already spotted many potential mistakes.
Best regards!
H
Hausbau MG24 Jan 2021 22:58Hello everyone,
After following and learning from this forum since last autumn, I would like to take the opportunity to join the discussion now that we have secured a plot of land.
Thank you very much for starting this thread and congratulations on your great building project! Wonderful plot, beautiful house, good features, reliable partners – we’ll take your house :-).
Joking aside, we can also imagine proceeding as you did: planning with an architect and then building with a general contractor. The challenge is just finding the right architect and general contractor, which we find extremely difficult!
We are from Mönchengladbach, so this might be a great fit. Could you please send me the name of the architect and general contractor by email?
sebastian.ms@gmx.de
We’d really appreciate it and look forward to hearing from you.
Best regards,
Sebastian
After following and learning from this forum since last autumn, I would like to take the opportunity to join the discussion now that we have secured a plot of land.
Thank you very much for starting this thread and congratulations on your great building project! Wonderful plot, beautiful house, good features, reliable partners – we’ll take your house :-).
Joking aside, we can also imagine proceeding as you did: planning with an architect and then building with a general contractor. The challenge is just finding the right architect and general contractor, which we find extremely difficult!
We are from Mönchengladbach, so this might be a great fit. Could you please send me the name of the architect and general contractor by email?
sebastian.ms@gmx.de
We’d really appreciate it and look forward to hearing from you.
Best regards,
Sebastian
Hello Sebastian,
sorry for the late reply.
Unfortunately, the name of the general contractor (GC) and architect wouldn’t help you much, as the GC only works regionally (within about 30 km / 20 miles), and Mönchengladbach is roughly 80 km (50 miles) too far away...
Since every GC plans somewhat differently, it’s definitely a challenge to find the right partner. We paid close attention to the local reputation and visited houses built by the GCs. If a GC has successfully completed good projects in the past, the chances are higher that they will handle your own project well. If I were you, I would keep an eye on ongoing construction projects and simply inquire with the companies listed on-site if you like what’s being built. Order and cleanliness on the construction site already say a lot about the GC. Through the GC, we then found the right architect, so everything came together really well.
I wish you the best of luck with your building project and thank you for the congratulations 🙂
Best regards
sorry for the late reply.
Unfortunately, the name of the general contractor (GC) and architect wouldn’t help you much, as the GC only works regionally (within about 30 km / 20 miles), and Mönchengladbach is roughly 80 km (50 miles) too far away...
Since every GC plans somewhat differently, it’s definitely a challenge to find the right partner. We paid close attention to the local reputation and visited houses built by the GCs. If a GC has successfully completed good projects in the past, the chances are higher that they will handle your own project well. If I were you, I would keep an eye on ongoing construction projects and simply inquire with the companies listed on-site if you like what’s being built. Order and cleanliness on the construction site already say a lot about the GC. Through the GC, we then found the right architect, so everything came together really well.
I wish you the best of luck with your building project and thank you for the congratulations 🙂
Best regards
BackSteinGotik schrieb:
Thank you for the update. Should the cost of 535,000€ be understood as the total cost in relation to the initially mentioned 500,000€ in the original post? Hello BackSteinGotik,
The 500,000€ was based on the first estimate from the general contractor and their partners. After reviewing all trades and using current 2020/2021 prices, the total increased to 535,000€.
Additionally, some upgrades were made in areas such as plumbing, windows/front door, interior doors, etc.
Currently, the groundworks and strip foundations are completed, and work is continuing with the slab foundation.
Best regards!
L
Lisandy_KW19 Apr 2021 14:21Hello ArthHaus,
your dream house is very similar to ours! We live in the Wesel district and have a plot of land here. At the moment, we are contacting various prefab home manufacturers as well as solid construction providers and comparing their offers. Next, we would like to explore the option of working with an architect or a general contractor. Could you tell me the name of the general contractor? I hope the location will be suitable. (hausbau@beier-voerde.de)
Thank you very much and continued success 🙂
Best regards
Lisanne
your dream house is very similar to ours! We live in the Wesel district and have a plot of land here. At the moment, we are contacting various prefab home manufacturers as well as solid construction providers and comparing their offers. Next, we would like to explore the option of working with an architect or a general contractor. Could you tell me the name of the general contractor? I hope the location will be suitable. (hausbau@beier-voerde.de)
Thank you very much and continued success 🙂
Best regards
Lisanne
Lisandy_KW schrieb:
Currently, we are checking out various prefab home manufacturers as well as solid construction providers and comparing their offers.On what basis are you actually requesting these offers?Lisandy_KW schrieb:
Next, we want to explore the option of an architect or a general contractor.Isn’t that a bit the wrong order?https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
K
Klappradl19 Apr 2021 18:59ArthHaus schrieb:
At the beginning of 2019, I bought a plot of land in a neighboring village. 1000 m² (10,764 sq ft), 90 €/m² (90 €/10.76 sq ft), Now I actually had to fire up BORIS BRW to check if and where that is still available.
And lo and behold, it still seems possible.
🙂
Good luck with the construction.
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