ᐅ House Construction Planning: Solid Brick and Mortar House or Prefabricated House? With or Without a Basement?
Created on: 1 Jun 2021 18:18
R
RomanoD.
Hello everyone,
We have been researching house building for a year now and have been feeling quite uncertain throughout the process.
Basically, we need to be mindful of the budget when building.
However, we would prefer a traditional masonry house, preferably with a basement.
We honestly don’t know where to really start to find a clear direction for ourselves.
For a year now, we have been struggling with different bits of information and still don’t know which way to go.
The house should be a smart home with all related features (definitely no wireless).
It should also be possible to retrofit if, for example, a power outlet or something similar is forgotten during construction.
We basically want a basement to keep the technology, heating system, and storage space separate from the living areas.
We won’t need an attic then.
We also want a modern open-plan living, dining, and kitchen area on the ground floor, along with a guest room.
The upper floor should have the bedroom, a walk-in closet, a large bathroom, and two offices (we will not have children).
The garage should be accessible from inside the house (either through the basement or an extension).
The house will be built in the Saxony-Anhalt region.
The total usable floor area, including bathrooms and basement, should be between 200 and 300 square meters (2,150 - 3,230 square feet).
We have many wishes, but we really don’t know where to start and currently have more questions than answers.
We are looking for an online community where we can exchange ideas and experiences with others.
Is this the right place for that?
If not, does anyone know where we might be better off?
Best regards, Maxi and Romano.
We have been researching house building for a year now and have been feeling quite uncertain throughout the process.
Basically, we need to be mindful of the budget when building.
However, we would prefer a traditional masonry house, preferably with a basement.
We honestly don’t know where to really start to find a clear direction for ourselves.
For a year now, we have been struggling with different bits of information and still don’t know which way to go.
The house should be a smart home with all related features (definitely no wireless).
It should also be possible to retrofit if, for example, a power outlet or something similar is forgotten during construction.
We basically want a basement to keep the technology, heating system, and storage space separate from the living areas.
We won’t need an attic then.
We also want a modern open-plan living, dining, and kitchen area on the ground floor, along with a guest room.
The upper floor should have the bedroom, a walk-in closet, a large bathroom, and two offices (we will not have children).
The garage should be accessible from inside the house (either through the basement or an extension).
The house will be built in the Saxony-Anhalt region.
The total usable floor area, including bathrooms and basement, should be between 200 and 300 square meters (2,150 - 3,230 square feet).
We have many wishes, but we really don’t know where to start and currently have more questions than answers.
We are looking for an online community where we can exchange ideas and experiences with others.
Is this the right place for that?
If not, does anyone know where we might be better off?
Best regards, Maxi and Romano.
untergasse438 Jun 2021 13:55RomanoD. schrieb:
Land prices are really negligible here in terms of cost.At the mentioned price, the land isn’t included at all. The 2500 € per square meter refers to a standard house with standard equipment.RomanoD. schrieb:
Referring to what exactly? ^^The price per square meter that building a house inevitably involves. Specifically, referring to this:RomanoD. schrieb:
So with KNX bus technology and three server cabinets, because: audio, video, network, private cloud (so absolutely no online clouds), video surveillance technology, everything routed through the media room.
We want it absolutely clean. No cabinets in the rooms (only built-in furniture except for the bed and nightstand, no free-standing cabinets anywhere).
This means TVs and speakers should be integrated into or recessed in the walls and ceilings to avoid dust collectors.I work professionally in this AV field (multiroom AV, AV network technology, KNX/Crestron and similar in larger private and commercial projects) and can estimate the costs quite well. Something like that would only be possible AT BEST if you source all those components directly from the manufacturer’s list price and do ALL the work yourself while leaving out the Picea system. Are you aware of the installation effort hidden speakers require when mounted in concrete or drywall construction? And not to mention the acoustic measures necessary in such clean rooms to avoid the whole system sounding like a tin can...But maybe you’re fully experienced in the topic. If so, good luck! It could turn out great! But honestly, that’s not how you sound here.
Your project, especially with these technical requirements (which I implemented almost identically in my own home), would easily push the total price including the house into seven figures if you hired someone for it. I’m assuming that with such a high aesthetic standard, the rest of the house won’t be a mass-produced model with IKEA furniture.
Regarding elevator pre-installation, @rick2018 can probably provide insights. As far as I know, he once said something like "do it right away or not at all."
Somehow my topic has drifted off here a bit ^^
I think I may have started completely wrong.
Actually, I thought I’d begin with some questions related to the title.
Basement or no basement?
Masonry construction or prefabricated house?
We really have no idea.
Are basements generally useful and actually cheaper when it comes to housing technical equipment and storage rooms?
Which is better, a masonry house or a prefabricated house with a wooden frame construction? (As far as we know, the price difference isn’t really significant.)
I think I may have started completely wrong.
Actually, I thought I’d begin with some questions related to the title.
Basement or no basement?
Masonry construction or prefabricated house?
We really have no idea.
Are basements generally useful and actually cheaper when it comes to housing technical equipment and storage rooms?
Which is better, a masonry house or a prefabricated house with a wooden frame construction? (As far as we know, the price difference isn’t really significant.)
untergasse438 Jun 2021 13:58The findings are already good, but you should first let go of everything else.
Schimi17918 Jun 2021 13:58I’m reading along here more amused than interested...
Holzhäuschen8 Jun 2021 14:04There are definitely some contradictions here: your (unwanted) high-end bathroom fixtures are expensive, but certainly not comparable to a full KNX smart home system, elevator preparation, and so on.
Of course, you can research a lot online—I did that too. But having a real sense of space and understanding how different room sizes feel in square meters (square feet) is something I just can’t visualize. That’s where model homes and inspiration come in.
Everyone is a bit peculiar in their own way; I’m probably unusual in some ways myself when people get to know me.
However, you won’t avoid having to make contact—something I would definitely recommend (though it might be questionable depending on your budget) is to build turnkey with a general contractor (GC) or main contractor to avoid having to manage tradespeople yourselves.
We’re building with individual contracts because our house provider only delivers the shell, so we have to find and hire tradespeople ourselves and constantly chase them by phone. Being shy makes this difficult (and we are actually two pretty introverted people who hate phone calls ^^). We use a project management tool, and the recorded time so far is three weeks total (counting 24/7) just for the planning. Without working from home, all the calls and appointments wouldn’t have been possible. So the “saved” money from doing a shell home (self-build) quickly disappears when you factor in the time and effort.
But you’re not even at that stage yet. Browse through the forum, gather your wishes and ideas. When it comes to the budget, many things will have to be cut anyway.
Of course, you can research a lot online—I did that too. But having a real sense of space and understanding how different room sizes feel in square meters (square feet) is something I just can’t visualize. That’s where model homes and inspiration come in.
Everyone is a bit peculiar in their own way; I’m probably unusual in some ways myself when people get to know me.
However, you won’t avoid having to make contact—something I would definitely recommend (though it might be questionable depending on your budget) is to build turnkey with a general contractor (GC) or main contractor to avoid having to manage tradespeople yourselves.
We’re building with individual contracts because our house provider only delivers the shell, so we have to find and hire tradespeople ourselves and constantly chase them by phone. Being shy makes this difficult (and we are actually two pretty introverted people who hate phone calls ^^). We use a project management tool, and the recorded time so far is three weeks total (counting 24/7) just for the planning. Without working from home, all the calls and appointments wouldn’t have been possible. So the “saved” money from doing a shell home (self-build) quickly disappears when you factor in the time and effort.
But you’re not even at that stage yet. Browse through the forum, gather your wishes and ideas. When it comes to the budget, many things will have to be cut anyway.