ᐅ Turnkey or Self-Managed Construction?

SvenF86 schrieb:

....and would have strong negotiating power....

11ant schrieb:

First of all, you should familiarize yourself with the questionnaire (pinned at the top of the floor plan section). If you fit the ideal scenario of "two adults sharing a bedroom, a total of two children and a home office, a slab-on-grade lot without special restrictions in the development plan," I don’t see any reason to rule out a catalog design right away. The catalog design (also called a production or standard house, Gabrieles Lieblingsheinz calls it “system architecture”) and the construction company that offers it naturally belong together: a catalog design by Meierbau built by Müllerbau would actually be considered a custom design. A catalog design is only suitable if you use it a) as originally provided or with minor adjustments to non-load-bearing walls, or b) extend it exclusively along the ridge axis: enlargements that affect the base of the gable triangle structurally create a different house (a linear height increase by adjusting the knee wall has less impact – even less than changing the story height). A catalog house is an inseparable combination of the house design AND the building and performance specifications of the respective general contractor!

A custom design should ALWAYS be approached with an independent architect (in the spirit of the perfect Bavarian negation “never no exception not”!). A house planned by an architect only becomes more expensive if you a) plan it not only individually to suit your needs but also as a unique design piece and/or b) work with an artist. Unfortunately, you cannot reliably identify the latter, but usually, they only offer phases 1 to 4 of the service spectrum: they are not good at cost estimation and construction management – which means their designs are not suitable for an affordable and trouble-free realization.

Secondly […]

Costruttrice schrieb:

That sums everything up perfectly! Thanks @11ant for your effort, I find this really helpful for new homeowners! This should actually be pinned, since these topics and questions come up regularly.

11ant schrieb:

For individual contracting, you have to distinguish between owner-managed contracting (usually with emailed permit drawings) and architect-managed individual contracting (after proper tendering). With a general contractor (GC), the situation can arise not only because you consciously approach only GCs – but also because GCs respond to a tender! [...] Architect (possibly with GC), if you see material selections as a pleasure, and GC without architect, if you see material selections as a burden.

maulwurf79 schrieb:

I’m surprised that here it’s always only about GCs and architects. A master mason, master carpenter, or concrete construction master also has the small building permit authorization. At least here in Hesse. Whoever is willing to prepare their building permit application themselves can get a building permit much more cost-effectively. Of course, the prerequisite is enough time and the willingness to thoroughly engage with the topic of building.

11ant schrieb:

You can not start building just based on the permit drawings; you are only allowed to. This “fine” ;-) difference becomes most obvious in drywall installations, the telltale signs of saving money in the wrong place.

Ypsi aus NI schrieb:

Hello neighbor, would you mind sharing exactly where in WOB area you’re building?
We live very close by and have our topping-out ceremony tomorrow 🙂
We also went to the companies with a self-designed floor plan.
Except for Viebrockhaus, all price levels were about the same. Our chosen company was a bit more expensive than the others, but offered a much more extensive scope of work. In that company, carpentry and masonry are combined under one roof. So fewer subcontractors who all want to earn from the project.
It’s a local family business. I always said: the manager still has a certain local pride. When she goes to the sports field on a Sunday afternoon, she doesn’t want to be pelted with rotten eggs ;-) In that sense, the company stands for solid craftsmanship.
We tried to contract heating and plumbing ourselves. At first, our requests were quoted cheaper than through the general contractor (GC). But less was actually offered, which we as laymen didn’t notice. Our GC reviewed the offers and pointed this out. So, in the end, we chose their subcontractor. Also a local company with decades of experience. Known for top quality but also high prices. In the end, however, we didn’t pay more than if we had awarded the work ourselves on an equivalent basis. There are discounts between the GC and the subs, after all.
By chance, we spoke to some people professionally involved in construction. They all said we didn’t need external site supervision for that company. For most other local companies, they recommended it. And just to be clear: this was said before we mentioned which company we were building with.
Of course, not everything is perfect, but so far we are very satisfied with the GC. Even the overall coordination — for example, with the plumber, discussing where water pipes run, integrating that into the drawings, etc. Doing and coordinating that ourselves… no thanks.
We are building with air conditioning, which was contracted separately. But our GC still coordinates everything directly with them, implements the shafts in the drawings, and so on.
I’m rambling... ;-) To sum up: In this area, everyone gives you an offer based on an individual floor plan. An architect, due to their percentage-based fee, really isn’t interested in keeping your construction costs low. Near the VW “mum city,” it’s hard to find tradesmen. The GCs simply have their subcontractors on hand.
So: one more vote in favor of the construction company and against the architect!