ᐅ New Single-Family Home Construction – Join Us on Our Journey!
Created on: 4 Aug 2022 16:13
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gregman22
Dear community,
We are finally getting a step closer to realizing our dream of building a single-family home.
The plot has been purchased, building plans have been reviewed, construction method decided, and so on. We have now commissioned the architect of the general contractor (GC) of our choice with the planning task and are currently fine-tuning the house design. I would love to take you along on this journey and incorporate your valuable feedback.
At this stage, the focus is on the house design.
Basic data:
Plot: 1062m2 (11,433 sq ft); approx. 25.5m x 41.64m (84 ft x 137 ft)
Orientation: Northwest -> The arrow in the screenshot of the 3D view points south
Desired room layout:
Ground floor:
First floor:
Attic:
Note: I am still discussing this with the architect. Due to the hipped roof shape, the actual living area has shrunk too much. Therefore, further discussion is needed to accommodate the other rooms. I had underestimated the ratio of gross floor area to usable living space.
Basement:
Additional plans:
Now to my first questions for you:
My biggest construction challenge at the moment is the layout of the attic. There are two alternatives:
- Change the roof type, which would increase costs but provide more usable living space in the attic
- Give up the playroom on the first floor, convert it into a guest room, and build only the two offices in the attic (no guest room or bathroom)
Thank you in advance for your comments.
We are finally getting a step closer to realizing our dream of building a single-family home.
The plot has been purchased, building plans have been reviewed, construction method decided, and so on. We have now commissioned the architect of the general contractor (GC) of our choice with the planning task and are currently fine-tuning the house design. I would love to take you along on this journey and incorporate your valuable feedback.
At this stage, the focus is on the house design.
Basic data:
Plot: 1062m2 (11,433 sq ft); approx. 25.5m x 41.64m (84 ft x 137 ft)
Orientation: Northwest -> The arrow in the screenshot of the 3D view points south
Desired room layout:
Ground floor:
- Large living/dining area with adjacent (but separable) kitchen at the bottom left, plus a gallery overlooking the first floor
- Utility room
- Guest toilet
- Garage
- Separate apartment at the top right with its own entrance for parents-in-law
First floor:
- Gallery overlooking the ground floor
- 2 children’s bedrooms with a shared bathroom
- 1 playroom (initially a home cinema room, later to be repurposed) above the garage
- Master wing with main bedroom, dressing room, and bathroom
Attic:
Note: I am still discussing this with the architect. Due to the hipped roof shape, the actual living area has shrunk too much. Therefore, further discussion is needed to accommodate the other rooms. I had underestimated the ratio of gross floor area to usable living space.
- 2 separate offices
- 1 guest bedroom
- 1 small guest bathroom
Basement:
- 1 technical room
- 1 laundry room
- 1 storage room
- Large fitness room
- Wellness room with sauna
Additional plans:
- Air-to-air heat pump or air-to-water heat pump
- Photovoltaic system with/without battery storage
- Possible pool (3.5/4m x 8m or 3.5/4m x 12m) with heat pump (and countercurrent system)
- Sauna in the basement room
- Air conditioning for various rooms
- Smart home system – most likely via KNX
- Garden: Currently planning 2 terraces – one to the left, slightly more to the south, and one facing the main part of the plot further north
Now to my first questions for you:
- How do the floor plans strike you? Do they make sense in terms of the dynamics of family life?
- The location of the separate apartment was chosen based on our wish. We wanted a strict, clearly defined spatial separation with a separate entrance. Do you have any comments on this?
- Do you consider the utility rooms in the basement to be adequately sized (considering KNX, heat pump, etc.)?
My biggest construction challenge at the moment is the layout of the attic. There are two alternatives:
- Change the roof type, which would increase costs but provide more usable living space in the attic
- Give up the playroom on the first floor, convert it into a guest room, and build only the two offices in the attic (no guest room or bathroom)
Thank you in advance for your comments.
gregman22 schrieb:
Can you relate to this, or was I completely off track?Take a look at what percentage of the total construction cost an architect usually receives. The keyword here is HOAI, for example with a construction budget of around 1.3 million euros (about 1.3 million USD). A shrewd general contractor tries to save this amount by sending in his employed draftsman instead. Whether this assumption is correct, I'll leave up to each person to decide.
But yes, I understand this very well. When I started dealing with this topic a few years ago, I was just as naive. My conclusion after all this time: you simply have to take care of and support the important matters yourself, even though you already pay an outrageously high amount and could expect more. A good example of this is also Rick2018 with his very cool Bauhaus-style villa.
Based on my experience, general contractors (GCs) tend to focus heavily on efficiency, meaning they work best with "standard houses" on "standard" plots, ideally following a standard GC floor plan.
For such a house, if I were to choose a GC at all, I would only go with one who has successfully completed several similar projects. This is quite an individual matter.
Otherwise, good luck – it will be a beautiful house!
For such a house, if I were to choose a GC at all, I would only go with one who has successfully completed several similar projects. This is quite an individual matter.
Otherwise, good luck – it will be a beautiful house!
Proceed as follows!
Really? How do you figure that? At the moment, no one knows what it will end up being.
There have already been pages of reports saying it's not going well.
And he has already visited an architect (in fact, several), where obviously much more money has to be paid.
An architect, yes, but a "significantly smaller" one. Keyword: sleeping area.
For 300m² (3,229 sq ft) with your budget, you are at least one year too late. (Costs + interest)
driver55 schrieb:
List your wishes in detail and have a capable architect handle the project.
Crixton schrieb:
Otherwise, good luck – it will be a beautiful house!
Really? How do you figure that? At the moment, no one knows what it will end up being.
There have already been pages of reports saying it's not going well.
And he has already visited an architect (in fact, several), where obviously much more money has to be paid.
An architect, yes, but a "significantly smaller" one. Keyword: sleeping area.
For 300m² (3,229 sq ft) with your budget, you are at least one year too late. (Costs + interest)
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soneva20126 Aug 2022 20:32driver55 schrieb:
For 300 sqm (3,230 sq ft) with your budget, you’re at least 1 year too late. (costs + interest) I have to agree. I can quite accurately say what you could have gotten for 1.5 million turnkey about a year ago in the Munich metropolitan area. For example, around 230+ sqm (2,480+ sq ft), basement + ground floor + upper floor, attached double garage, kitchen, pantry, living room, dining room, 3 bathrooms, 4 bedrooms (+ 1 dressing room), 1 office/guest room, 9 x 3.75 m (30 x 12 feet) pool, utility room, technical room, hobby room in the basement, high-quality finishes including large floor-to-ceiling windows, landscaping, costs according to HOAI.
We have already started construction and signed contracts for the major trades. In my opinion, the architects’ cost estimates are more realistic. The prices quoted by the general contractors are out of the question.
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Myrna_Loy6 Aug 2022 20:38soneva2012 schrieb:
I have to agree. I can quite accurately say what you could have gotten turnkey for 1.5m one year ago in the Munich metropolitan area. For example, over 230 square meters (2,475 square feet), basement + ground floor + upper floor, attached double garage, kitchen, pantry, living room, dining room, 3 bathrooms, 4 bedrooms (+ 1 dressing room), 1 office/guest room, 9 x 3.75 meter (30 x 12 feet) pool, utility room, technical room, hobby room in the basement, high-quality finishes including large floor-to-ceiling windows, landscaping, costs according to HOAI.
We have already started construction and signed contracts for the major trades. In my opinion, the architects’ cost estimates are more realistic. The prices quoted by the general contractors are out of the question. A 75 meter (246 feet) pool? Whoa! That must be a dream property!
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Neubau20226 Aug 2022 20:51Myrna_Loy schrieb:
A 75 m (246 feet) pool? Whoa! That must be a dream property!I read it as a 9 m x 3.75 m (30 feet x 12 feet) pool... We’re not at @rick2018 here 😎
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