ᐅ Realistic Construction Time for a Bungalow?

FitoCari schrieb:

Do you need to consider any seasonal weather conditions there?

If there are trees within the future building area, you are only allowed to cut them down during certain periods. This is regulated by your local tree protection ordinance, if one exists...

FitoCari schrieb:

Can I infer from the above summary that the first 9-10 months are mainly spent on formalities and planning before the excavator arrives for demolition?

That depends on whether you already know what you want. You can also move quickly if you simply choose a pre-designed house model and go from there. However, I would recommend familiarizing yourself with construction costs beforehand, especially the part that goes beyond the standard catalog prices. It’s also important to carefully consider what you actually want, meaning the room layout, building services, architectural style, and construction methods. Understanding building specifications also takes time.

Getting a building permit or planning permission can be quick; we built using a notification procedure. In that case, you get the approval about one month after the application if there are no objections. But some building authorities can take much longer.

I can’t say much about the demolition process; that requires additional permits and tenders.

FitoCari schrieb:

Do you need to consider any seasonal weather conditions? For example, a foundation slab in winter?

A foundation slab is relatively uncritical, except in the case of extremely harsh winter weather. Masonry is more sensitive. Also, many building materials are difficult to work with in very cold temperatures.

Trees have already been mentioned.

The cold winter and spring easily cost us about three months because plastering couldn’t be done (which meant the scaffolding couldn’t be removed, and without removing it, connections like utilities couldn’t be installed since the scaffolding was in the way, etc.). Mostly frustrating because the scaffolding was quite expensive.

Overall, from the initial idea (early 2020) through purchasing the plot in March 2020 until moving in August 2021, it took about 1.5 years. The house was built with a known timber frame builder and local trades contracted separately, but with an architect and energy consultant combined into one person up to roughly stage 5 of the service phases (a fixed price was agreed for an individual scope of services). By the way, pandemic-related time extensions were barely noticeable.

i_b_n_a_n schrieb:

We lost about three months during the cold winter and spring because plastering couldn’t be done (which meant the scaffolding couldn’t be removed, so no connection to utilities was possible since the scaffolding was in the way, and so on). Mainly frustrating because the scaffolding was quite expensive.

Overall, from the initial idea (early 2020), through purchasing the plot in March 2020, to moving in August 2021, it took about 1.5 years. We built with a personal acquaintance who is a solid timber builder and local trades contracted individually, but with an architect and energy consultant combined into one person, involved up to roughly work phase 5 ;-) (a fixed price was agreed upon for the individual scope of services). By the way: COVID-related time extensions were hardly noticeable.

You built with solid timber construction? Like massive log beams/insulation/wood cladding? What wall structure did you use? Our plan sounds quite similar to what you describe... Would you be willing to share more details? Or do you have a thread about your build here that I might have missed? 🙂

-LotteS- schrieb:

Did you build with solid wood? Like massive log beams/insulation/wood cladding? What wall construction did you use? Our plan sounds quite similar to what you describe... Would you be willing to share some details? Or do you have a build thread here that I might have missed? 🙂

There was a thread about the house. It was completely deleted (not by me! :-( )
Wall construction (from memory) from outside:
Plaster
8cm (3 inches) wood fiber insulation board as plaster carrier (Gutex)
24cm (10 inches) blown-in wood fiber insulation
10cm (4 inches) solid wood (glulam = glued laminated timber)
Gypsum board
Wallpaper

My interior walls are also 10cm (4 inches) solid wood glulam, the same as all ceilings (18cm (7 inches) on the ground floor / 14cm (6 inches) on the upper floor). My brother’s interior walls are timber frame for slightly better sound insulation.

We did a lot of the work ourselves and were able to secure quite a bit of funding support.
The construction period was definitely cheaper than it is now. The KfW loan interest rates ranged from 0.75% for 10 years to 0.95% for 20 years.
At the beginning of construction, the cost per cubic meter of KVH was about €400, towards the end it rose to €1200–1400 (fortunately only small amounts had to be bought later for additional work etc.).

The result was a duplex built as a passive house / KfW40+ standard (approximately 300m² (3,230 ft²) of living space over 4 residential units), built together with my brother.
Our architect was the "Passivhaus Architecture Office" from Everswinkel, and our building company for the shell including roof windows and tiles was the carpentry company established in 1898 in Münster. We were very satisfied with both, otherwise I wouldn’t be recommending them here.

i_b_n_a_n schrieb:

There was a thread about the house. It got completely deleted (not by me! :-( )
Wall construction (from memory) from outside to inside:
Plaster
8cm (3 inches) wood fiber insulation board as plaster base (Gutex)
24cm (9.5 inches) blown-in wood fiber insulation
10cm (4 inches) solid wood (BSH = glued laminated timber)
Gypsum board
Wallpaper

Interior walls on my side are also 10cm (4 inches) solid wood in BSH, just like all ceilings (here 18cm (7 inches) on ground floor / 14cm (5.5 inches) on upper floor). My brother’s interior walls are timber stud framing for slightly improved sound insulation.

We put a lot of work in ourselves and were also able to take advantage of substantial subsidies.
Construction time was certainly cheaper than currently. KfW loan interest rates ranged from 0.75% for 10 years to 0.95% for 20 years.
At the start of construction, the cost per square meter for KVH was about 400€ (EUR), toward the end it was 1200 - 1400€ (EUR) (fortunately only small quantities had to be purchased afterwards for lintels, etc.).

The result was a semi-detached house built as a passive house / KfW40+ standard (total approx. 300m² (3200 sq ft) living space in 4 residential units) built together with my brother.
Our architect was the "Passive House architecture office" from Everswinkel and the construction company for the structural work including roof windows and tiles was the carpentry business established in 1898 in Münster. We were very satisfied with both; otherwise, I wouldn’t give a recommendation here.

Thank you very much for your report! I don’t want to hijack the thread... May I possibly “call you in” when our project starts? 🙂