I plan to have a prefabricated bungalow built next year in Lower Saxony, handling everything from planning to moving in. It should have approximately 150 m² (1,615 sq ft) of living space and, of course, be energy-efficient, including photovoltaic panels, electric storage, and geothermal heating. I already have a plot of land. What is a realistic timeframe for the entire process, including planning, building permit / planning permission, and the complete construction until moving in? Are there differences between providers?
i_b_n_a_n schrieb:
correctScandal. This thread was part of the world heritage of this forum. i_b_n_a_n schrieb:
but still a great construction style ;-)Different times, different level of technical development. Log construction in the current decade is the most misunderstood "eco-bio" ever.https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
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xMisterDx16 Dec 2022 13:18Tolentino schrieb:
I would also say that working with a local general contractor (GC) for masonry or carpentry, who is well connected in the area and has a good relationship with the building authority (building permit office / planning permission office), might even be faster. With a regional or national prefab home GC, you’re just one number among many.
You will still run into the local master craftsman at Kaufland for years to come. Even though this is a common belief, it doesn’t matter at all to the established, experienced tradesman if a customer gives them a hard time at Kaufland. We are still years away from tradespeople fighting over customers because there are no jobs left. If every sloppy tradesman went bankrupt within a few years, there wouldn’t be any poor workmanship in construction.
I find this quite absurd anyway. Even the regional or national GCs work with local tradespeople on site. No one drives all the way from Bavaria to North Friesland just to do the electrical work or install a sink.
I’ve already seen the vehicles of our plumbers and electricians parked in front of at least four other GCs’ houses in this construction area...
It’s true that new construction is currently slowing down, but project books are still full. And then there are all the customers who want renovations, have the cash ready, but haven’t been able to find a tradesperson for years who will do it at a reasonable price.
We also have big plans regarding the energy transition. That will tie up capacities as well, and some tradespeople will think about whether they can earn better by working on those projects than building single-family homes.
Here we are again with the good and bad business operators. Of course, there are those like you described, but they will rethink their approach during tough times (and those will surely come again) if they have a bad reputation for laughing at complaining customers in the store.
A good craftsman also cares about maintaining a good reputation and satisfied customers in good times, because they know a satisfied customer will bring at least one more customer.
There are nationwide general contractors who work with local ones, often for specific trades or when there are capacity bottlenecks or planning issues. Or if the entire business model is based on this (franchises like Town & Country).
But especially prefabricated house providers very often have installation crews. These teams sometimes come from abroad, work intensively for three months, and then return home for a month. The house is delivered and assembled continuously during that period.
In my old neighborhood, there was always a Bien-Zenker van with Bulgarian license plates. I found it a bit amusing ("Made in Germany" but assembled by an underpaid Bulgarian crew), although I don’t mean to imply that they couldn’t do the work just as well as German crews (maybe even better).
A good craftsman also cares about maintaining a good reputation and satisfied customers in good times, because they know a satisfied customer will bring at least one more customer.
There are nationwide general contractors who work with local ones, often for specific trades or when there are capacity bottlenecks or planning issues. Or if the entire business model is based on this (franchises like Town & Country).
But especially prefabricated house providers very often have installation crews. These teams sometimes come from abroad, work intensively for three months, and then return home for a month. The house is delivered and assembled continuously during that period.
In my old neighborhood, there was always a Bien-Zenker van with Bulgarian license plates. I found it a bit amusing ("Made in Germany" but assembled by an underpaid Bulgarian crew), although I don’t mean to imply that they couldn’t do the work just as well as German crews (maybe even better).
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xMisterDx16 Dec 2022 13:47Sure. However, I don’t quite understand why being regional is considered a mark of quality, while a traveling installation team is seen as a sure sign of disaster.
Think about it. The installation team assembles the same manufacturer’s houses all year round. That’s all they do.
The local craftsman might install a gas heating system one day, service an oil boiler the next, repair a heating unit, lay underfloor heating, and then work on a heat pump.
I am a kind of “installation team” myself. In our industry, that is considered a quality feature because there are simply not many specialists for our systems worldwide.
Luck or misfortune can always happen. Even Ede the master mason can make complete mistakes today, while three years ago he was building top-quality houses. With Ede, sometimes just one assistant might be unavailable for a while, for example due to a broken leg, and then he has to work faster to meet deadlines.
Or a sloppy worker might have improved because they are now getting fewer jobs.
Think about it. The installation team assembles the same manufacturer’s houses all year round. That’s all they do.
The local craftsman might install a gas heating system one day, service an oil boiler the next, repair a heating unit, lay underfloor heating, and then work on a heat pump.
I am a kind of “installation team” myself. In our industry, that is considered a quality feature because there are simply not many specialists for our systems worldwide.
Luck or misfortune can always happen. Even Ede the master mason can make complete mistakes today, while three years ago he was building top-quality houses. With Ede, sometimes just one assistant might be unavailable for a while, for example due to a broken leg, and then he has to work faster to meet deadlines.
Or a sloppy worker might have improved because they are now getting fewer jobs.
I myself said that the installation team, even if they come from Bulgaria, can initially work just as well as any other team. However, since the installation team lacks a personal connection – once they finish, they are gone and you will never see them again – when building a house, where you want good service for at least 5 more years, you no longer have a relationship with a tradesperson. Of course, the general contractor (GC) owes you the warranty, but the quality of service suffers without a personal relationship.
This might be different in the B2B sector, especially if you are basically a monopoly for machines. But that is not what we are discussing here.
This might be different in the B2B sector, especially if you are basically a monopoly for machines. But that is not what we are discussing here.
xMisterDx schrieb:
Although this is a commonly held belief, the experienced, established craftsman couldn’t care less if a customer at Kaufland acts rudely.The point was and still is Tolentino schrieb:
I would also say that using a local masonry or carpentry general contractor who is well connected locally and has good relations with the building authority might even be faster. When working with a regional or national prefab home general contractor, you’re just one number among many.
You’re likely to still see the local master craftsman at Kaufland in the years to come.Apart from the fundamental difference between “Mr. Schmitz, client of Huberbau” and “Client 0815 of Bigname,” the locally reputable builder tends to be more cautious with unrealistic price and performance promises (the original poster hinted in post #3 at having already come across an advertising claim along the lines of “no one is faster – with Okal House prime… at least six months faster”). Tolentino schrieb:
There are definitely regional or national general contractors who collaborate with local ones for specific trades or if there are capacity shortages or planning problems. Or when the entire business model is based on that (a franchise, like Town & Country).You seem to have misunderstood the franchise system like Town & Country a bit here. Tolentino schrieb:
In my old neighborhood, there was always a Bien-Zenker van with Bulgarian license plates.At least it was a Bien-Zenker van, not from Bien or Zenker before the merger *LOL*https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/