ᐅ Realistic Cost Estimate: Single-Family Home with Challenging Site Access
Created on: 20 Jan 2023 10:50
S
schmeissrein
Hello everyone,
I have been following this forum for a while and first of all, a big thank you to everyone who shares their advice here and sometimes also speaks hard truths. I didn’t originally want to create a new thread but intended to form an opinion based on other discussions. However, you convinced me that this building project is too individual for that. So here is our plan:
- Building a new single-family house in the far north of Germany (Schleswig-Flensburg region).
- Plot size is over 1000sqm (10,764 sq ft).
- Total square meters are not so important as long as the layout works.
- Basement is not planned.
What we would like:
- Open-plan kitchen-living area of at least 36m² (388 sq ft).
- Guest room (at least 10m² / 108 sq ft) and small guest bathroom with shower on the ground floor, so that in old age, with disability, or a broken leg, the ground floor can be used independently and possibly serve as a bedroom.
- Utility room / storage room / pantry with heat pump of at least 8m² (86 sq ft) (KfW 40 standard would be great, of course).
- Upper floor with three rooms (1 office, 1 master bedroom, 1 child’s room) each at least 14m² (151 sq ft) and one bathroom. Our dream would be a “walk-in” (what a silly word – aren’t all showers walk-in?) shower to avoid having to clean those limescale-rusty, annoying shower enclosures.
- We could contribute labor for garden landscaping and painting/wallpapering; otherwise, we would prefer a turnkey build.
As for the house style, regionally typical Frisian houses or captain’s houses (with all the “cute” features like small gables, etc.) are in consideration, or also not completely unimaginative “normal” single-family houses. We are not afraid of Bauhaus-style concrete marvels either, but those tend to be more expensive. In terms of fittings, no “gold-plated faucets” and no smart home – but decent and presentable.
The big BUT: the plot is not connected to utilities, and the distance to the street is about 65m (213 ft), of which 50m (164 ft) is a paved driveway and paved parking area that would have to be dug up (across another property). The connection costs and incidental construction costs worry us quite a bit. Does anyone have experience with such a “mammoth connection” for a relatively small building project? What realistic costs should we expect for both?
We would greatly appreciate any thoughts on this project, thank you very much in advance!
I have been following this forum for a while and first of all, a big thank you to everyone who shares their advice here and sometimes also speaks hard truths. I didn’t originally want to create a new thread but intended to form an opinion based on other discussions. However, you convinced me that this building project is too individual for that. So here is our plan:
- Building a new single-family house in the far north of Germany (Schleswig-Flensburg region).
- Plot size is over 1000sqm (10,764 sq ft).
- Total square meters are not so important as long as the layout works.
- Basement is not planned.
What we would like:
- Open-plan kitchen-living area of at least 36m² (388 sq ft).
- Guest room (at least 10m² / 108 sq ft) and small guest bathroom with shower on the ground floor, so that in old age, with disability, or a broken leg, the ground floor can be used independently and possibly serve as a bedroom.
- Utility room / storage room / pantry with heat pump of at least 8m² (86 sq ft) (KfW 40 standard would be great, of course).
- Upper floor with three rooms (1 office, 1 master bedroom, 1 child’s room) each at least 14m² (151 sq ft) and one bathroom. Our dream would be a “walk-in” (what a silly word – aren’t all showers walk-in?) shower to avoid having to clean those limescale-rusty, annoying shower enclosures.
- We could contribute labor for garden landscaping and painting/wallpapering; otherwise, we would prefer a turnkey build.
As for the house style, regionally typical Frisian houses or captain’s houses (with all the “cute” features like small gables, etc.) are in consideration, or also not completely unimaginative “normal” single-family houses. We are not afraid of Bauhaus-style concrete marvels either, but those tend to be more expensive. In terms of fittings, no “gold-plated faucets” and no smart home – but decent and presentable.
The big BUT: the plot is not connected to utilities, and the distance to the street is about 65m (213 ft), of which 50m (164 ft) is a paved driveway and paved parking area that would have to be dug up (across another property). The connection costs and incidental construction costs worry us quite a bit. Does anyone have experience with such a “mammoth connection” for a relatively small building project? What realistic costs should we expect for both?
We would greatly appreciate any thoughts on this project, thank you very much in advance!
hanghaus2023 schrieb:
If you don’t want a chimney, why does the general contractor include one in the plans?Uh, probably because the OP just downloaded a generic floor plan from the internet? You can read all about it in the thread!
schmeissrein28 Jan 2023 14:15@hanghaus2023
Thanks again for your drawings!
@ypg
Thank you for your assessment and careful reading 😉 The corner bathtub will be a standard soft one, and the showers will have 90x120cm (35x47 inches) trays and simply be built without partitions. We do need the NET for the reasonable reasons mentioned by @motorradsilke.
@kati1337
Thanks for sharing! Yes, one washbasin is definitely enough; I have never quite understood the point of having two, but others may find them essential... I can see that needs vary a lot from family to family.
@11ant
You’re right, the catalog floor plans don’t have to appeal to everyone, but there should be a basic expectation that they are architecturally feasible and practical.
@K a t j a
That’s a great point about laundry—collecting it around the house is already enough... Laundry chutes are extremely expensive, right? But certainly a nice luxury, I’ll have to check if the potential suppliers would even offer this.
The next floor plan I post here will include my changes, but having your feedback first is really helpful, thanks! By the way, it’s getting a bit more complicated: there’s now an option to turn the whole thing into a multi-generation house. However, that would go beyond the scope of this thread, and if that idea becomes more concrete, I would start a separate thread for it.
Thanks again for your drawings!
@ypg
Thank you for your assessment and careful reading 😉 The corner bathtub will be a standard soft one, and the showers will have 90x120cm (35x47 inches) trays and simply be built without partitions. We do need the NET for the reasonable reasons mentioned by @motorradsilke.
@kati1337
Thanks for sharing! Yes, one washbasin is definitely enough; I have never quite understood the point of having two, but others may find them essential... I can see that needs vary a lot from family to family.
@11ant
You’re right, the catalog floor plans don’t have to appeal to everyone, but there should be a basic expectation that they are architecturally feasible and practical.
@K a t j a
That’s a great point about laundry—collecting it around the house is already enough... Laundry chutes are extremely expensive, right? But certainly a nice luxury, I’ll have to check if the potential suppliers would even offer this.
The next floor plan I post here will include my changes, but having your feedback first is really helpful, thanks! By the way, it’s getting a bit more complicated: there’s now an option to turn the whole thing into a multi-generation house. However, that would go beyond the scope of this thread, and if that idea becomes more concrete, I would start a separate thread for it.
schmeissrein schrieb:
We definitely need the network for the reasonable reasons mentioned by @motorradsilke. I never excluded it. However, you should consider not using it as the main entrance for your four-person household, but rather use the space in the utility room for its intended purpose.
ypg schrieb:
Use it as an emergency exit door with a window, and that’s fine.
schmeissrein schrieb:
You’re right, the catalog floor plans don’t have to appeal to everyone, but they should at least be structurally feasible and sensible... The design is indeed structurally feasible; it’s just missing “exactly the feature that makes a catalog design superior.” The result is the “failure to avoid” *LOL* the drywall bulges. A production house doesn’t need to please without any changes, but...
schmeissrein schrieb:
The next floor plan I post here will include my modifications, but it’s already great to have your input, thank you! By the way, it will get a bit more complicated: the option has come up to turn the whole thing into a multigenerational house. However, that would completely derail this thread, so if that idea becomes more concrete, I would open a new thread for it. … Your next template should come from a general contractor (GC) who can also recommend themselves for the build. Please only start a new thread if it really becomes a different kind of project (and then link back to this one).
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
schmeissrein31 Jan 2023 14:0211ant schrieb:
The design is technically feasible, but it simply lacks "the exact feature that makes a catalog design superior." The result is the "failure to avoid" *LOL* the drywall bumps. A standard house design doesn’t have to be perfect without changes, but...
...Your next template should come from a general contractor who can also take responsibility for its implementation. Please start a new thread only if it truly is a different type of project (and then link back here).Now a new question for you experts 🙂 There are two options: a large multi-generational house or a large house plus a smaller one. I imagine the first option might be more cost-effective, while the second is more practical if part of the property is sold or rented later. Does anyone have experience with such a project? There is definitely enough space 🙂
schmeissrein schrieb:
There are two options: a large multigenerational house or one large and one smaller house. [...] Does anyone have experience with such a project?Don’t remind us of Claudia-Marlen’s https://www.hausbau-forum.de/threads/grundriss-haus-mit-elw-verbesserungsvorschlaege.44068/ ;-)... otherwise, @karl.jonas is still planning a courtyard complex. I think, in your case, I would lean toward the more manageable concept.
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
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