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!
schmeissrein9 May 2023 21:41@hanghaus2023
Swapping the utility room (which also functions as a pantry) and the downstairs WC would mean cutting off the kitchen from its storage, so we decided against that. I don’t want to be running back and forth three times while cooking because of my forgetfulness, just to grab one thing or another. Post 20 doesn’t have a gable at the top, so it’s hard to compare or see what you mean, sorry. The knee wall is 80cm (31.5 inches) and will surely be marked in the architect’s plans; unfortunately, my tool struggles with that. Same with the section view.
I think that makes sense too: downstairs there are many things that can’t be easily “rearranged” like a bed or wardrobe – the kitchen, the equipment in the utility room, etc. set a lot of the layout. Upstairs furniture can be “adjusted/found” as needed.
Unfortunately no space because of the slope :/
@11ant
Yeah, the bathroom doesn’t make me happy either. Knee wall is 80cm (31.5 inches). The interior walls are 12cm (4.7 inches), I thought 11.5cm (4.5 inches) was pretty standard, right?
@ypg
See, it’s nice when we partly agree 😀 We haven’t really talked about the roof pitch yet. In the screenshot it was roughly 40° as a placeholder.
I’m curious what our architect will make of our “amateur wish list”—that’s all it really is—and maybe she’ll have a clever idea for the bathroom...
Swapping the utility room (which also functions as a pantry) and the downstairs WC would mean cutting off the kitchen from its storage, so we decided against that. I don’t want to be running back and forth three times while cooking because of my forgetfulness, just to grab one thing or another. Post 20 doesn’t have a gable at the top, so it’s hard to compare or see what you mean, sorry. The knee wall is 80cm (31.5 inches) and will surely be marked in the architect’s plans; unfortunately, my tool struggles with that. Same with the section view.
11ant schrieb:
I think this is a result of the popular approach to design the upper floor/attic after the ground floor...
I think that makes sense too: downstairs there are many things that can’t be easily “rearranged” like a bed or wardrobe – the kitchen, the equipment in the utility room, etc. set a lot of the layout. Upstairs furniture can be “adjusted/found” as needed.
kati1337 schrieb:
Regardless of the rest of the design and its feasibility: In the bathroom upstairs, the little niche practically SCREAMS for a shower, doesn’t it?
Or is there too much of a slope?
If you put the shower there, you’d have the rest of the room completely free to arrange everything as you wish.
Unfortunately no space because of the slope :/
@11ant
Yeah, the bathroom doesn’t make me happy either. Knee wall is 80cm (31.5 inches). The interior walls are 12cm (4.7 inches), I thought 11.5cm (4.5 inches) was pretty standard, right?
@ypg
See, it’s nice when we partly agree 😀 We haven’t really talked about the roof pitch yet. In the screenshot it was roughly 40° as a placeholder.
I’m curious what our architect will make of our “amateur wish list”—that’s all it really is—and maybe she’ll have a clever idea for the bathroom...
schmeissrein schrieb:
this and that ingredient…belong in the kitchen cabinet and the refrigerator. Storage supplies go in the pantry, and it’s unlikely that the trips will replace your fitness routine. The utility room won’t be in the west wing 40 meters (130 feet) away… I bet you’ll use the bathroom more often than you’ll go to that room to get ingredients. schmeissrein schrieb:
I’m curious what our draftswoman will make out of our “amateur wish list,”Redraw it, of course. The client gets what they want.
schmeissrein schrieb:
I think that makes sense too: downstairs there are many elements that can’t be easily “arranged” like a bed or a wardrobe; a kitchen, the technical equipment in the utility room, etc. set many fixed points, while the furniture upstairs can be adjusted or purchased to fit if needed. [...] Yeah, the bathroom still doesn’t make me happy either. Knee wall 80cm (31.5 inches). The upper floor is more densely occupied with furniture and partition walls, and the attic floor even more so. As you can see in the bathroom, it’s the occupants who would need to be adapted to fit (Size Zero to 34). I don’t give advice about multi-stage floor planning just for fun, but based on more than 40 years of planning experience.
schmeissrein schrieb:
The interior walls are 12cm (4.7 inches); I thought 11.5cm (4.5 inches) was quite standard, right? Then what would the exterior walls be—castle walls—if these Japanese walls are supposed to be normal 11.5cm (4.5 inches) partitions? It is recommended to plan interior walls with a uniform thickness of about 20cm (7.9 inches); and in the attic floor they will often be lightweight partition walls. There is also relevant reading material on my site about this.
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
A rough estimate for me also results in 158 sqm (1701 sq ft). So it’s close to your 156 sqm (1681 sq ft).
3000 x 156 = 468k just for the house. Too much.
I don’t quite understand why you’re not getting any feedback on the costs from the general contractor. At least a rough indication. Is there none yet?
3000 x 156 = 468k just for the house. Too much.
I don’t quite understand why you’re not getting any feedback on the costs from the general contractor. At least a rough indication. Is there none yet?
H
hanghaus202310 May 2023 08:2911ant schrieb:
What are you seeing, there IS a shower (on the back side of the washbasin)!You can’t be serious?
@kati1337 only suggested integrating the shower into the recess instead of the bathtub. As I said, that doesn’t work.
By the way, I would rotate the bathtub. Facing the sloped ceiling like that is unbearable. Same goes for the bathroom overall.
I cannot recommend building a house where the bathroom is a nightmare.
What I can suggest—since I am currently building such a house myself—is to create a written list of your requirements for the house and give it to an architect. It’s not without reason that this is a university degree. They have spent years learning how to put together floor plans.
In addition, they are familiar with legal requirements and consider many aspects that would never occur to you as a layperson.
What I can suggest—since I am currently building such a house myself—is to create a written list of your requirements for the house and give it to an architect. It’s not without reason that this is a university degree. They have spent years learning how to put together floor plans.
In addition, they are familiar with legal requirements and consider many aspects that would never occur to you as a layperson.
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