ᐅ Avoid Mistakes When Building Your Second Home: Builder or Architect?
Created on: 13 Feb 2024 11:39
R
RotesDach
Hello forum,
In 2020, we built a new single-family home. However, for various reasons, we are not completely satisfied and are considering building again. We want to take our time with this (time frame 5-10 years) to be really sure about what exactly we want to change. In the meantime, we can also save more equity and observe everyday life with the children. From our experience, daily life with 3-4 children requires a lot of flexibility in the house because the needs of all family members seem to change quickly. That is why we have set quite a long time frame.
When we started planning the house in 2019, we didn’t always make the right decisions in hindsight. With the first and later the second child, and then the lockdown, we could not view or visit everything that was installed beforehand. Also, contact with the architect from the homebuilding company was quite limited. We often simply lacked proper advice.
My question to you is: How can we avoid making the same mistakes again in the next build? We always had to make decisions very quickly and often had no solid basis to decide. We would have liked to have quick access to prices and services; this just wasn’t available. For example, if we planned an additional window or increased the living area, we received a new total price and could only guess how much the extra cost was.
We found that the homebuilding company only builds in the way they usually do, meaning when we asked for something unusual, they said it wasn’t possible. For example, we wanted a large panoramic glass window wall that could slide open barrier-free. They said this wasn’t possible for structural reasons in our house. It seemed likely that our builder simply did not have this kind of feature in their program, or the profit margin on such a request was too low for them.
What frustrates me most is the roof. It is not usable as living space. It is a low pyramid roof made of nail plate trusses. There is not enough standing height for living space, and the structure is not suitable for conversion. We never discussed the roof with the architect at the time. The catalog house our free planning was based on originally had a gable roof—exactly what we would wish for today. The architect kept talking about a "town villa" we would be building, and we eventually adopted that term. As laypeople, we understood that as a house with two full floors. However, the architect from the building company implied a pyramid roof by "town villa." The change from the original gable roof to this non-convertible pyramid roof was never communicated to us, and we realized this far too late. Sure, you could say we should have noticed, but at some point, we just wanted to finish the project. The two-year construction period with two small children was really exhausting.
For the second build, we want to do everything right or make as few mistakes as possible, so we are allowing ourselves a much longer time for advance planning. We certainly will not build with the same homebuilding company again.
BUT: Is this the typical experience with standard (prefabricated) homebuilders? If you want something special like panoramic window walls, is it better to go to an architect? They are usually paid hourly. I worry that an architect might overall be the more expensive option. If we do go with a homebuilder, should we choose one that specializes in our style? For example, Huf-Haus comes to mind, but they are also very expensive.
Maybe someone here has had similar experiences with poor communication and advice, especially during the corona period?
Is there another solution besides a homebuilding company or an architect that we haven’t thought of? We just want to be involved in every decision and not be treated like we were the first time.
If what you want is above the average in size and features, does it make more sense economically to hire an architect than to modify a catalog house so much that it only ends up being more expensive?
Thanks for reading. I know this post is long.
In 2020, we built a new single-family home. However, for various reasons, we are not completely satisfied and are considering building again. We want to take our time with this (time frame 5-10 years) to be really sure about what exactly we want to change. In the meantime, we can also save more equity and observe everyday life with the children. From our experience, daily life with 3-4 children requires a lot of flexibility in the house because the needs of all family members seem to change quickly. That is why we have set quite a long time frame.
When we started planning the house in 2019, we didn’t always make the right decisions in hindsight. With the first and later the second child, and then the lockdown, we could not view or visit everything that was installed beforehand. Also, contact with the architect from the homebuilding company was quite limited. We often simply lacked proper advice.
My question to you is: How can we avoid making the same mistakes again in the next build? We always had to make decisions very quickly and often had no solid basis to decide. We would have liked to have quick access to prices and services; this just wasn’t available. For example, if we planned an additional window or increased the living area, we received a new total price and could only guess how much the extra cost was.
We found that the homebuilding company only builds in the way they usually do, meaning when we asked for something unusual, they said it wasn’t possible. For example, we wanted a large panoramic glass window wall that could slide open barrier-free. They said this wasn’t possible for structural reasons in our house. It seemed likely that our builder simply did not have this kind of feature in their program, or the profit margin on such a request was too low for them.
What frustrates me most is the roof. It is not usable as living space. It is a low pyramid roof made of nail plate trusses. There is not enough standing height for living space, and the structure is not suitable for conversion. We never discussed the roof with the architect at the time. The catalog house our free planning was based on originally had a gable roof—exactly what we would wish for today. The architect kept talking about a "town villa" we would be building, and we eventually adopted that term. As laypeople, we understood that as a house with two full floors. However, the architect from the building company implied a pyramid roof by "town villa." The change from the original gable roof to this non-convertible pyramid roof was never communicated to us, and we realized this far too late. Sure, you could say we should have noticed, but at some point, we just wanted to finish the project. The two-year construction period with two small children was really exhausting.
For the second build, we want to do everything right or make as few mistakes as possible, so we are allowing ourselves a much longer time for advance planning. We certainly will not build with the same homebuilding company again.
BUT: Is this the typical experience with standard (prefabricated) homebuilders? If you want something special like panoramic window walls, is it better to go to an architect? They are usually paid hourly. I worry that an architect might overall be the more expensive option. If we do go with a homebuilder, should we choose one that specializes in our style? For example, Huf-Haus comes to mind, but they are also very expensive.
Maybe someone here has had similar experiences with poor communication and advice, especially during the corona period?
Is there another solution besides a homebuilding company or an architect that we haven’t thought of? We just want to be involved in every decision and not be treated like we were the first time.
If what you want is above the average in size and features, does it make more sense economically to hire an architect than to modify a catalog house so much that it only ends up being more expensive?
Thanks for reading. I know this post is long.
W
WilderSueden14 Feb 2024 12:22RotesDach schrieb:
The architect somehow fixated on the idea of a city villa—although we never mentioned that term. All we wanted were two full stories. And that is exactly why it is important that the architect is truly an architect and works solely in the client’s interest. If the architect is part of the general contractor’s scope of work, there is always a requirement to get a simple-to-build house ready for submission as quickly as possible.
RomeoZwo schrieb:
My architect took some figures from some tool. No idea whether they were adjusted with factors for the current years or how exactly they were calculated.But that is an expensive place to allow gaps in precise knowledge.RomeoZwo schrieb:
I think very few architects deal with detailed cost planning – after all, it’s more of a creative degree and business administration is often less of a focus in studies in this field.Client acquisition costs time and money. Keeping your referral likelihood randomly low quickly makes the "artist" architect go broke. Only those who want to earn forever on a student level can afford such carelessness.RomeoZwo schrieb:
Especially with special requests and creative solutions, the architect is certainly the better choice.Especially with special requests and creative solutions, only an architect on @Gerddieter’s whitelist is a good choice. Otherwise, even Rockefeller and Rothschild will have to ask someone else for money in the end.RotesDach schrieb:
We now have 3 children and are planning a fourth.That is an unusual but classic reason for changing a property that no architect would predict, even with a relatively new house. But even an only child doesn’t thrive better just because their room is like a hall.RotesDach schrieb:
The criticism to plan the parents’ bedroom smaller, we deliberately ignored, and we are glad about that today. Of course, that’s very individual. I often read here that the bedroom should be nice and small because you only sleep in there. That is not the case with us: A lot happens here, like a changing table (though temporarily), my study was separated off, two long rows of wardrobes (we don’t have a separate walk-in closet), and a small area with an armchair; the bed is centered as a room divider. We like it. So if there is anything in our house that I’m satisfied with, it is our bedroom.Is this already the “Stockholm Syndrome,” that you “like” to have a multifunctional loft instead of a bedroom – would you actually prefer to hang a laundry line diagonally as a room divider?RotesDach schrieb:
Today I understand that our mistake was to take or be given a townhouse floor plan and then try to enlarge it. It doesn’t work.The modular townhouse base plan is only partly to blame for the mess; the bigger mistake was planning with an unresponsive (and appointed by the opposing side) architect. Therefore, I will exceptionally quote fully:WilderSueden schrieb:
And exactly for that reason, it is important that the architect actually is an architect and serves only the client. When the architect is part of the general contractor’s scope, there is always the requirement to get an application-ready, easy-to-build house as quickly as possible.https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
RotesDach schrieb:
I spent a long time trying to draw it myself. As an amateur, I wasn’t successful. But even back then, you could scroll back three years and see that I always encourage contributing to discussions with even the roughest and most imperfect sketches. I have also been saying for a long time how professionals plan: more systematically than artistically, and that the transition from conceptualizing to drawing often looks like kindergarten Picasso drawings at first. Similar to simple drawing games like Pictionary (dog, cat, mouse, car…), but starting with the “house of Nikolaus” figure.
I would be happy to do a tutorial on this, but right now my readers are unfortunately not sending me their wish lists for future posts. So as a penalty, they will just have to wait longer.
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
RotesDach schrieb:
Only one more attic floor is allowed to be added in height at most. …And probably the height is fixed as well, so that even on your two-storey house, there wouldn’t be space for an expandable gable roof.
As you mentioned earlier, the development plan prescribed a hipped roof with a 23-degree pitch.
Your wish was for the city villa, it says there. We can assume you told the architect the same as you have here in the forum.
You also said that she fully implemented your wishes… and that you stand by the floor plan!
There was so much to read, I won’t quote anything now.
Still, you have to say:
What you list as things you would like are cost drivers. An additional finished attic and panoramic glazing would have cost at least €100,000.
It’s common to want to make changes when the family grows – that’s exactly why many rebuild again.
Gerddieter schrieb:
The second house won’t automatically be “better” just because you start over. I agree. Based on what you say you need, you would have to build a 300 sqm (3,230 sq ft) house.
RotesDach schrieb:
Today, instead of two children’s rooms, there are to be four, plus two offices plus a guest room. That is – I’m becoming increasingly aware – clearly no longer a catalogue house. That can be done very well, if you can afford it.
RotesDach schrieb:
Of course, this is very individual. I often read here that the bedroom should be kept small, since it is only used for sleeping. You misunderstood that for yourself and out of context: rather than having to make the children’s rooms small due to limited space in the house, you should limit the bedroom size instead, because an adult spends less time in the bedroom than a child does in the children’s room.
I also can’t help but smile about the oversized undivided room. I like multifunctional rooms, but certainly no temporary setups like when children’s rooms were once divided with room dividers. In the end, your bedroom simply becomes what you forgot to plan: namely a dressing area and office, with well-designed sightlines so that an armchair suggests a connection between two rooms.
But let me get back to the point: it doesn’t matter whether with an architect or general contractor, if the client cannot look beyond the immediate future or doesn’t question their own opinion. Afterwards, others get blamed (see the architect or general contractor who implemented your wishes back then…).
And if you have to make compromises for financial reasons, you can’t later speak of “what could have been” because there was a valid reason for those compromises.
You built for 3-4 people at the time, and that was the right choice then. Now, with more children, it no longer fits. If you build again, deficiencies will appear again in a few years – whether you call them that or just accept them is up to you. And always remember: the second house is built for the friend – only the third one for yourself. A panoramic window or large sliding door to the terrace certainly isn’t what makes you completely happy.
B
BackSteinGotik15 Feb 2024 08:37RotesDach schrieb:
Today, instead of two children's rooms, there will be four, plus two home offices and a guest room. It is becoming increasingly clear to me that this is no longer a standard catalog house. There are certainly some general contractor designs for large gable-roof family houses. But even then, fitting in the two extra (total of four) children’s rooms is tight. A separate guest room still needs to be included, as well as a large master bedroom. How many bathrooms? At that size, the house will definitely be something you could truly call a villa—or a 2.5-story gable-roofed building block. This will also place demands on the plot of land—it will almost certainly need to be larger.
I would first ask the fundamental question for any sensible planning—what can you afford? A well-designed 200 m² (2,150 sq ft) home with a finished basement for guests and home offices will easily put you in the region of over €750,000 without the land. I can’t imagine your total costs would be anything less than seven figures, unless land is practically free in your area. If you have to pay around €400 per month for every additional €100,000 in financing, then this needs to be considered carefully.
Does this work financially for you? Have you already gone through the project with a financing advisor? Selling, mortgage swap, new loan, etc.?
You also have another child on the way. If the budget really doesn’t allow it, in my opinion, it would be more sensible to get professional help adapting your existing home to the new conditions—primarily, I mean creating more space for additional children.
BackSteinGotik schrieb:
First of all, I would ask the fundamental question for any sensible planning — what can I afford? A better designed 200m² (2,150 sq ft) house with a basement for guests and a home office already quickly puts you in the range of over €750,000 without the land. On offer is a 190m² (2,045 sq ft) house on a 500m² (5,380 sq ft) plot. The requirement is for a house of about 140m² (1,510 sq ft) — let’s say 160m² (1,720 sq ft) to be generous — on a plot of the same size.
What’s special about the property for sale is the mix of house size: 110m² (1,185 sq ft) of actual need + 20m² (215 sq ft) of extra space + 60m² (645 sq ft) of unused buffer area. People specifically looking for exactly this will pay a good price for it. Only four years old, with a garden instead of a bare yard and an entrance platform instead of a basic pallet, it’s already attractive. But due to the narrow target group, it’s not a quick sale. I would already advertise it as available in 2026.
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https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
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