ᐅ Is it practical to build a prefabricated house using a solid construction floor plan?
Created on: 23 Sep 2024 22:50
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Skya2020
Hello everyone,
We have just purchased a plot of land in NRW. The previous owners had already hired an architect to fully oversee the construction using traditional masonry methods and have already paid over €50,000 (about $54,000) for phases 1-6. There is already a building permit / planning permission, so construction could start almost immediately.
However, we are planning to build using prefabricated construction and are now wondering how to proceed best. The previous owners have offered to sell us their plans. Either way, we would still need to modify them (aside from the exterior dimensions) to fit our requirements.
The plot is on a slope, and there aren’t many options for building on it, so the design would likely be very similar either way.
Does it make sense to buy the plans from the previous owners and then work with the architect to incorporate changes before approaching prefab house manufacturers? Or are the floor plans not very useful due to the different construction method, making it more reasonable to hire a different architect for a new design?
And if you were to buy the plans—how much would you pay (they don’t really have a strong bargaining position)?
We are completely at the beginning of our home-building journey, so I apologize if this is a naïve question... We just don’t really know the best way to start.
We have just purchased a plot of land in NRW. The previous owners had already hired an architect to fully oversee the construction using traditional masonry methods and have already paid over €50,000 (about $54,000) for phases 1-6. There is already a building permit / planning permission, so construction could start almost immediately.
However, we are planning to build using prefabricated construction and are now wondering how to proceed best. The previous owners have offered to sell us their plans. Either way, we would still need to modify them (aside from the exterior dimensions) to fit our requirements.
The plot is on a slope, and there aren’t many options for building on it, so the design would likely be very similar either way.
Does it make sense to buy the plans from the previous owners and then work with the architect to incorporate changes before approaching prefab house manufacturers? Or are the floor plans not very useful due to the different construction method, making it more reasonable to hire a different architect for a new design?
And if you were to buy the plans—how much would you pay (they don’t really have a strong bargaining position)?
We are completely at the beginning of our home-building journey, so I apologize if this is a naïve question... We just don’t really know the best way to start.
hanghaus2023 schrieb:
Show us the plans, then we can see if it's worth 50k.I will try to attach the plans that were included in the listing. However, these don't have any measurements and the agent basically just cut them out.We would like to change the interior layout a bit because the living area doesn't feel spacious enough for us. Although I'm not a fan of straight staircases, I would omit the landing staircase and place the stairs in the upper floor straight above the lower one. Instead of the open space above the entrance, I would plan a guest restroom and a pantry. On the upper floor, I would also like a utility room; to make space, the walk-in closet can be much smaller.
In the basement, instead of the wellness area, we would plan a separate apartment for an office. So quite a few changes, but all within the external dimensions.
For your information, the terrace faces east. If you stand on the street, to the left (northwards) the hill goes down, so you could add a second entrance to the separate apartment on the left side of the house.
Skya2020 schrieb:
He said you can start construction and then make adjustments later through change requests. Nonsense? Yes, changes are possible; in the worst case, the change request will be denied and you have to stick to the approved version. However, the foundation slab is also a key factor for the drainage planning; nothing should be altered at that stage.
Skya2020 schrieb:
No, from acquaintances we have generally heard good things about prefabricated houses. From various manufacturers. But they are only equivalent—not better—and certainly not worth completely revising the plans for. On a sloped site, options are very limited because wooden manufacturers mostly exclude ground-level floors. However...
Skya2020 schrieb:
I’ll try to attach the plans that were included in the listing. ... it’s "good that we talked about this":
Even imagining the drawing quality as translated, I don’t see any planning that—no matter how much a building permit stamp refines it—would be worth saving those expensive drawings from the trash. This kind of planning isn’t done by good architects, but often by the type that @Gerddieter warns about (overrated artists, weak construction management, and with what I’d call “budget discipline you have to be able to afford”). This fits with the fact that the planning only went up to design phase 6.
In that sense, forget what I said earlier and rather plan from scratch. However, following my suggestion: Module A – resting phase with decision points – Module B according to the outcome of those decisions – complete Module C. I’m happy to assist in finding an architect.
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
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hanghaus202325 Sep 2024 09:09Thanks @Skya2020 for the floor plans. I watched the Karo Kauer videos. Your budget is probably not enough for this kind of construction.
With your requested changes, the planning is worthless. A complete redesign is necessary.
Perhaps the survey plan and the soil report can be reimbursed. Otherwise, they are rather unusable.
The slope seems to be really steep.
Is there also a site plan of the property so it’s easier to visualize? Please include a north arrow.
With your requested changes, the planning is worthless. A complete redesign is necessary.
Perhaps the survey plan and the soil report can be reimbursed. Otherwise, they are rather unusable.
The slope seems to be really steep.
Is there also a site plan of the property so it’s easier to visualize? Please include a north arrow.
hanghaus2023 schrieb:
Thanks @Skya2020 for the floor plans. I watched the Karo Kauer videos. Your budget probably isn’t enough for a build like that. We don’t need a house like Karo’s either. For me, it was more about the fact that she advertises Loxone, even though she doesn’t have that large a reach.
hanghaus2023 schrieb:
With your requested changes, the current plan isn’t worth much. It needs to be completely redesigned.
Maybe the survey plan and the soil report can be reimbursed. Otherwise, it’s not really usable. After listing all the changes (and that was just a rough overview), I also thought that’s quite a lot. In fact, I’m now leaning towards a complete redesign. Maybe there really is another idea that will fit our needs much better.
hanghaus2023 schrieb:
The slope looks really steep.
Is there a site plan available to help visualize it better? Please include a north arrow. Yes, the land rises about 3-4 meters (10-13 feet) above street level initially… So there will be substantial earthworks.
Attached is a photo from the architect’s plan to give a better idea of the garden. I tried to add the north arrow. The terrace is still somewhat lower than the future garden level. The property borders an orchard with horses. We’re trying to blend in a bit so you can look out onto it.
11ant schrieb:
However, it’s “good that we talked about this”:
Even when I imagine the drawing quality translated accordingly, I don’t see any plans that — as much as an approval stamp might enhance them — would be worth saving the expensive drawings from the bulky waste. Few good architects plan in this “style,” but often those of the kind that “@Gerddieter warns” about (overrated artists, weak construction management, and with what I’d call a “budget discipline you have to be able to afford”). This fits with the fact that the design only covered up to phase 6 of the project.
In this sense, forget what I said earlier and better start planning from scratch. However, following my suggestion: Module A – dough rest with switch setting – Module B according to the result of the switch setting – Module C complete. I am happy to help find an architect. Thanks for your input. I also think starting completely from scratch makes the most sense for us now. And there actually is a report in this forum about that architectural firm, where the symptoms of your suspicion regarding weak construction management seem to be appearing.
Skya2020 schrieb:
And there is actually a review about that architect’s office in this forum, and it seems to confirm your suspicions of weak construction management. Then please share the link to the mentioned post.
Skya2020 schrieb:
We don’t need a house like Karo’s either. My point was more that she advertises with Loxone, even though she doesn’t have a very wide reach. In villas like the one shown in her Loxone video, soon Peter Zwegat might be at the door. The “lease rate” probably stands in no reasonable relation to what can be expected from the very short-term cancellable influencer income. Even the location of the panoramic window alone would set the price level at Bel Air standards.
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
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