ᐅ Looking for a General Contractor in the East Berlin Area – Are the Requirements Realistic?
Created on: 2 Oct 2024 15:30
I
IMM0rtalis
Hello,
we have purchased a small plot of about 380m2 (20x19m) in East Berlin and are now looking for a general contractor for a single-family house.
We are planning a footprint of approximately 8.5x9.5 meters (28x31 feet), with exterior walls of 30cm+ (12 inches) aerated concrete and solid interior walls made of calcium silicate bricks. On the ground floor, we want a toilet, a study, and an open living-dining-kitchen area (plus a utility room, of course). On the upper floor, there should be two children’s rooms with a dormer (centered), a bathroom with a bathtub and walk-in shower, and a bedroom with a small walk-in closet. No basement, but electric roller shutters throughout. Bathrooms, utility room, and kitchen tiled, all interior walls smoothed to Q2 level.
This is roughly our idea so far, and we have contacted Heinz von Heiden and Town & Country (to whom we sent detailed plans).
Heinz von Heiden seems quite inflexible regarding special requests, whereas Town & Country operates in Berlin as an independent building company and basically a franchisee and appears more flexible. We plan to work fully with our own construction expert during the build and want to have the service offers reviewed externally in detail later.
I have a few questions:
- Can you recommend local builders in Berlin & Brandenburg who are more similar to Heinz von Heiden than Viebrockhaus?
- Does the exterior wall design we described make sense? Heinz von Heiden wants to sell us a 40cm+ (16 inches) exterior wall with hollow bricks and insulation, Town & Country offers 24cm (9.5 inches) aerated concrete.
- Do solid interior walls on the upper floor make sense? Town & Country says they do them but don’t recommend them due to frequent cracking. They suggest double-layer gypsum boards instead.
Apart from needing to be extremely careful with the specifications, Town & Country seems very professional because they are a building company here (just Town & Country branded). However, Town & Country generally seems to have a bad reputation. So far, I feel more like I am negotiating with a local builder rather than a rigid large player. What do you think?
I am looking forward to your thoughts.
Best regards!
we have purchased a small plot of about 380m2 (20x19m) in East Berlin and are now looking for a general contractor for a single-family house.
We are planning a footprint of approximately 8.5x9.5 meters (28x31 feet), with exterior walls of 30cm+ (12 inches) aerated concrete and solid interior walls made of calcium silicate bricks. On the ground floor, we want a toilet, a study, and an open living-dining-kitchen area (plus a utility room, of course). On the upper floor, there should be two children’s rooms with a dormer (centered), a bathroom with a bathtub and walk-in shower, and a bedroom with a small walk-in closet. No basement, but electric roller shutters throughout. Bathrooms, utility room, and kitchen tiled, all interior walls smoothed to Q2 level.
This is roughly our idea so far, and we have contacted Heinz von Heiden and Town & Country (to whom we sent detailed plans).
Heinz von Heiden seems quite inflexible regarding special requests, whereas Town & Country operates in Berlin as an independent building company and basically a franchisee and appears more flexible. We plan to work fully with our own construction expert during the build and want to have the service offers reviewed externally in detail later.
I have a few questions:
- Can you recommend local builders in Berlin & Brandenburg who are more similar to Heinz von Heiden than Viebrockhaus?
- Does the exterior wall design we described make sense? Heinz von Heiden wants to sell us a 40cm+ (16 inches) exterior wall with hollow bricks and insulation, Town & Country offers 24cm (9.5 inches) aerated concrete.
- Do solid interior walls on the upper floor make sense? Town & Country says they do them but don’t recommend them due to frequent cracking. They suggest double-layer gypsum boards instead.
Apart from needing to be extremely careful with the specifications, Town & Country seems very professional because they are a building company here (just Town & Country branded). However, Town & Country generally seems to have a bad reputation. So far, I feel more like I am negotiating with a local builder rather than a rigid large player. What do you think?
I am looking forward to your thoughts.
Best regards!
IMM0rtalis schrieb:
and we are now looking for a general contractor to build a single-family house. Although I always say you should gladly work with a general contractor, but never solely rely on one instead of having a tender.
IMM0rtalis schrieb:
So far we have contacted Heinz von Heiden and Town & Country. (We sent them detailed information.) But hopefully not in the form of a self-prepared construction plan, because:
nordanney schrieb:
How about starting with an architect’s design first? Local construction companies will build whatever you want, no matter how impractical the final floor plan is. After all, they are mostly builders, not planners. .
IMM0rtalis schrieb:
Apart from having to be extremely careful with the bill of quantities, Town & Country seems very professional, since this is directly a construction company (just Town & Country branded). However, Town & Country generally has a rather poor reputation. So far, I feel like I’m negotiating with a local builder rather than a rigid large corporation. What do you think? [ / ] We even visited a house one street away from the headquarters of the franchisee MBB Massivhäuser für Berlin-Brandenburg GmbH. Franchisees are usually even more like small local builders, but in disputes you will be dealing with the legal department of the “brand.” I always look for companies in the region (except for timber construction), but never contact the builder before having the design ready! Search this forum for keywords like “individual contract award” / “self contracting” / “Gerddieter,” and where you find my “house-building roadmap,” check for terms like dough rest and switch setting in the services. Headquarters of a franchisee sounds odd…
IMM0rtalis schrieb:
I considered that briefly, but our project consultant doesn’t see that as the way forward for us. Online I keep reading different opinions about this. In particular, I read that it can actually turn out to be more expensive than Heinz von Heiden or similar. ... a “project consultant” is often just a fancy term for a sales agent when provided by the supplier. Check my house-building roadmap.
IMM0rtalis schrieb:
Yes, we hired one independently. We successfully completed another very complex project with him (not a construction project). That sounds very interesting.
IMM0rtalis schrieb:
- Does the exterior wall make sense as described in the text? Heinz von Heiden wants to sell us a 40cm+ (16 inches+) exterior wall with hollow brick and insulation, Town & Country a 24cm (9.5 inches) aerated concrete wall.
- Do solid interior walls on the upper floor make sense? Town & Country says they do them but do not recommend it due to frequent cracking. Prefer double-layer drywall or something similar. nordanney schrieb:
Solid construction is just as reasonable as stud framing. Both can have the same properties. One is not better per se, just different. Whatever an exterior wall “as in the text” means, also read “lightweight walls in solid houses?” and “The brick mantra of 11ant.”
IMM0rtalis schrieb:
He was not completely against it per se, but sees it as riskier in terms of warranty, time coordination, and stress for us. That’s why you need tendering and construction supervision by the architect.
IMM0rtalis schrieb:
Currently, I’m already approaching construction companies with a floor plan and requirements that we find interesting. But so far only with the somewhat bigger ones. Show us the floor plan. And forget the big brand names (at least for masonry). But as I said: first the design with the architect (Module A), then the dough rest with switch setting, then depending on the result of the switch setting either Module B or just phase 3 with the architect and so forth.
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
I
IMM0rtalis2 Oct 2024 19:4311ant schrieb:
... "project consultant" sounds like a vague term for a sales representative when provided by the supplier. See my house construction schedule.11ant schrieb:
That sounds very interesting.Yes, it is :p I probably shouldn’t go into more detail about that here publicly.11ant schrieb:
Whatever a wall "like in running text" is supposed to mean, also read "Lightweight partition walls in solid houses?" and "The stone mantra of 11ant".Sorry, I meant the exterior wall. Right now, I think using 36cm (14 inches) aerated concrete without external thermal insulation would work quite well for me.11ant schrieb:
Show the floor plan. And forget the big brand names (when it comes to masonry). But as I said: before choosing the companies, first the planning with the architect (Module A), then the resting or waiting phase with decision-making, followed by either Module B or just work phase 3 with the architect, depending on the outcome of that decision, and so forth.I’ll have to share that later once I’ve recreated it in a software program. It was from one of the quotes and made perfect sense for us.Thanks so far for your suggestions.
IMM0rtalis schrieb:
Currently, I think using 36cm (14 inches) aerated concrete without external thermal insulation composite system (ETICS) would work quite well. As I said, 11ant Steinemantra, don’t impose the wall structure on the contractor.
IMM0rtalis schrieb:
I’ll have to provide it later when I’ve simulated it in a software. It was from one of the quotes, but it actually made total sense for us. Better not to show anything “simulated in a software.” What was from one of the quotes?
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
I
IMM0rtalis2 Oct 2024 19:5511ant schrieb:
Better not to show anything "simulated by a program." What was from one of the offers? The floor plan from one of the offers.
IMM0rtalis schrieb:
The floor plan of one of the offers.And did you then request information from the others with that?IMM0rtalis schrieb:
For example, whether everything went smoothly or if there were any points of friction; whether prices were renegotiated, how flexible the provider was with additional requests, and to what extent changes during the selection process resulted in higher costs.There is nothing to renegotiate if you do not make changes to the contract subject afterward in writing. Discipline is essential; those who keep changing selections back and forth pay the highest price (and those who have chosen a provider that does not match their expectations). Burl wood and leather steering wheels cost more at Daewoo than at Jaguar.https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
I
IMM0rtalis2 Oct 2024 20:1711ant schrieb:
There is nothing left to renegotiate if you don’t change the contract subject in writing afterwards. I mean before signing the contract. We expressed requests before signing, and the seller added a generous surcharge for them. Things like blinds on the upper floor, generally electric blinds. That was no problem at all with other inquiries. We basically used that as a basis with 2-3 additional requests and still ended up with other offers that were 30,000–50,000€ (33,000–55,000 USD) cheaper despite the extra requests. That won’t be the final price, because they definitely cut costs on the foundation slab, for example, and the “cheaper” ones sometimes don’t dispose of the construction waste properly—but it’s still a noticeable difference. For that reason, our consultant initially recommended looking around since he considered the price for the scope of work to be overpriced. But we really wanted the plot because of the location and price.
In the end, the seller offered a house construction on a real estate agent’s plot. We signed a reservation agreement with the seller for 10,000€ (11,000 USD) as a fee for consulting services, which wouldn’t apply if building with him or if we didn’t buy the plot. We used the offer to secure financing but did not sign any construction contract with the seller. Now the plot purchase contract is signed, and we want to renegotiate or switch suppliers.
Similar topics