ᐅ Construction costs when building with an architect. What has your experience been?
Created on: 16 Aug 2014 11:28
T
ToppiHello everyone,
some time ago, we decided to build a house. After talking with friends and colleagues who have experience in this area, we want to work with an architect. Reason: Neither of us are experts (and unfortunately we don’t have one in the close family) and we would like someone who advises us independently. We are not planning any DIY work.
We already have a plot in sight, about 800 sqm (8600 sq ft) for around 70,000 € (rural area, no slope, Baden-Württemberg). I had originally thought that with the price of the land, there should be enough left for a nice house. Yesterday, we had an initial meeting with an architect who was recommended to us. He had already told us on the phone that building is expensive right now. During the meeting, he said we should expect around 420 € per cubic meter (about 2000 €/sqm (186 sq ft)) of built volume.
Our plans are:
Do these cost estimates per square meter align with your experiences? To be honest, I find this quite expensive.
An alternative would be a prefabricated house (e.g., something like Generation 5.0 or similar). This costs about 250,000 € for the living space; according to the brochure. Then there would be an additional 50,000 € for the basement plus 15,000 € for the double garage. That would put us at around 320,000 €. Plus various modifications—which I would estimate at around 50,000 €. That would bring the total to about 370,000 €, which is 130,000 € less than the architect’s quoted price. Or am I overlooking something critical?
Thank you in advance for your tips and information.
some time ago, we decided to build a house. After talking with friends and colleagues who have experience in this area, we want to work with an architect. Reason: Neither of us are experts (and unfortunately we don’t have one in the close family) and we would like someone who advises us independently. We are not planning any DIY work.
We already have a plot in sight, about 800 sqm (8600 sq ft) for around 70,000 € (rural area, no slope, Baden-Württemberg). I had originally thought that with the price of the land, there should be enough left for a nice house. Yesterday, we had an initial meeting with an architect who was recommended to us. He had already told us on the phone that building is expensive right now. During the meeting, he said we should expect around 420 € per cubic meter (about 2000 €/sqm (186 sq ft)) of built volume.
Our plans are:
- 180 sqm (1937 sq ft) of living space
- Basement
- Double garage
Do these cost estimates per square meter align with your experiences? To be honest, I find this quite expensive.
An alternative would be a prefabricated house (e.g., something like Generation 5.0 or similar). This costs about 250,000 € for the living space; according to the brochure. Then there would be an additional 50,000 € for the basement plus 15,000 € for the double garage. That would put us at around 320,000 €. Plus various modifications—which I would estimate at around 50,000 €. That would bring the total to about 370,000 €, which is 130,000 € less than the architect’s quoted price. Or am I overlooking something critical?
Thank you in advance for your tips and information.
Whether you build with an architect, a general contractor (GC), or whoever else... you can have bad luck with any of them. We are building with a GC and have hired independent expertise (construction supervision through a home savings contract + contract review). Tip: Study the subject yourself as deeply as your time and interest allow.
Bolzen schrieb:
Whether you build with an architect, a general contractor (GC), or whoever else… you can have bad luck with any of them. We understand that.
Bolzen schrieb:
Tip: Get as deeply involved in the subject as your own time and motivation allow. We are already working hard on that.
When I created the post, my main focus was on comparing costs. A colleague recently told me that a prefab house is not significantly cheaper compared to building with an architect (assuming a high-quality prefab provider). According to the calculation above, I would end up at around €550,000 (about $600,000) for a house with an architect. For a comparable Weber house it would be around €370,000 (about $405,000). So, the question naturally arises whether an important cost item is still missing for the prefab house, or if I really end up paying that much less...
Is it really that easy to compare at your stage now?
Catalog price Weberhaus: what exactly is included there? Which (heating) technology is offered?
When you look at the website, they currently offer 3 additional upgrades – meaning every single feature adds to the catalog price, whether it’s roller shutters, additional electric options, colored windows, and so on. To really understand, you would need to read and study the construction specifications to see what standard the (shell) house will have later, including compliance with energy saving regulations.
€2000 per square meter from the architect is quite generously calculated.
But honestly: 180m² (1940 sq ft) + basement (90m² (970 sq ft)) + double garage is already very generously planned.
Most homebuilders can be comfortable with an affordable 150m² (1615 sq ft) without a basement, plus a carport and storage room, without having to talk about social housing.
Catalog price Weberhaus: what exactly is included there? Which (heating) technology is offered?
When you look at the website, they currently offer 3 additional upgrades – meaning every single feature adds to the catalog price, whether it’s roller shutters, additional electric options, colored windows, and so on. To really understand, you would need to read and study the construction specifications to see what standard the (shell) house will have later, including compliance with energy saving regulations.
€2000 per square meter from the architect is quite generously calculated.
But honestly: 180m² (1940 sq ft) + basement (90m² (970 sq ft)) + double garage is already very generously planned.
Most homebuilders can be comfortable with an affordable 150m² (1615 sq ft) without a basement, plus a carport and storage room, without having to talk about social housing.
ypg schrieb:
Is it really possible to compare things so simply at your current stage? No, unfortunately not. I was more looking for a rough estimate of what would basically be an option for us.
ypg schrieb:
Weberhaus catalog price: what is included? What kind of (heating) technology is offered? Well, I would like to know that too. You probably need a personal meeting with a consultant to get clarity. The lack of price transparency is something I don’t really like about prefab home providers.
ypg schrieb:
2000€ /sqm from the architect is already quite generous That was what I was hoping for.
ypg schrieb:
But honestly: 180 sqm + basement (90 sqm) + double garage is quite a generous plan. Most home builders prefer an affordable 150 sqm without a basement + carport and storage room, without having to talk about social housing We just started out with the nice-to-have version.
Thanks for the input!
Toppi schrieb:
...
We decided to go with the nice-to-have option Well, you’re quite funny. To me, a nice-to-have is like a Range Rover, so I’m not really surprised by the starting price of around 70000 …
However, you should always consider whether the nice-to-have really fits the “must-have” aspect or if it remains just a nice-to-have in another life: large spaces also need heating and cleaning, and on top of that, they come with lots of walking areas.
Similar topics