ᐅ Manufactured wood house providers for single-family homes in Lower Saxony

Ben3001 schrieb:

I first read the schedule on your blog in 2023.

Ah yes, by then the base series was already complete and available at the current address. Unfortunately, I can only make slow progress with the "Reloaded" episodes because daily business with current clients takes priority, and the skilled labor shortage is delaying the individual workers’ vacations. The editor of the Barthel eBook has gone into phased retirement... hopefully the association will be established in spring.

Ben3001 schrieb:

Our "dough resting" period of six months may have been a bit too long, but we were/are quite satisfied with the draft results.

Six (to eight) is indeed the right number, but the unit should be "weeks." You don’t want dust (or even rust or mold) to accumulate on the result either. The problem is that men lack a sense of time when it comes to processes like pregnancy and therefore have to rely on calendars as substitutes. The result needs to progress into the next maturation stage (and by the way, time is money, and inflation is not stagnating).
Consultants have calendars like medical specialists, so it’s best to register right after the first ultrasound on the daycare waiting list. The current initial consultations will be scheduled for May, and I don’t know the backlog length with my colleagues, but I assume it’s roughly the same. Not least, the general contractors’ market is picking up again, which also plays a role. Waiting patiently for the upcoming government formation would not be a smart idea. The motto "Build now" is no coincidence.

Ben3001 schrieb:

I have gained most of my housebuilding knowledge through Mr. Beuler/Fertighausexperte and am currently following his recommendation: have architects create the schematic design and use this basis to obtain comparable offers from various builders, which are then evaluated.

The magic word is "comparability," and that only works proactively. This means you have to clearly specify exactly what kind of "apple-pears" you are looking for—otherwise you’ll go crazy trying to make the offers "like-for-like" before you can "do the math" with them. Your colleague Beuler’s approach can only partly be compared with mine (which I recommend to my clients, whether they use my services or do it themselves). The main difference is his focus on timber constructions, which means he doesn’t need to consider the "turning point" step in the process flow. Accordingly, in his case, Design Development (phase 3) should not wait for the result of the initial inquiry round as it would in a process that includes a "turning point." Conversely, with my approach, this orientation inquiry round would be "starting on the wrong foot" if it were done with the schematic design rather than the preliminary design. This causes issues in the process flow and leads to "digestive problems" for everyone involved. The additional effort is reflected in the processing time (hence the surcharge), and due to the resulting reduced job satisfaction, I call that the "compensation for pain." In Design Development (phase 4) — which we both want to avoid doubling up on and paying for twice — our paths converge again.

Ben3001 schrieb:

I have not made any inquiries yet. That’s why this thread exists. [...] So maybe we are not yet at a stage where consulting services can only be obtained with a surcharge for inconvenience?

Oh, so you’ve only gotten an impression of the three timber specialists online and haven’t initiated anything that would result in them offering something based on your draft? Then, according to my method, no entanglement occurs and you are welcome to come to me (and, above all, to work with the mixed handful of candidates). In such cases, I exceptionally work with drafts instead of preliminary designs (i.e., maturity stage of Design Development phase 3 instead of phase 2), but I want to remind our interested readers again that the latter phase is not only sufficient here but even better suited. In Design Development phase 3, the architect’s construction method is already "framed," which should be reserved for the outcome of the orientation inquiry round.

So: seize the bull by the horns—alone or with advice, but soon. Have you also read my posts here besides the schedule and basement contributions, especially those about individual contracts / self-contracting and Gerddieter (as well as those on my blog about the stone mantra and cladding)?

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hanse987 schrieb:

Is the basement then inside or outside the thermal envelope? If inside, then you need to heat or at least maintain a base temperature in the basement. If outside, does the price already include the insulation of the basement ceiling to the ground floor and the insulation of the stairwell including insulated door?

The offer does not specify this explicitly. As I understand it, the perimeter insulation is the key factor if the basement is intended to be part of the thermal envelope. In my offer, there is a line item for €12,000 for "139.63 sqm (1503 sq ft) perimeter insulation of the basement exterior walls starting from the top edge of the floor slab, supplied and installed in one operation. Insulation thickness 160 mm (6.3 inches). Thermal conductivity value 0.042 W/mK." A similar line item exists for insulation below the floor slab (an additional €9,000). Therefore, I assume that the basement is part of the thermal envelope.

ypg schrieb:

So, no interior finishing?! With an internal dimension of 9x11 meters (29.5x36 feet), that means two partition walls dividing the basement into three bare rooms without electrical wiring, flooring, lighting, or doors.

Thanks for the clarification! I understand. The basement will be more expensive. We have 5 rooms with nearly 30 meters (98 feet) of internal wall length. If I estimate about €10,000 per room for electrical work, flooring, heating, plus additional interior walls and doors, that totals approximately €40,000 extra costs. Does that sound roughly realistic?

11ant schrieb:

The key word is "comparability," and that only works actively. This means you have to clearly specify which kind of hybrid you’re looking for—otherwise, you’ll go crazy trying to make the offers "comparable" by name before you can "calculate" with them further. Your colleague Beuler’s approach can only be partly compared to mine (as I recommend to my clients, whether done by me or on their own). The essential difference lies in his focus on timber construction, which means he doesn’t need to consider the "switching point" step in the process. Consequently, his phase 3 (design phase) does not have to wait for the outcome of the first inquiry round as a "switching point." Conversely, with my approach, this orientation inquiry round would start "on the wrong foot" if it begins already with the design instead of the preliminary draft. This disrupts the process flow and causes "digestive issues" for everyone involved.

I’m trying to understand this: Does this mean the design phase (phase 3) basically needs to be tailored to either timber or masonry construction ("switching point"), and it’s basically pointless to request offers for masonry houses with my timber design because I either get no offers or incomparable ones? Until now, I assumed that apart from the generally thicker exterior wall of a masonry house, you would get roughly similar offers.

In the end, even though I initially expressed a preference for renewable raw materials, I’m not dogmatic about it— or as our former finance minister would say, I’m "technology open"—and could manage without specific timber vs. masonry offers. It was already noted elsewhere that timber houses and full-brick façades might not necessarily be natural partners. The only downside remaining for masonry houses is the lack of access to QNG funding.

11ant schrieb:

(as well as those on my blog site regarding the stone mantra and cladding) read

Yes, what I took away from that was: "no brick slips with external insulation systems (ETICS)" and "don’t interfere with the builder’s choice of materials."

11ant schrieb:

The current pre-consultations are still scheduled for May, and I don’t know the backlog at my colleagues’, but I suspect it’s about the same size.

That’s a shame, then we’ll probably have to take the bull by the horns ourselves.

Ben3001 schrieb:

Thanks for the clarification! I understand. The basement will be more expensive. We have 5 rooms with almost 30 meters (98 feet) of continuous interior walls. If I estimate about €10,000 each for electrical work, flooring, heating, plus additional interior walls/doors, I come to around €40,000 extra costs. Is that roughly realistic?

The €40,000 might cover the items you mentioned. However, you’re still missing some aspects in the basement: interior walls, screed, plastering, and waterproofing of the floor slab.
You will also need a staircase. I think there will be a few more expenses to consider.

Ben3001 schrieb:

The basement will be more expensive.

ypg schrieb:

I now estimate a significant portion of the basement costs closer to, and even higher than, the costs for living space.

I estimate €2000 per square meter (about $215 per square foot) for a basement within the thermal envelope, but with a lower quality of finish compared to comfortable living space. Niedersachen is still relatively affordable building land — sometimes €2800 per square meter (about $300 per square foot) of living area might be enough.

You haven’t said anything about yourself or the residents of the house. So it’s hard to give any advice. For example, I wouldn’t build a hip roof if I had children, because you don’t have much storage or extra space. However, I’m not a fan of basements if they can be avoided. I would rather plan extra space in the attic. Sometimes the zoning plan (building permit / planning permission) doesn’t allow that either.
With three or more children, a basement makes sense if you can afford extra space for hobbies and similar uses.
At 650 square meters (about 7,000 square feet), you can do quite a bit. I can say that, since we have 650 square meters of land with more than 100 square meters (about 1,075 square feet) of built footprint and a large front yard. There is still plenty of garden space left.

If you have a house design, you can request quotes for both solid construction and prefabricated construction. There will be some modifications later, but every builder does that. Both can meet energy efficiency standards.

Which district will the construction take place in?