ᐅ Manufactured wood house providers for single-family homes in Lower Saxony
Created on: 12 Feb 2025 17:46
B
Ben3001
Hello dear forum members,
We are a family of four planning to build a 180sqm (1,938 sq ft) single-family house with two full floors plus a basement in Lower Saxony, on a flat 650sqm (7,000 sq ft) plot in a new development area, and we are looking for a prefab house company (timber frame, exterior brick). We have had the preliminary design of the house created by an architect. Our budget is about €3,600 per sqm (plus basement and additional costs).
At the moment, we are overwhelmed by the sheer number of providers and their marketing. So far, we have researched mostly small to medium-sized companies. Wolf, Isowood, and Büdenbender have appealed to us quite well (criteria mainly being wall construction, company size, and solid financial standing). However, the selection is probably somewhat arbitrary.
We would be interested in additional comparable or alternative providers in our price range from whom we can request an offer.
Thank you very much for your recommendations and kind regards!
We are a family of four planning to build a 180sqm (1,938 sq ft) single-family house with two full floors plus a basement in Lower Saxony, on a flat 650sqm (7,000 sq ft) plot in a new development area, and we are looking for a prefab house company (timber frame, exterior brick). We have had the preliminary design of the house created by an architect. Our budget is about €3,600 per sqm (plus basement and additional costs).
At the moment, we are overwhelmed by the sheer number of providers and their marketing. So far, we have researched mostly small to medium-sized companies. Wolf, Isowood, and Büdenbender have appealed to us quite well (criteria mainly being wall construction, company size, and solid financial standing). However, the selection is probably somewhat arbitrary.
We would be interested in additional comparable or alternative providers in our price range from whom we can request an offer.
Thank you very much for your recommendations and kind regards!
Ben3001 schrieb:
Our lifestyle is probably quite average in the end, meaning we would have been happy with a proven standard floor plan from any prefab home provider. The main reason for involving the architect was primarily to have a consistent basis for comparing quotes.
The planning requirements were: two roughly equal-sized children's bedrooms on the upper floor, a separate bathroom for the children, a home office with space for two desks on the ground floor, no open-plan living-dining-kitchen area or at least the option to visually and olfactorily separate the kitchen from the living/dining area, a sauna in the master bathroom, and a south-facing window seat in the living room. I’m asking because the house, fully equipped as planned, will easily cost around 750,000 (seven hundred fifty thousand) dollars. So the question is whether that fits within your budget. Personally, I think having two guest rooms is already quite generous. You would definitely have options to accommodate technical installations there as well.
Otherwise, I really like this floor plan from Ms. Forster again. I would swap the table and toilet in the children’s bathroom. The coat closet on the ground floor could definitely be shorter, and it appears to have lighting issues in the longer section, as far as I can tell.
Thank you for your feedback!
It does bother me. At the moment, I can’t say whether it bothers me enough to start the planning over. The asymmetry on the sides is 89cm (35 inches). If the left side is extended by this length, the house gains 8.2sqm (88 sq ft) of floor area and costs about €30,000 more plus redesign costs. In the guest toilet downstairs, the window could be centered, but upstairs, with the current bathroom layout, 7cm (3 inches) are missing. Functionally, a bathroom 89cm wider in the current upstairs layout probably wouldn’t make much difference. Effects on the ground floor layout: no idea.
I will be using it alone, with my legs resting horizontally against the wall, so the size is fine for me.
Good point. Our idea was that the kitchen sliding door will only be closed a few times a week when cooking and mostly stays open. The door to the living room might indeed be better as double swing doors. I can’t quite judge yet what would be more practical.
Upstairs, the hallway is only 9sqm (97 sq ft) and 1.15m (45 inches) wide. Is that really large? Downstairs, in the side entrance area, it also serves as storage.
The floor plan is by no means square. The brickwork is purely for the look; I just can’t imagine the building plastered, and it’s also not mainly allowed by the local building regulations / planning permission. Pure wood construction doesn’t really fit the region and also has its disadvantages.
You’re probably right. I have some personal bias towards basements. If I try to calculate objectively and use ypg’s estimate of €2,000/sqm (about US$ per sq ft equivalent), the costs add up to €180,000. From that, I can deduct €15,000 for the foundation slab, €36,000 for 10sqm (108 sq ft) technical room above ground, and €13,000 according to 11ant’s basement formula. That leaves €116,500. For that amount, I could create 32sqm (344 sq ft) of better living space upstairs (assuming the building regulations allow it). On the other hand, laundry, storage, and technical rooms could also be more basic. If I assume I can manage with €1,500/sqm, then the extra cost is under €100,000. The real question is whether we’ll really play that much table tennis.
ypg schrieb:
In my opinion! You either design a house that deliberately uses symmetry or choose a different house shape.
If it doesn’t bother you, then there’s no need to change anything.
It does bother me. At the moment, I can’t say whether it bothers me enough to start the planning over. The asymmetry on the sides is 89cm (35 inches). If the left side is extended by this length, the house gains 8.2sqm (88 sq ft) of floor area and costs about €30,000 more plus redesign costs. In the guest toilet downstairs, the window could be centered, but upstairs, with the current bathroom layout, 7cm (3 inches) are missing. Functionally, a bathroom 89cm wider in the current upstairs layout probably wouldn’t make much difference. Effects on the ground floor layout: no idea.
Arauki11 schrieb:
Otherwise, I’m missing 20cm (8 inches) of length for a comfortable sauna.
I will be using it alone, with my legs resting horizontally against the wall, so the size is fine for me.
Arauki11 schrieb:
And there are too many sliding doors for my taste, which feel uncomfortable in the living area.
Good point. Our idea was that the kitchen sliding door will only be closed a few times a week when cooking and mostly stays open. The door to the living room might indeed be better as double swing doors. I can’t quite judge yet what would be more practical.
Arauki11 schrieb:
The hallway of 15sqm (161 sq ft) similarly large upstairs.
Upstairs, the hallway is only 9sqm (97 sq ft) and 1.15m (45 inches) wide. Is that really large? Downstairs, in the side entrance area, it also serves as storage.
Arauki11 schrieb:
Square floor plans for so-called townhouse, etc., all space and money wasters, likewise brickwork.
The floor plan is by no means square. The brickwork is purely for the look; I just can’t imagine the building plastered, and it’s also not mainly allowed by the local building regulations / planning permission. Pure wood construction doesn’t really fit the region and also has its disadvantages.
Arauki11 schrieb:
I think the basement costs are optimistically calculated; reality often shows it ends up being more expensive, but you will each have your reasons.
You’re probably right. I have some personal bias towards basements. If I try to calculate objectively and use ypg’s estimate of €2,000/sqm (about US$ per sq ft equivalent), the costs add up to €180,000. From that, I can deduct €15,000 for the foundation slab, €36,000 for 10sqm (108 sq ft) technical room above ground, and €13,000 according to 11ant’s basement formula. That leaves €116,500. For that amount, I could create 32sqm (344 sq ft) of better living space upstairs (assuming the building regulations allow it). On the other hand, laundry, storage, and technical rooms could also be more basic. If I assume I can manage with €1,500/sqm, then the extra cost is under €100,000. The real question is whether we’ll really play that much table tennis.
Rübe1 schrieb:
Hmm, with a 36.5cm (14 inch) exterior wall (including facing brick), I would really be interested in the planned exterior wall construction... (especially for timber frame construction)...Yes, this is again the mistake mentioned by 11ant regarding a design plan that is not adapted to the construction method. What exactly does timber frame construction mean in this context?Thanks for your feedback!
Unfortunately, that probably won’t be enough. Assuming €3,600 per square meter (about $390 per square foot), my initial estimate of €125k for the basement, and 18% additional construction costs, I’m currently calculating closer to €900k. A slight adjustment in the price per square meter between the basement and the main house is of course possible.
We felt intuitively that placing the sink by the window made more sense than the toilet, especially since that faces the street directly. I fully agree with you about the lighting in the entrance area. In the initial design, there was still a door between the entrance and the wardrobe, which we removed both for practical reasons (who wants to open four doors to carry groceries from the side entrance to the kitchen, especially since the route is already quite long) and for lighting reasons. I wouldn’t have minded a slightly wider main entrance area with more light, but the staircase limits the options there somewhat.
roteweste schrieb:
I’m asking because the house with everything included will easily cost around 750k. So the question is whether that fits your budget. Personally, I think having two guest rooms is quite a lot. You would definitely have options to accommodate technical equipment there as well.
Unfortunately, that probably won’t be enough. Assuming €3,600 per square meter (about $390 per square foot), my initial estimate of €125k for the basement, and 18% additional construction costs, I’m currently calculating closer to €900k. A slight adjustment in the price per square meter between the basement and the main house is of course possible.
roteweste schrieb:
I would swap the sink and toilet in the kids’ bathroom. The wardrobe on the ground floor could definitely be shorter and, as far as I can see, there is a lighting issue in the longer section.
We felt intuitively that placing the sink by the window made more sense than the toilet, especially since that faces the street directly. I fully agree with you about the lighting in the entrance area. In the initial design, there was still a door between the entrance and the wardrobe, which we removed both for practical reasons (who wants to open four doors to carry groceries from the side entrance to the kitchen, especially since the route is already quite long) and for lighting reasons. I wouldn’t have minded a slightly wider main entrance area with more light, but the staircase limits the options there somewhat.
Ben3001 schrieb:
Yes, this is the error mentioned by 11ant again—a design plan that is not adapted to the construction method. 36.5 meters (120 feet) sounds monolithic to me at first. So, no brick veneer. With insulation and an air gap, it will be even thicker, which is why I’m asking. A timber frame construction with a wood cladding facade can be done fairly reasonably in this case. It becomes problematic when setback distances are fully used and the floor area ratio is maxed out; then the entire plan falls apart. In Lower Saxony (NDS), remember the roof overhangs—overhangs above 50 cm (20 inches) count towards the floor area ratio.
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