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

ypg schrieb:

What you call a clever trick, in my view, is completely legal when it comes to a missing window in the entrance area. This is actually a visual technique used to balance things out and is widely applied. It creates harmony.
Still, the entire gable is shifted.

Well, with such a rendering, the designer wants (or should want) to help laypeople visualize the actual appearance of that side of the house, and without that tree (or other visual cover), I think it would look misaligned. So, as a homeowner, you should first be able to see the reality, because I wouldn’t want to rely on having a tree of a certain size there just to like the look of my house or to dislike it without it.
The planner probably noticed that "misalignment" too, otherwise the tree wouldn’t have been placed there; in that case, they should have clearly addressed this with the client (layperson) and shown it, which is at least my understanding of fair communication.

Ben3001 schrieb:

I will use the item alone, leaning horizontally against the wall. So, the size works.

Okay, then it fits. I just thought I’d mention it just in case.

Ben3001 schrieb:

Our idea was that the kitchen sliding door will only be closed a few times a week during cooking and is usually open. The door to the living room might really be better as a double door. I’m not sure yet what would be more practical.

Years ago, I invested in two sliding doors for the kitchen, and they were almost always open for 20 years, except maybe 4 to 5 times. I spent quite a bit of money on them, which I would not do today. I’d rather tolerate those few occasions and spend the saved money on areas that genuinely improve daily comfort. To me, this is one of those house-related points where a considerable amount accumulates quite unintentionally — money that could have been avoided spending.

Ben3001 schrieb:

The question is whether we really play that much table tennis.

As mentioned earlier, this can also be omitted. One of my favorite sayings is: "What is frequent is frequent, and what is rare is rare."
First, you don’t necessarily have to build that extra 32m² (344 sq ft) upstairs. You could save a lot of money which YOU WILL DEFINITELY need elsewhere. Unfortunately, it often happens that eventually the budget runs out and there isn’t enough left for nice things you would frequently use and enjoy, just because you wanted to cover unlikely cases (like table tennis). Consider adding up the costs per table tennis hour.
I would simply focus on implementing the things that really matter to me in very good, high-quality materials and omit less important things. You casually mention hundreds of thousands of euros for something that doesn't impact your everyday living space. That would never be an option for me.

Ben3001 schrieb:
That will probably not be enough, unfortunately. Assuming €3,600 per square meter (about $380 per square foot), my initial estimate of €125,000 ($135,000) for the basement, and 18% additional construction costs, I am currently calculating closer to €900,000 ($970,000). A slight shift in the price per square meter between the basement and the house is, of course, possible.

I also consider that realistic. With €3,600 per square meter (about $380 per square foot), you are definitely in the higher-end range for finishes, with prices open to increase. By the way, €15,000 ($16,000) for the foundation slab is at least twice too low as an estimate.

Arauki11 schrieb:
Many years ago, I invested in two sliding doors for the kitchen, and for almost 20 years they were basically always left open, except maybe 4 or 5 times. I spent a lot of money on them, which I wouldn’t do today. Instead, I’d rather tolerate those 4 or 5 occasions and spend the saved money on areas that provide lasting comfort. For me, this is one of those aspects of building a house where a significant amount of money quietly adds up that could have been avoided.

That’s exactly how it is with my in-laws, and I completely agree. In modern floor plans, you always see the kitchen. Either you learn to keep it tidy (yes, that’s possible even if you cook in there!), or you learn to let things slide sometimes.

Arauki11 schrieb:
You casually mention a hundred thousand euros for something that doesn’t affect your daily life in the living space. That would never be an option for me.

Do we know the original poster’s financial situation? I have to say, if I had had an extra 100k to spend during my planning, I probably would have chosen to build a basement. Looking back, I’m really glad I didn’t and can now afford to invest more in bathrooms and especially the kitchen (+electrical work).

Rübe1 schrieb:

36.5 meters (120 feet) sounds to me like a solid wall. So, no brick veneer. With insulation and an air cavity, it will be even thicker, hence my question. A timber frame construction with wood cladding can be done reasonably well. It gets tricky when setback requirements are maxed out, or the plot coverage limit is reached; then the entire planning falls apart. In Lower Saxony, remember roof overhangs count toward the plot coverage from 50 cm (20 inches) onwards...

Thanks for the tip about the roof overhang. I wasn’t aware of that. Ours is 60 cm (24 inches). Adding 10 cm (4 inches) more wall thickness in a masonry house would mean roughly 10 sqm (108 sq ft) more floor area. That still works with our current floor plan.

Arauki11 schrieb:

The planner probably noticed this "misalignment" as well; otherwise, the building wouldn’t have been approved there. However, he should have clearly addressed this with the client (layperson), and also shown it—that’s how I understand a fair collaboration.

That’s true. Although in this case, the "misalignment" is pretty obvious even to a non-architect. In the end, it was a cost-benefit decision; as a layperson, I couldn’t really assess the effort required for adjustments and had to rely on the architect. Should we have redone the entire design after the first draft? Maybe. We didn’t at that time. There are always many trade-offs to make. We’ll have to reflect on it again.

Arauki11 schrieb:

Many years ago, I invested in two sliding doors for the kitchen, and they basically stayed open for 20 years except for maybe 4 or 5 times. I spent a lot of money on those, which I wouldn’t do today. I’d rather tolerate the few times I’d need the doors and save that money for things that bring lasting comfort. For me, this is one of those areas in a house where a significant amount of money quietly accumulates that could have been avoided.

I completely see your point. In our case, the sliding doors in the kitchen provide regular comfort, and given our previous living situations, this is quite predictable.

Arauki11 schrieb:

As mentioned above, this could also be omitted. One of my favorite sayings: “What is frequent is frequent, and what is rare is rare.” First of all, you don’t necessarily have to build those extra 32 sqm (345 sq ft) upstairs—you could save a lot of money that you will DEFINITELY need elsewhere at some point. The problem is that you eventually run out of resources, and there isn’t enough left for nice things you would actually use and enjoy, just because you wanted to cover some hypothetical scenario (table tennis or similar). Calculate the cost per hour of table tennis. I would simply focus on really important things with very good, quality execution and leave less important things out altogether. You’re casually talking about hundreds of thousands of euros for something that doesn’t affect your daily living space at all. That would never be an option for me.

Again, point taken. Table tennis was just an example. If I play one hour per week, that costs about €48 per hour over 40 years. Excluding all other basement uses, of course. We’ll reconsider that.

roteweste schrieb:

Do we know the financial situation of the OP? I have to say, if I had 100,000 more to spend during my planning back then, I probably would have chosen to build a basement. Looking back, I’m really glad I didn’t and can now afford to invest more in bathrooms and especially the kitchen (+electrical work).

With the 900,000 plus a bit of a buffer mentioned, we should be able to manage. Until the day before yesterday, I would have thought that a basement was basically a no-brainer, although I was also assuming 125,000 for the basement. After subtracting the foundation slab and the utility room, I ended up with 64,000 additional costs, which only accounts for 18 square meters (194 square feet) of living space.

I have only just now had the time to look over the floor plans.

Here are some points I don’t like and that might be worth considering:
- The entrance has no canopy or covered area.
- The wardrobe/hallway is somewhat split into two sections, but you could probably get used to that.
- The dining table is quite boldly drawn at 1.50m (5 feet), which is rather small. The architect should really plan for 1.80m (6 feet), and if not, then 2.00m (6.5 feet), or even 2.40m (8 feet) for larger families or frequent guests.
- Also, the bay window in the dining area is not centered (as seen from the outside). Maybe that’s just me being picky.
- There is a sofa planned in the bay window. You should seriously consider who would want to rub their back against the window panes or cold surfaces by the window.
- Living room: How will the TV be positioned so that you don’t have to twist your neck awkwardly when furnishing?
- Kitchen space and storage are quite limited. The cramped seating arrangement has not really worked well since the early 2000s.
The seating positions also block the main access to the terrace.
- If I read that the kitchen doors are closed while cooking, how do you actually get to the terrace easily?
- The children’s bathroom upstairs has a 73cm (29 inches) door, and there is no space next to it for a light switch. Although the rough opening for the shower is 90cm (35 inches), so the actual usable width might be more like 80cm (31.5 inches)?
- There is no bathtub.

I don’t want to only criticize: the closets in the children’s rooms are well placed, and the parents’ closet is adequately sized.
There are now two spare rooms; unfortunately, I don’t recall if working from home (home office) plays a role.
Overall, the house is still compact in size, and no one wants to complain about it possibly being too small.
Personally, I would probably prefer the open-plan living area to be one meter wider with four people living there, rather than having an extra floor.
However, with a floor area ratio of around 0.2, that could also become quite tight.