ᐅ Estimated Construction Costs for a Single-Family Home in the Tübingen Area
Created on: 2 Apr 2025 21:54
D
D-Zug88
Hello everyone,
I’ll briefly describe our situation. We have reserved a plot of land for a single-family house. We would like to build a solid (whether Liapor or another type of "masonry," we are not really sure) structure on it. The plot is flat and square, measuring 417 m² (4490 sq ft).
We are allowed to build 2 full stories with SD, PD, FD, although only one SD is an option (maximum ridge height 9.5 m (31 ft), maximum wall height 6.10 m (20 ft)).
So far, we have received offers ranging from €3500/m² (local large contractor) to €2800/m² from, for example, Fingerhaus (probably excluded due to timber frame).
Now to our dream house:
- KfW 55 standard
- solid construction method (type not clear, will depend on budget; do Liapor and “masonry stone-on-stone” not differ much in cost?)
- 140 m² (1507 sq ft) living area
- 1.5 stories with a “high” knee wall
- basement (utility cellar, which can be finished later, connections for heating and electricity installed)
- house dimensions (determined by room requirements? 11 x 9 m (36 x 30 ft)? 11 x 10 m (36 x 33 ft)? Building area ratio of 0.4 is sufficient)
- including photovoltaic system with battery storage
- turnkey delivery
- Basement: technical room + laundry (15 m² (161 sq ft)) + large hobby room (approx. 30 m² (323 sq ft)) + fitness room (15 m² (161 sq ft)) + cellar (10 m² (108 sq ft)?) + hallway / stairs (? m²) = 70 m² (753 sq ft) + x
- Ground floor: living & dining area + kitchen (approx. 45 m² (484 sq ft)) + pantry (3 m² (32 sq ft)?) + guest room (>12 m² (129 sq ft)) + shower bathroom (4 m² (43 sq ft)?) + hallway / stairs (? m²) = 64 m² (689 sq ft) + x
- Upper floor: child 1 (16 m² (172 sq ft)) + child 2 (16 m² (172 sq ft)) + master bedroom + dressing room (20 m² (215 sq ft)) + bathroom (14 m² (151 sq ft)) + hallway + stairs (? m²) = 66 m² (710 sq ft) + x
Calculating room and floor area requirements (without the unknown x for stairs and hallways/entrance) we come to approximately 130 m² (1399 sq ft).
Our specific questions are,
a) Which “solid construction” companies do you generally recommend in the Tübingen area?
b) How much area should roughly be allowed for hallways and entrance / stairs? Yes, it depends on the floor plan, but we would like to estimate the total space requirements.
c) What rough price range should we expect in €/m² (living area) + €/m² (basement) for Liapor or other masonry? We do not want to consider additional costs like kitchen and garage here, but they are naturally included in the overall budget.
We hope you can help us. Please feel free to ask questions—I’ll respond promptly.
Have a nice evening!
I’ll briefly describe our situation. We have reserved a plot of land for a single-family house. We would like to build a solid (whether Liapor or another type of "masonry," we are not really sure) structure on it. The plot is flat and square, measuring 417 m² (4490 sq ft).
We are allowed to build 2 full stories with SD, PD, FD, although only one SD is an option (maximum ridge height 9.5 m (31 ft), maximum wall height 6.10 m (20 ft)).
So far, we have received offers ranging from €3500/m² (local large contractor) to €2800/m² from, for example, Fingerhaus (probably excluded due to timber frame).
Now to our dream house:
- KfW 55 standard
- solid construction method (type not clear, will depend on budget; do Liapor and “masonry stone-on-stone” not differ much in cost?)
- 140 m² (1507 sq ft) living area
- 1.5 stories with a “high” knee wall
- basement (utility cellar, which can be finished later, connections for heating and electricity installed)
- house dimensions (determined by room requirements? 11 x 9 m (36 x 30 ft)? 11 x 10 m (36 x 33 ft)? Building area ratio of 0.4 is sufficient)
- including photovoltaic system with battery storage
- turnkey delivery
- Basement: technical room + laundry (15 m² (161 sq ft)) + large hobby room (approx. 30 m² (323 sq ft)) + fitness room (15 m² (161 sq ft)) + cellar (10 m² (108 sq ft)?) + hallway / stairs (? m²) = 70 m² (753 sq ft) + x
- Ground floor: living & dining area + kitchen (approx. 45 m² (484 sq ft)) + pantry (3 m² (32 sq ft)?) + guest room (>12 m² (129 sq ft)) + shower bathroom (4 m² (43 sq ft)?) + hallway / stairs (? m²) = 64 m² (689 sq ft) + x
- Upper floor: child 1 (16 m² (172 sq ft)) + child 2 (16 m² (172 sq ft)) + master bedroom + dressing room (20 m² (215 sq ft)) + bathroom (14 m² (151 sq ft)) + hallway + stairs (? m²) = 66 m² (710 sq ft) + x
Calculating room and floor area requirements (without the unknown x for stairs and hallways/entrance) we come to approximately 130 m² (1399 sq ft).
Our specific questions are,
a) Which “solid construction” companies do you generally recommend in the Tübingen area?
b) How much area should roughly be allowed for hallways and entrance / stairs? Yes, it depends on the floor plan, but we would like to estimate the total space requirements.
c) What rough price range should we expect in €/m² (living area) + €/m² (basement) for Liapor or other masonry? We do not want to consider additional costs like kitchen and garage here, but they are naturally included in the overall budget.
We hope you can help us. Please feel free to ask questions—I’ll respond promptly.
Have a nice evening!
11ant schrieb:
are you ignoring again that what you can do yourself (or with friends) only counts if it fits into your process No, I think I’m just repeating myself too often, which gives the impression that I’m not listening - I’ll stop. The house must be ready for move-in by June 2028.
M
MachsSelbst7 Apr 2025 20:23Arauki11 schrieb:
(...)
5. Firmly check whether, what, and how much your buddies are willing and able to contribute
(...)How do you reliably confirm whether your buddies can do the work and are willing to commit over months or even years? Friends or not, working hard physically together is a completely different challenge. It also makes a big difference whether you’re doing it for yourself or for a friend.
I’ve been through this myself. Nowadays, I do most of the work alone or with just one or two people I work well with and who do quality work.
I had to cut out the rest because I’d have to explain too much, or the work would just be done carelessly and quickly, as long as there was beer and a kebab afterward.
The safest approach is to assume that you’ll end up doing the work alone or at best with one or two helpers who mostly just pass tools, carry materials, and do general support tasks.
Unless you really have professional tradespeople among your friends. But even then, they often don’t have time in the summer because they’re doing overtime, and there’s usually little you can do in winter.
MachsSelbst schrieb:
How can you reliably check if your mates are capable and willing to keep it up over months or years? Through communication. Discuss things clearly and agree on them together. With reliable people, it’s quite easy to figure out what’s possible, and I wouldn’t discuss this with others.
MachsSelbst schrieb:
Mates or not, working hard physically together is a completely different matter. And it’s also very different whether you’re doing it for yourself or for a mate. A mate is a person, so everyone is different. That’s exactly what it’s about—finding out reliably if it works, and if it doesn’t, that’s an important and necessary realization.
MachsSelbst schrieb:
I’ve been through it. By now I do most of the work alone or with 1-2 people I can work well with and who do good work. I had to sort the rest out because I had to explain too much and/or it was just quickly botched, as long as there was beer and a kebab after work. That depends on the individual, as people are unique; generalizations, as always, aren’t helpful here. If it was that bad for you, maybe things weren’t sufficiently clear on both sides beforehand. I don’t have such mates or wouldn’t call them that. Also the saying goes: “Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth…”
MachsSelbst schrieb:
The best approach is assuming you’ll end up doing the work alone, or at best with 1-2 helpers who act mainly as assistants, like handing over tools, carrying materials, etc. That may be true for you personally but shouldn’t be taken as a general rule.
MachsSelbst schrieb:
Unless you have actual tradespeople among your friends, professionals. But often they don’t have time in the end because they work a lot of overtime in summer and there’s usually not much to do in winter. This can be different as well. I had tradespeople who helped me a lot and I returned the favor in other ways; why shouldn’t that work? Everything was clearly and reliably agreed beforehand. Just because payment is involved when hiring a company doesn’t mean things without money have to be sloppy. The question is also how one generally defines friendship or mateship; there can be significant differences there.
As always, between black and white there are thousands of shades of gray, just like there are many things some people can’t imagine. Clear communication from the start is important, not hidden expectations.
M
MachsSelbst7 Apr 2025 22:15Arauki11 schrieb:
Through communication. Ms clearly discusses and agrees on something together. With reliable people, it’s quite easy to figure out what’s possible, and with others, I wouldn’t even discuss it.
(...) Your theory fails right in the first paragraph when faced with reality.
Who is truly reliable and who is not doesn’t become clear through intensive conversations... it only becomes clear in reality on the construction site, when you’re asked to help your buddy for the fourth weekend in a row and your partner complains about when you will spend time with the children again...
But I’m not here to convince anyone; I’m simply sharing my experience, which matches what I see around me. Most homeowners work hard on their own; help might come once every 2–3 weeks at best.
Ultimately, the decision is up to the individual. However, when planning a project like this, it’s better to prepare for the worst case, where you end up mostly on your own, rather than the best case, where all friends commit to helping for two years.
Hope is not a good strategy.
MachsSelbst schrieb:
Your theory already fails in the very first paragraph when confronted with reality. That may be true in your reality or for you. That’s unfortunate.
Apparently, you missed that I applied precisely this approach in my own build.
I had clear agreements on when, who, and how would help—or not; all of these were adhered to. What wasn’t feasible was not promised, quite simply.
Agreements are not only made on construction sites but everywhere in daily life, and reliability and clarity should be indispensable foundations of any friendship; that is how I operate, although I have no doubt that it’s different for you.
MachsSelbst schrieb:
when you’re expected to help your buddy for the fourth weekend in a row and your partner complains about when you’ll finally spend time with the kids again. Then your friend probably didn’t tell the full truth, or you didn’t clarify things firmly—or maybe both. Whatever the case, we don’t need to speculate further about whether people can make binding agreements with each other. Everyone chooses their own social environment and is solely responsible for it.
MachsSelbst schrieb:
I’m just sharing my experience, which matches what I see around here. As I said, I don’t doubt your experience, but (see above regarding personal responsibility when choosing friends).
MachsSelbst schrieb:
Most homeowners around me are working hard alone; help might come every two or three weeks at best. That may well be the case; maybe they simply never arranged anything else or don’t know anyone who could help. In any event, that is clarity too and does not contradict my point.
MachsSelbst schrieb:
Ultimately, the decision needs to be made by the builder anyway. Always—personal responsibility applies here as well!
MachsSelbst schrieb:
Hope is not a good strategy. Hope is the opposite of an agreement. Although—if you have a good network, hope is often rewarded (in addition to agreed help).
I can’t relate to an attitude of “Everyone else is lazy, eating my sandwich and drinking my beer,” because I have never experienced that in my life. I did a lot alone or with my wife, but I also always received help on various building projects, especially in emergencies. I still really appreciate that!
Here too, it’s always a matter of give and take, and perhaps one should reflect on what they themselves have given—or are genuinely willing to give. There are many ways to Rome.
M
MachsSelbst7 Apr 2025 22:58Arauki11 schrieb:
That may be true for your reality or your situation. What a pity.
Apparently, you overlooked that I applied the exact same approach during my build.
I had clear agreements about who would help, how, and when—or if they couldn’t help at all; all of these were fully honored. What wasn’t possible simply wasn’t promised, plain and simple.
(...) What would have been your course of action if someone had not kept their commitment?
Maybe we live in different worlds, which is not a bad thing. In my world, two friends have moved abroad for work in the past two years, so they wouldn’t have been able to follow the "BroCode" anymore—even if they had wanted to.
Just because it worked out for you this time, you can’t seriously recommend it as a general rule to everyone. How naive or forgetful is that? Be glad it worked for you—95% of the time, it doesn’t.