ᐅ Prefabricated house: should you start with an architect’s design and then choose a prefab provider, or the other way around?

First of all, thank you for your exemplary participation in your own thread. I didn’t scroll through the various Weberhaus Balance 300 posts, so it’s best if you upload the original plan you are basing your project on. You are planning a 2E2K layout but with two home offices. This already goes beyond the usual scope of typical catalog home proposals.

I won’t comment on the floor plan in detail here, as you will have to change the base model anyway: catalog homes are regularly not reducible in size; if they are bigger than desired, it’s better to start with a smaller model and extend it (not widen it!).

Did you choose Weberhaus because their headquarters are still reasonably close in Rheinau? (In that case, Bien-Zenker in Schlüchtern would be even closer.) Regarding the floor plan, just this: I would avoid changing the construction method at the house-garage connection, which I don’t like anyway. Also, the utility room confuses me—isn’t it supposed to be located away from the exterior wall?

A 33° roof pitch is neither fish nor fowl—what exactly is the requirement?

You are currently 110 km (68 miles) from the building site—so you might not be far from me (river kilometer 610).

The interior finishing phases do not differ so dramatically between construction methods that timber construction would really have an advantage. I would recommend having an independent building consultant accompany the project regardless of how reputable the home builder’s quality seals are. Especially given the distance to the site. If you want, I can also help you find a general contractor around the LU/MA area.

Are the children already a reality? And are the estimates about visits from your mother based on habits that will still apply after moving 110 km (68 miles)?

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P.S., oh, I almost forgot: whether it's worth sticking closely to the original building series when making changes really depends on the individual supplier.

As I mentioned before (which was your original question), I wouldn’t start with a catalog model anyway. Instead, I would first look for a customized design based on just planning phases 1 and 2 to see which catalog models come closest. For a target size of 160 m² (1,722 sq ft) with a second home office, this likely means extending a basic model of about 130–135 m² (1,400–1,452 sq ft).

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So, as promised, here is the rest of my input:

Gänseblümchen7 schrieb:

We are currently planning a single-family home; the plot is already secured, and the development plan is convenient (large building area, we are allowed two full stories with a pitched roof...).
We have spoken to several prefab home suppliers and also went through the pre-selection process, and we actually wanted to decide soon. We are basically laypeople but have continuously informed ourselves so that I noticed that in one of the offered floor plans, the technical room had no exterior wall (undesirable because of the heat pump, right?).
It is generally said that the “detailed planning” will then be done with the architect. Slowly I am wondering if it might be smarter to first do the planning with an architect we pay ourselves, and then get offers from prefab home manufacturers to execute it?

There was a recent discussion where I shared my experience. Let’s see if I can manage with the link:

Recent thread on the topic

Short summary: We started similarly at first, then chose the architect route and have not regretted it. Financially, it has also worked out well so far. Since the house is not yet built (construction is starting soon... finally...), I can’t give a final conclusion yet.

What I strongly recommend:
The exterior dimensions should be more or less final. That means length, width, height, roof shape. Fine-tuning after completion is fine. If a few interior walls are moved, many suppliers don’t see that as a big issue.

However, if anything changes about the external appearance, some suppliers charge a lot for that.

We have met other homeowners in the area who signed for a different house and were told changes were no problem—but then it became a five-figure price increase.

We were also caught in this trap. For example, an offer for a house with a knee wall height of 230cm (90 inches). After we repeatedly pointed out that we are not allowed to build a knee wall but must have two full stories, we then received an offer for the same floor plan with two full stories; that raised the price by almost €35,000. (With another company, however, it was only €5,000. I can’t and don’t want to judge the costing or fairness behind that.)

Gänseblümchen7 schrieb:

Preferred heating technology: We are still undecided whether to go for an air-to-air heat pump (Proxon at Weberhaus) or an air-to-water heat pump (Tecalor). Currently, we lean more toward the air-to-water heat pump. The price above already includes the air-to-water heat pump (about €13,000 extra compared to the air-to-air heat pump).

My usual advice:
With an air-to-air heat pump, without very high investments, you are essentially tied to the technology or even less efficient alternatives (e.g., infrared heating).
With an air-to-water heat pump, you remain technology-neutral. No matter what is popular in 20 years, it will likely integrate well.

(For us, for several reasons—this was one of them—an air-to-air heat pump was not an option.)

Currently, we are around 180 sqm (1,940 sq ft). We think that 160–170 sqm (1,720–1,830 sq ft) would actually be sufficient, and we hope for ideas on how to save space.

Uff. I would rather start with floor plans that fit directly or are smaller, and enlarge them as needed.

The problem with downsizing is that you can only save by reducing the exterior dimensions. This means the house must be less long or less wide. But as a result, many things suddenly no longer work well. I looked into it: I found many savings potentials, but as soon as I thought them through, rooms elsewhere (other side of the house or different floor) suddenly no longer function well.

That said, I am confident that the actual room program for 160 sqm (1,720 sq ft) could be reasonably implemented (possibly without the second garage entrance, which takes up a lot of space).

ypg schrieb:

Regarding the design, even though I lost a bit of credibility with you: I actually prefer the original design from Weberhaus.
Kids' rooms in the west, no cluttered and space-consuming hallway, shower toilet where it’s needed. Direct access to the kitchen.
If you removed that troublesome pantry, you’d even get a spacious and functional kitchen.

The total floor area is about 180sqm (1,938 sq ft), so the Balance 300 is one of the larger houses, which allows for more possibilities and space.
The wrong approach is to start from 180sqm (1,938 sq ft) and then try to reduce it. That doesn’t work. That’s why I don’t see the Balance 300 as a good template.

Be clear about what you want. I don’t see any mention of garages/house passage, pantry or pantry replacement – all of these just bloat a house.
A large space requirement has to be streamlined to 160sqm (1,722 sq ft) without any frills.

Anyone who can admit a mistake gains credibility in my eyes ;-) I quickly made another draft, with the pantry planned under the stairs. We are fine with 180sqm (1,938 sq ft) if it is used efficiently; if we can manage with 160sqm (1,722 sq ft) significantly cheaper, even better – these are our current thoughts. I will upload the draft from my phone shortly. The toilet can’t stay in the original spot because there is no natural light there for us (because of the garage).

Be clear about what you want. I don’t see any mention of garages/house passage, pantry or pantry replacement – all of these just bloat a house.
A large space requirement has to be streamlined to 160sqm (1,722 sq ft) without any frills.
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11ant schrieb:

Catalog homes usually cannot be downsized; if they are larger than desired, it’s better to choose a smaller model and extend (not widen!) it.

Thanks for the tip, I’ll start looking for a suitable catalog home then...

11ant schrieb:

Did you choose Weberhaus because their headquarters in Rheinau are still reasonably close? (In that case, Bien-Zenker in Schlüchtern would be even closer).

We had four providers on our shortlist (based on online research and recommendations). Wolfhaus and Fingerhaus dropped out during the process. Schwörerhaus and Weberhaus are still interesting, with Weberhaus being significantly more affordable, so they are our current favorite.

11ant schrieb:

And the technical room puzzles me: didn’t you say it is not located on an exterior wall?

In the Schwörerhaus draft, it is inside; here I only showed the current Weberhaus draft.

11ant schrieb:

Currently 110 km (70 miles) from the construction site—are you perhaps not far from me (river kilometer 610)?

We currently live in Roßdorf and are building in Harthausen.

11ant schrieb:

I would recommend having an independent construction expert accompany the build anyway, regardless of how reputable the builder’s quality seals are. And especially given the distance to the building site. I can gladly help you find a builder around LU/MA.

We gladly accept recommendations!

11ant schrieb:

Are the children already real? — and are the estimates regarding your mother’s visits based on habits that will still apply after the 110 km (70 miles) move?

The children already exist 🙂 and hopefully my mother will still visit her grandchildren (and her daughter) even when I live near my in-laws...

Papierturm schrieb:

What I strongly recommend is this:
The exterior dimensions should be almost final. So: length, width, height, roof design. Fine-tuning after the contract is fine. Moving some interior walls is usually not a big issue with many providers.

No, the exterior dimensions must be clear before signing; that is also certain for us.