Hello dear community,
I am about to become a homeowner soon, but I still have some questions that my previous research has not satisfactorily answered.
Rough plan:
- Construction of a solid 1.5-story single-family house (approx. 140sqm (1507 sqft)) in the 03XXX area
- Installation of a ground source heat pump with boreholes
- Plot of land (905sqm (9740 sqft)) found and a notary appointment already scheduled
- A zoning plan (building plan / planning permission) is available for the plot, allowing two-story construction
- Other restrictions of the zoning plan do not hinder our planned development
- This was confirmed to us by the lady from the urban planning office; my wife and I also work in local government (so she probably won’t want to upset us 😉 )
The plot is the last available one in a new development area.
We also had a brief conversation with a planner, who immediately tried to convince us to build a house “one size bigger,” which again reassured me that the zoning plan restrictions will not be an issue for us.
So if we proceed with purchasing the plot soon, there should be nothing standing in the way of building “our dream home.”
However, as a layperson, I am still unclear about the exact process of building a house. What happens next?
1. Find plot – done
2. Own idea of the house – done
3. Check building feasibility – done
4. Purchase plot – almost done
5. Select planner – done
6. Have planner design floor plan – open
7. Submit application for building permit / planning permission – open
8. ???
But what happens after the building permit / planning permission is granted?
Are the contracts awarded, and everything proceeds as planned?
No. ?. Soil excavation and foundation slab construction
No. ?. Borehole drilling for geothermal probes and laying pipes to the house
No. ?. Laying utilities to the house (connections are available in the street)
No. ?. Building up the walls of the house
No. ?. Installation of underfloor heating and heat pump
No. ?. Construction of the roof frame / roof covering
No. ?. etc.
My goal is to avoid mistakes so that later on, nobody says we could have done this earlier and now need to redo it. I also want to avoid any delays on site because I forgot to apply for something and the builders can’t continue until it is done.
The sequences I have found on the internet all read like this:
Find plot, buy, design, building permit / planning permission, build house, move in, done...
I am about to become a homeowner soon, but I still have some questions that my previous research has not satisfactorily answered.
Rough plan:
- Construction of a solid 1.5-story single-family house (approx. 140sqm (1507 sqft)) in the 03XXX area
- Installation of a ground source heat pump with boreholes
- Plot of land (905sqm (9740 sqft)) found and a notary appointment already scheduled
- A zoning plan (building plan / planning permission) is available for the plot, allowing two-story construction
- Other restrictions of the zoning plan do not hinder our planned development
- This was confirmed to us by the lady from the urban planning office; my wife and I also work in local government (so she probably won’t want to upset us 😉 )
The plot is the last available one in a new development area.
We also had a brief conversation with a planner, who immediately tried to convince us to build a house “one size bigger,” which again reassured me that the zoning plan restrictions will not be an issue for us.
So if we proceed with purchasing the plot soon, there should be nothing standing in the way of building “our dream home.”
However, as a layperson, I am still unclear about the exact process of building a house. What happens next?
1. Find plot – done
2. Own idea of the house – done
3. Check building feasibility – done
4. Purchase plot – almost done
5. Select planner – done
6. Have planner design floor plan – open
7. Submit application for building permit / planning permission – open
8. ???
But what happens after the building permit / planning permission is granted?
Are the contracts awarded, and everything proceeds as planned?
No. ?. Soil excavation and foundation slab construction
No. ?. Borehole drilling for geothermal probes and laying pipes to the house
No. ?. Laying utilities to the house (connections are available in the street)
No. ?. Building up the walls of the house
No. ?. Installation of underfloor heating and heat pump
No. ?. Construction of the roof frame / roof covering
No. ?. etc.
My goal is to avoid mistakes so that later on, nobody says we could have done this earlier and now need to redo it. I also want to avoid any delays on site because I forgot to apply for something and the builders can’t continue until it is done.
The sequences I have found on the internet all read like this:
Find plot, buy, design, building permit / planning permission, build house, move in, done...
Masipulami8 Oct 2014 10:09Before starting the actual construction work, and ideally also during the planning phase, a soil report should be prepared.
B
Bauexperte8 Oct 2014 10:20Hello,
So you want to award the trades separately through an architect?
While the application for the building permit / planning permission is in progress, commission the soil survey. Meanwhile, your planner can already prepare the tender documents and send them to three companies per trade. Once the granted and condition-free building permit / planning permission is available, commission the structural engineering; after receiving this, start negotiations with the preferred bidders from the tender and expand the requirements to include the structural engineering specifications. This is also the right time to clarify whether the planner will take on the construction management (which I generally advise against) or if external construction management and site supervision will be commissioned.
Then you basically just need to wait for frost-free ground conditions, and construction can begin.
Primarily, your appointed planner is responsible for this; as a layperson, it is not your task—and you shouldn’t even try 😉—to become overly familiar with these technical details. That expertise is precisely why you hire external professionals!
Delays on-site are difficult if not impossible to avoid. Assuming you could start the shell construction this year, the first pause would likely happen around Christmas / New Year. Then there are smaller uncertainties like fully booked contractors, bottlenecks with precast ceilings and windows, and so on.
That applies—plus possibly some self-performed work—if you are building with a general contractor / construction manager.
Best regards, Bauexperte
Basti2709 schrieb:
But what happens after the building permit / planning permission is granted?
Are the contracts awarded and everything proceeds as usual?
So you want to award the trades separately through an architect?
Basti2709 schrieb:
No. ?. etc.
While the application for the building permit / planning permission is in progress, commission the soil survey. Meanwhile, your planner can already prepare the tender documents and send them to three companies per trade. Once the granted and condition-free building permit / planning permission is available, commission the structural engineering; after receiving this, start negotiations with the preferred bidders from the tender and expand the requirements to include the structural engineering specifications. This is also the right time to clarify whether the planner will take on the construction management (which I generally advise against) or if external construction management and site supervision will be commissioned.
Then you basically just need to wait for frost-free ground conditions, and construction can begin.
Basti2709 schrieb:
My concern is to avoid mistakes so I won’t hear later that we should have handled it differently back then and now have to redo things. I also want to avoid delays on site because I forgot to apply for something somewhere and they can’t proceed until that is resolved.
Primarily, your appointed planner is responsible for this; as a layperson, it is not your task—and you shouldn’t even try 😉—to become overly familiar with these technical details. That expertise is precisely why you hire external professionals!
Delays on-site are difficult if not impossible to avoid. Assuming you could start the shell construction this year, the first pause would likely happen around Christmas / New Year. Then there are smaller uncertainties like fully booked contractors, bottlenecks with precast ceilings and windows, and so on.
Basti2709 schrieb:
Basti2709 schrieb:
The timelines I’ve found online all read like this:
Find and buy land, design, building permit / planning permission, construction, move in, done...
That applies—plus possibly some self-performed work—if you are building with a general contractor / construction manager.
Best regards, Bauexperte
N
nordanney8 Oct 2014 10:20Are you managing the entire construction supervision yourself? If so, you have quite a lot ahead of you, and it doesn’t seem like you have much experience with it so far. If not, talk to your architect or construction manager. They can outline the steps for you in detail.
Masipulami schrieb:
Before starting the actual work, and ideally already during the planning phase, a soil survey should be conducted.I unfortunately forgot to mention this in my previous post. But it is definitely correct. There shouldn’t actually be any major issues here, since, as I said, this is the last available plot in a new development area. So this is probably the next step after obtaining the building permit / planning permission:
01. Find a plot – done
02. Own idea of the house – done
03. Check buildability – done
04. Purchase plot – almost done
05. Choose planner / architect – done
06. Have planner design the floor plan – open
07. Submit application for building permit / planning permission – open
08. Have soil survey conducted – open
09. Set out the foundation slab ???
10. ???
Bauexperte schrieb:
Hello,
So you want to contract the trades separately through an architect?
The planner obtains quotes for the individual trades and compares them.
I can also specify certain companies from which she should request quotes – which I plan to do.
She might also take on construction supervision, but I want to check with other acquaintances about their experience with her first. So far, the feedback has been quite positive. Why do you recommend an external site manager?
Construction is planned to start in the spring of next year. Even though the planner is responsible for this, it still reassures me not to approach the project entirely naively.
Thanks anyway for the answers so far! 🙂