ᐅ initial brainstorming

Hello community,

Since I’m planning to build a house within the next 1-3 years, it’s about time to start thinking a bit about the construction process.

As there is no specific plot yet, creating a floor plan doesn’t make much sense at this point, but I’ve roughly outlined what I might need/want.

I’m interested in getting an idea of the approximate costs involved (whether it’s about €40,000 more or less doesn’t really matter ;-) ) and am looking for experiences from other homeowners. The construction is planned for Lower Saxony.

So here’s roughly what I had in mind: the house should be about 145 sqm (1,560 sq ft) and built with solid construction. Minimum knee wall height should be 160 cm (63 inches):

Rooms TV socket Network connections

Upper floor: - Bedroom (light laminate) 1 2
- Child 1 (light laminate) 1 2
- Child 2 (light laminate) 1 2
- Office (light laminate) 1 2
- Bathroom (tiles) 0 0
- Hallway (light laminate) 0 2

Ground floor: - Guest WC (tiles) 0 0
- Kitchen + dining area (tiles) 1 4
- Living room (tiles) 2 4
- Small storage room (tiles) 0 0
- Hallway 0 1

Basement: - Laundry + ironing room (nonwoven flooring) 1 0
- Tool cellar (tiles) 1 2
- Storage room (tiles) 1 0
- Heating + central control room (tiles)0 2
- Hallway (tiles) 0 2

Equipment:
- Integrated radio in the kitchen + 2 ceiling speakers (controlled via AVR with zone 2?)
- Home automation (heating, electricity, roller shutters) using KNX
- Electric flush-mounted roller shutters (completely invisible from both inside and outside but must remain accessible)
- LED ceiling lights
- Geothermal heating?
- Floor-to-ceiling windows
- Underfloor heating
- KfW 70 energy standard
- Fireplace
- Large floor-level shower at least 100 x 100 cm (39 x 39 inches) on the upper floor
- Standard floor-level shower on the ground floor
- Corner bathtub
- Network cabling centralized in a small network cabinet with patch panel in the basement
- Double garage

Outdoor features:
- Spotlights under the roof overhang linked to motion sensors (garden side) + switchable manually via light switches
- Spotlights at the entrance area switchable via light switches

As mentioned, these are just my initial thoughts. Everything not mentioned here should or can be standard (if there is such a thing as standard).

If what I’m thinking about is completely off or if you have feedback I was hoping for, just let me know ;-)

Starts at €400,000 (about $430,000)... that’s about all I can say 🙂
A good friend of mine is building almost exactly as you described (you know you have quite a bit of expensive luxury in there... KNX?), 145 sqm (about 1,560 sq ft) WITHOUT a basement and no exterior landscaping included yet. Cost estimates from two providers are both around €430,000 (about $460,000)... as I said, without a basement.
No one can give you a precise cost. That’s why I recommend getting non-binding quotes.

Why do you need so many network ports???? 😱

ypg schrieb:
Why do you need so many network ports???? 😱

At least two ports per room – one for a computer and one for a phone. The kids will appreciate it later. You can also distribute TV signals over the network. Nowadays, it’s like electrical outlets—you can never have enough. If you can avoid Wi-Fi, I would recommend doing so. For example, we have 22 ports in our house.

Exactly, they kept it elegantly understated. I find it completely fine.

You want to fit 4 bedrooms, a bathroom, a hallway, and stairs into the upper floor with a total area of 145 m² (1560 sq ft)? That might be very tight. I’m not sure if your requirements aren’t too ambitious.
If you’re planning to build the basement anyway, maybe consider placing the office in a heated basement room with a large light well?