ᐅ Additional Costs Due to Incorrectly Designed Ventilation System and Floor-to-Ceiling Windows?
Created on: 29 Nov 2016 01:14
3
305er
Hi, we have our final planning meeting on December 13th, after which everything will be sent to the building authority (building permit / planning permission).
From the beginning, I told my salesperson that the outdoor unit of the Rotex ventilation system was incorrectly positioned in the first offer. The layout shown is not possible because the garage is supposed to be there.
I was told, "No problem. This can be changed in the planning phase and moved up."
Now I wrote to the CEO to have this corrected.
The reply was only:
On your floor plan, you moved the outdoor unit of the heat pump to a different location. This is not possible with the contractual Rotex heat pump. A Novelan LAD heat pump is required, and the outdoor unit must be moved further to the right, against the outer wall of the study room.
Here are the costs: Change to Novelan LAD + 2,138.00 €
Extension of the outdoor unit + 1,509.00 €
The reason is that the outdoor and indoor units have to be aligned at the same height/line.
Of course, I disagree with this.
Do you have any suggestions on how to solve this without extra costs or significant loss of space?
The pantry shown in the picture will be removed, and the utility room (HAR) will be made larger instead.
Point 2:
I wanted to replace the two large floor-to-ceiling terrace windows in the kitchen with one standard window, because the kitchen island will be placed against that wall.
Reply:
– Changing the floor-to-ceiling windows in the kitchen to standard windows with a masonry sill is possible at the same price in the project planning.
Question: By “standard” you mean? So two large floor-to-ceiling windows cost the same as one normal window?
Point 3:
Colored front door with a small side panel, ADDITIONAL COST 1,464€???? That seems quite high for just a bit of paint or finish, right?
Point 4:
I want to install a horizontal window at the top of the hallway to bring light into the room (we don’t want double casement windows). We saw this in a prefab house with the same knee wall height as ours.
Reply:
In the current plan, the window is not possible because the wall height is insufficient. Otherwise, the window would have to be fixed and equipped with TRAV glazing. The cost would be around 1,400.00 € to 1,600.00 €.
What do you think?
Point 5:
Price reduction for removing the standard front door: -1,315.00 €
But if I want an additional door, it costs me over 4,000 €. How is that possible?
See the attached picture.
Maybe they want to remove it because the door is not good enough — no RC2 rating, no windows with privacy glass, etc.
Here is the description:
Your contract includes a white plastic front door from the standard range with a small side panel.
The side panel has clear glass; satin glass can of course be added separately.
The front door has basic security, which should correspond approximately to WK 1, but a higher standard is possible and can be arranged.
According to the contract, a handle about 30 cm (12 inches) long is agreed.
Point 6:
Are the floor-to-ceiling windows on the upper floor acceptable? Or do they let in too little light?
Would a standard window be better? What is considered standard? What size is that?
So, that’s it for now. I actually wanted to write very little, just one or two points.
Thanks

From the beginning, I told my salesperson that the outdoor unit of the Rotex ventilation system was incorrectly positioned in the first offer. The layout shown is not possible because the garage is supposed to be there.
I was told, "No problem. This can be changed in the planning phase and moved up."
Now I wrote to the CEO to have this corrected.
The reply was only:
On your floor plan, you moved the outdoor unit of the heat pump to a different location. This is not possible with the contractual Rotex heat pump. A Novelan LAD heat pump is required, and the outdoor unit must be moved further to the right, against the outer wall of the study room.
Here are the costs: Change to Novelan LAD + 2,138.00 €
Extension of the outdoor unit + 1,509.00 €
The reason is that the outdoor and indoor units have to be aligned at the same height/line.
Of course, I disagree with this.
Do you have any suggestions on how to solve this without extra costs or significant loss of space?
The pantry shown in the picture will be removed, and the utility room (HAR) will be made larger instead.
Point 2:
I wanted to replace the two large floor-to-ceiling terrace windows in the kitchen with one standard window, because the kitchen island will be placed against that wall.
Reply:
– Changing the floor-to-ceiling windows in the kitchen to standard windows with a masonry sill is possible at the same price in the project planning.
Question: By “standard” you mean? So two large floor-to-ceiling windows cost the same as one normal window?
Point 3:
Colored front door with a small side panel, ADDITIONAL COST 1,464€???? That seems quite high for just a bit of paint or finish, right?
Point 4:
I want to install a horizontal window at the top of the hallway to bring light into the room (we don’t want double casement windows). We saw this in a prefab house with the same knee wall height as ours.
Reply:
In the current plan, the window is not possible because the wall height is insufficient. Otherwise, the window would have to be fixed and equipped with TRAV glazing. The cost would be around 1,400.00 € to 1,600.00 €.
What do you think?
Point 5:
Price reduction for removing the standard front door: -1,315.00 €
But if I want an additional door, it costs me over 4,000 €. How is that possible?
See the attached picture.
Maybe they want to remove it because the door is not good enough — no RC2 rating, no windows with privacy glass, etc.
Here is the description:
Your contract includes a white plastic front door from the standard range with a small side panel.
The side panel has clear glass; satin glass can of course be added separately.
The front door has basic security, which should correspond approximately to WK 1, but a higher standard is possible and can be arranged.
According to the contract, a handle about 30 cm (12 inches) long is agreed.
Point 6:
Are the floor-to-ceiling windows on the upper floor acceptable? Or do they let in too little light?
Would a standard window be better? What is considered standard? What size is that?
So, that’s it for now. I actually wanted to write very little, just one or two points.
Thanks
S
Steffen801 Dec 2016 11:27305er schrieb:
We had also considered building with an architect. However, we didn’t want to pay fees every time just to find out what the costs would be.If you want to know in advance exactly how much the house will cost when you move in, going with an architect is probably not the right choice. Usually, you only know that once you’re actually living there. That said, I’m quite confident that I didn’t pay a single euro too much. For about a €100,000 price increase, I’m also getting the corresponding added value.
305er schrieb:
We also considered building with an architect. However, we didn’t want to pay money upfront each time just to find out how much it would cost us.That’s the price of transparency. But you have to be able to handle it, and staying within budget is entirely in your own hands.
Otherwise, you end up tied to the general contractor (GC) and dependent on their schedule. You have to include practically every single screw in the scope of work, agree on fixed prices for additional outlets upfront, and so on, to avoid later struggling with absurd surcharges and minimal credits.
By the way, you can also build with an architect and a GC; it doesn’t always have to be separate contracts for each trade.
We are now building for the second time with the same builder, and so far everything has been handled very fairly. For example, we made some verbal agreements that were later honored without any additional charges. Basically, everything you get is stated in the building specification. We also requested quotes in advance for modified services (e.g., additional costs for RC2N windows, front door canopy, colored windows, clay roof tiles, etc.), and these quotes were then included in the construction contract. This allowed us to better calculate the costs in advance.
Best regards,
Sabine
Best regards,
Sabine
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