ᐅ Avoid Mistakes When Building Your Second Home: Builder or Architect?
Created on: 13 Feb 2024 11:39
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RotesDach
Hello forum,
In 2020, we built a new single-family home. However, for various reasons, we are not completely satisfied and are considering building again. We want to take our time with this (time frame 5-10 years) to be really sure about what exactly we want to change. In the meantime, we can also save more equity and observe everyday life with the children. From our experience, daily life with 3-4 children requires a lot of flexibility in the house because the needs of all family members seem to change quickly. That is why we have set quite a long time frame.
When we started planning the house in 2019, we didn’t always make the right decisions in hindsight. With the first and later the second child, and then the lockdown, we could not view or visit everything that was installed beforehand. Also, contact with the architect from the homebuilding company was quite limited. We often simply lacked proper advice.
My question to you is: How can we avoid making the same mistakes again in the next build? We always had to make decisions very quickly and often had no solid basis to decide. We would have liked to have quick access to prices and services; this just wasn’t available. For example, if we planned an additional window or increased the living area, we received a new total price and could only guess how much the extra cost was.
We found that the homebuilding company only builds in the way they usually do, meaning when we asked for something unusual, they said it wasn’t possible. For example, we wanted a large panoramic glass window wall that could slide open barrier-free. They said this wasn’t possible for structural reasons in our house. It seemed likely that our builder simply did not have this kind of feature in their program, or the profit margin on such a request was too low for them.
What frustrates me most is the roof. It is not usable as living space. It is a low pyramid roof made of nail plate trusses. There is not enough standing height for living space, and the structure is not suitable for conversion. We never discussed the roof with the architect at the time. The catalog house our free planning was based on originally had a gable roof—exactly what we would wish for today. The architect kept talking about a "town villa" we would be building, and we eventually adopted that term. As laypeople, we understood that as a house with two full floors. However, the architect from the building company implied a pyramid roof by "town villa." The change from the original gable roof to this non-convertible pyramid roof was never communicated to us, and we realized this far too late. Sure, you could say we should have noticed, but at some point, we just wanted to finish the project. The two-year construction period with two small children was really exhausting.
For the second build, we want to do everything right or make as few mistakes as possible, so we are allowing ourselves a much longer time for advance planning. We certainly will not build with the same homebuilding company again.
BUT: Is this the typical experience with standard (prefabricated) homebuilders? If you want something special like panoramic window walls, is it better to go to an architect? They are usually paid hourly. I worry that an architect might overall be the more expensive option. If we do go with a homebuilder, should we choose one that specializes in our style? For example, Huf-Haus comes to mind, but they are also very expensive.
Maybe someone here has had similar experiences with poor communication and advice, especially during the corona period?
Is there another solution besides a homebuilding company or an architect that we haven’t thought of? We just want to be involved in every decision and not be treated like we were the first time.
If what you want is above the average in size and features, does it make more sense economically to hire an architect than to modify a catalog house so much that it only ends up being more expensive?
Thanks for reading. I know this post is long.
In 2020, we built a new single-family home. However, for various reasons, we are not completely satisfied and are considering building again. We want to take our time with this (time frame 5-10 years) to be really sure about what exactly we want to change. In the meantime, we can also save more equity and observe everyday life with the children. From our experience, daily life with 3-4 children requires a lot of flexibility in the house because the needs of all family members seem to change quickly. That is why we have set quite a long time frame.
When we started planning the house in 2019, we didn’t always make the right decisions in hindsight. With the first and later the second child, and then the lockdown, we could not view or visit everything that was installed beforehand. Also, contact with the architect from the homebuilding company was quite limited. We often simply lacked proper advice.
My question to you is: How can we avoid making the same mistakes again in the next build? We always had to make decisions very quickly and often had no solid basis to decide. We would have liked to have quick access to prices and services; this just wasn’t available. For example, if we planned an additional window or increased the living area, we received a new total price and could only guess how much the extra cost was.
We found that the homebuilding company only builds in the way they usually do, meaning when we asked for something unusual, they said it wasn’t possible. For example, we wanted a large panoramic glass window wall that could slide open barrier-free. They said this wasn’t possible for structural reasons in our house. It seemed likely that our builder simply did not have this kind of feature in their program, or the profit margin on such a request was too low for them.
What frustrates me most is the roof. It is not usable as living space. It is a low pyramid roof made of nail plate trusses. There is not enough standing height for living space, and the structure is not suitable for conversion. We never discussed the roof with the architect at the time. The catalog house our free planning was based on originally had a gable roof—exactly what we would wish for today. The architect kept talking about a "town villa" we would be building, and we eventually adopted that term. As laypeople, we understood that as a house with two full floors. However, the architect from the building company implied a pyramid roof by "town villa." The change from the original gable roof to this non-convertible pyramid roof was never communicated to us, and we realized this far too late. Sure, you could say we should have noticed, but at some point, we just wanted to finish the project. The two-year construction period with two small children was really exhausting.
For the second build, we want to do everything right or make as few mistakes as possible, so we are allowing ourselves a much longer time for advance planning. We certainly will not build with the same homebuilding company again.
BUT: Is this the typical experience with standard (prefabricated) homebuilders? If you want something special like panoramic window walls, is it better to go to an architect? They are usually paid hourly. I worry that an architect might overall be the more expensive option. If we do go with a homebuilder, should we choose one that specializes in our style? For example, Huf-Haus comes to mind, but they are also very expensive.
Maybe someone here has had similar experiences with poor communication and advice, especially during the corona period?
Is there another solution besides a homebuilding company or an architect that we haven’t thought of? We just want to be involved in every decision and not be treated like we were the first time.
If what you want is above the average in size and features, does it make more sense economically to hire an architect than to modify a catalog house so much that it only ends up being more expensive?
Thanks for reading. I know this post is long.
11ant schrieb:
A house of about 140 sqm (let’s say you go for 160 sqm (1700 sq ft)) is needed, and a plot of land of the same size will suffice.That doesn’t really match withRotesDach schrieb:
Today it should be four rooms instead of two kids’ rooms, plus two home offices plus a guest room.plus the master bedroom (that makes already 8 rooms for sleeping/guests/work) plus a large living area
True, you got me. Home offices are almost like additional "children."
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
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RotesDach15 Feb 2024 12:20For comparison, large existing houses over 200 sqm (over 2,150 sq ft) cost around 700,000 here in the region. This usually includes a large plot of land. In our case, I consider building a new house not feasible because it would be significantly more expensive.
W
WilderSueden15 Feb 2024 12:36If you want to tick off all the boxes on your wish list, you also need to have the corresponding budget. With three children and a fourth on the way, there’s probably little room for change in the kids' bedrooms, and with six people, having two bathrooms certainly isn’t excessive. With four children, however, I don’t see two parents working 40 hours a week from home, so maybe one office is enough. If planned cleverly, such a workspace can also include a sofa bed for guests. Usually, guests arrive on weekends when you’re not working anyway. This way, you save two rooms, which including circulation space, would be about 30sqm (320 sq ft).
When it comes to existing properties, you always have to calculate carefully. Of course, older houses are initially cheaper than new builds, but there’s a lot to do over the next few years. Energy upgrades, switching to a heat pump or district heating. Bathrooms and kitchens have a limited lifespan and usually need to be replaced after 40 years. Then there are other factors that come down to personal taste... smaller windows, compartmentalized floor plans rather than open concept, and so on. Realistically, you often end up saving money with a new build where you can prioritize what matters to you. That seems important to you.
When it comes to existing properties, you always have to calculate carefully. Of course, older houses are initially cheaper than new builds, but there’s a lot to do over the next few years. Energy upgrades, switching to a heat pump or district heating. Bathrooms and kitchens have a limited lifespan and usually need to be replaced after 40 years. Then there are other factors that come down to personal taste... smaller windows, compartmentalized floor plans rather than open concept, and so on. Realistically, you often end up saving money with a new build where you can prioritize what matters to you. That seems important to you.
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RotesDach15 Feb 2024 12:50@ Wilder Süden: If, for example, the windows in the existing building need to be replaced anyway, I would be less hesitant to swap them out for a large panoramic window wall. I wouldn’t do that in our 4-year-old house.
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RotesDach15 Feb 2024 13:11Since our working hours overlap and especially because my husband needs a separate room, we already require two workspaces. They don’t need to be very large (around 9-10 square meters (96-108 square feet) each). The guest room (currently 12 square meters (129 square feet), which is fine) is also regularly used by grandma, and when she spreads out her things, I have to pack up my work materials every time. That’s why I moved into our bedroom with my home office.
It feels like older properties often have larger living areas with more rooms, probably because building today is significantly more expensive than in the past. Having many rooms might actually be a solution for us.
It feels like older properties often have larger living areas with more rooms, probably because building today is significantly more expensive than in the past. Having many rooms might actually be a solution for us.
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