ᐅ Basement Planning for Prefabricated Homes – Outsourcing? What to Consider?
Created on: 7 Apr 2020 13:15
E
exto1791
Hello,
I am currently planning a construction project for a townhouse built to KfW40+ standards, with about 140m² (1,507 sq ft) plus a basement.
The basement is a topic I have not wanted to focus on so far, but it is definitely necessary and, in my opinion, one of the most important aspects here. I also believe that a significant amount of money can be saved by approaching this correctly.
For my plot, I need a waterproof basement with a “white tank” (watertight concrete construction) suitable for water pressure—essentially, the most expensive and complex type of basement required.
So far, all prefab home suppliers I have contacted have offered turnkey solutions including the basement. However, I have no idea what the cost of a basement might be if contracted through an excavation or civil engineering company, independent of the prefab house supplier. Is that even an option? Should I be looking into this separately, or is it better to have everything done by one provider? Is it possible to save money this way? According to the prefab home suppliers, there is hardly any price difference here (understandably, they need to cover their commission). Still, I think that especially with a basement like this, a considerable amount of money could be saved.
Have you had experience with prefab homes and basements? How did you approach it? What should I pay attention to when building a basement?
I would be grateful for any help!
We are already quite far into the house planning stage and have detailed offers, but the basement still feels like an area I haven’t fully dared to tackle yet. Perhaps without reason?
I look forward to your advice!
Best regards
Simon
I am currently planning a construction project for a townhouse built to KfW40+ standards, with about 140m² (1,507 sq ft) plus a basement.
The basement is a topic I have not wanted to focus on so far, but it is definitely necessary and, in my opinion, one of the most important aspects here. I also believe that a significant amount of money can be saved by approaching this correctly.
For my plot, I need a waterproof basement with a “white tank” (watertight concrete construction) suitable for water pressure—essentially, the most expensive and complex type of basement required.
So far, all prefab home suppliers I have contacted have offered turnkey solutions including the basement. However, I have no idea what the cost of a basement might be if contracted through an excavation or civil engineering company, independent of the prefab house supplier. Is that even an option? Should I be looking into this separately, or is it better to have everything done by one provider? Is it possible to save money this way? According to the prefab home suppliers, there is hardly any price difference here (understandably, they need to cover their commission). Still, I think that especially with a basement like this, a considerable amount of money could be saved.
Have you had experience with prefab homes and basements? How did you approach it? What should I pay attention to when building a basement?
I would be grateful for any help!
We are already quite far into the house planning stage and have detailed offers, but the basement still feels like an area I haven’t fully dared to tackle yet. Perhaps without reason?
I look forward to your advice!
Best regards
Simon
exto1791 schrieb:
If I really don’t want to do much myself, just take the finishing stage ready for painting, does a solid construction company still have a significant local advantage or stand out in that respect? I already mentioned this: a “prefabricated house manufacturer” is not a bad general contractor for you, just not the only option. From my point of view, you can consider any general contractor regardless of the wall construction method.
exto1791 schrieb:
I might also want to say: Your windows are rubbish, I’ll get them from a specialist store myself and have them installed. As long as building owners find PVC windows generally acceptable—which, as a former aluminum window manufacturer and MAD reader, I personally *vomit, gag*—the differences between suppliers like Müller, Meier, and Schulze are minimal, at least regarding the products themselves. Installation quality, however, varies significantly.
exto1791 schrieb:
Here in Baden-Württemberg, especially in our area, there are really good construction companies that surely account for about 80% of the buildings in the surrounding new development areas. Then pick one of those. They wouldn’t receive so much customer approval if their work mostly had to be reprocessed initially to reach a proper quality standard. They must be meeting customer satisfaction (including taste) well enough that the majority are genuinely happy with it.
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
Choose a smaller builder without a large showroom—the wall construction doesn’t matter.
Builders without a large showroom have established tradespeople and use their entire range of materials. However, they will also tell you if a certain technology isn’t suitable for the house.
Our general contractor hired almost all trades from within a 30 km (19 miles) radius and they probably would have worked on the house even if contracted separately. I personally don’t want to get too involved in deciding whether tile adhesive xyz is better than abc.
You just have to trust that a reputable general contractor won’t install substandard materials.
Builders without a large showroom have established tradespeople and use their entire range of materials. However, they will also tell you if a certain technology isn’t suitable for the house.
Our general contractor hired almost all trades from within a 30 km (19 miles) radius and they probably would have worked on the house even if contracted separately. I personally don’t want to get too involved in deciding whether tile adhesive xyz is better than abc.
You just have to trust that a reputable general contractor won’t install substandard materials.
exto1791 schrieb:
Prefabricated house because I don't want to coordinate multiple trades or wait 2 years for my house just because the planning is too complicated and time-consuming.exto1791 schrieb:
I also don't want to constantly supervise the construction and spend weeks on the building site.exto1791 schrieb:
What bothers me is that I have no leeway and am locked into everything. But I also don’t want to plan my house completely by myself and schedule and organize every trade. I want more say and to be able to plan the things I’d prefer to decide on myself.exto1791 schrieb:
Definitely, that’s not what I meant. Ideally, I would schedule everything myself, plan it, and put it out to tender entirely on my own.I’m seeing a lot of contradictions from you:
I don’t want to plan myself, I want to plan myself.
I don’t want to plan and coordinate myself, I want to plan and coordinate myself...
exto1791 schrieb:
What if I don’t like the windows they have at the sample center?Do you have knowledge about windows that you might dislike?
exto1791 schrieb:
Finishing stage: painter-ready,A shell house means: you do a lot yourself, meaning you do the interior work yourself.
exto1791 schrieb:
Your windows are lousy, I’ll get them myself from a specialist store and have them installed. Would that count as owner-performed work?Are you capable of judging if windows are inadequate?
exto1791 schrieb:
I find it hard to trust what they tell me.Well, then...
exto1791 schrieb:
In short: I can’t build trust here.Then maybe you shouldn’t build.
exto1791 schrieb:
The close connection to the project is simply missing. The architect doesn’t even come to the site once to see what’s going on... It doesn’t feel like a holistic project. It seems like it’s for people who don’t want to get involved and just say: Do it... Isn’t that so? I find it very, very difficult. Everyone tells me a different nonsense.It somehow seems to me like you’re just talking nonsense.
You don’t know much but want to assess everything, claim you should know better, and say others are misleading you.
If you think no company is honest, then building a house isn’t going to work out for you.
exto1791 schrieb:
Here in Baden-Württemberg, especially in our area, there are really good construction companies which handle about 80% of the houses in the surrounding new development areas.Then why don’t you visit some of them?
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