Hello everyone,
My partner and I are now mentally preparing to build a very small house ourselves. A true tiny house would be too small for us, but houses of about 40 to 50 square meters (430 to 540 square feet) already meet our needs.
There are quite affordable providers here, like woodee and onoxa, which we generally like. On the other hand, you are tied to certain floor plans (at least the external dimensions). Also, since we don’t consider the minimum 2000 EUR per square meter (approximately $215 per square foot) to be really cheap, we want to design and build such a small house ourselves. Single-story, flat roof or pitched roof (probably better for planning permission), underfloor heating—so very similar to the providers’ models. Although I have never built a timber frame exterior wall before, I have done almost everything else (masonry, garage roof, all interior work including electrical and plumbing). Gas and electricity connections will, of course, be done by professionals.
My biggest question is whether this can be approved without special effort, that is, if it fits well with the neighboring buildings (we don’t have a plot yet, but it will be in Rhineland-Palatinate or Hesse in a small village where there is usually a mix of pre-war buildings, well-renovated houses, and new buildings—almost always with pitched roofs). Can you find an architect who will officially approve it for a reasonable fee, etc.? Do you have experience or tips, for example websites (I mostly found providers or blogs that seem sponsored, and American blogs don’t help much regarding German regulations).
It is not important initially whether the house will ever be transported. This is not planned.
Thanks in advance for any help!
My partner and I are now mentally preparing to build a very small house ourselves. A true tiny house would be too small for us, but houses of about 40 to 50 square meters (430 to 540 square feet) already meet our needs.
There are quite affordable providers here, like woodee and onoxa, which we generally like. On the other hand, you are tied to certain floor plans (at least the external dimensions). Also, since we don’t consider the minimum 2000 EUR per square meter (approximately $215 per square foot) to be really cheap, we want to design and build such a small house ourselves. Single-story, flat roof or pitched roof (probably better for planning permission), underfloor heating—so very similar to the providers’ models. Although I have never built a timber frame exterior wall before, I have done almost everything else (masonry, garage roof, all interior work including electrical and plumbing). Gas and electricity connections will, of course, be done by professionals.
My biggest question is whether this can be approved without special effort, that is, if it fits well with the neighboring buildings (we don’t have a plot yet, but it will be in Rhineland-Palatinate or Hesse in a small village where there is usually a mix of pre-war buildings, well-renovated houses, and new buildings—almost always with pitched roofs). Can you find an architect who will officially approve it for a reasonable fee, etc.? Do you have experience or tips, for example websites (I mostly found providers or blogs that seem sponsored, and American blogs don’t help much regarding German regulations).
It is not important initially whether the house will ever be transported. This is not planned.
Thanks in advance for any help!
Great tips! Thank you very much! DIY work is planned except for the utility connections and possibly assembling the basic framework.
It seems that something new will come with the Energy Saving Ordinance in 2021 (EU Nearly Zero-Energy Building Standard). I will look into that.
Thanks again!
It seems that something new will come with the Energy Saving Ordinance in 2021 (EU Nearly Zero-Energy Building Standard). I will look into that.
Thanks again!
N
nordanney18 Jun 2020 17:58benutzername1 schrieb:
A semi-detached house is incredibly expensive here, so nothing below 200,000 EUR unrenovated and with a tiny lot. That’s expensive? Where do you live?
benutzername1 schrieb:
I find the exemption up to 50m² (540 sq ft) for the energy saving regulation interesting. As far as I know, that’s still the case. You do have to comply with certain limits, though.
But for site development costs, it doesn’t matter whether you build 500 m² (5,380 sq ft) or 25 m² (270 sq ft). It just drives up the cost per square meter significantly for smaller buildings.
@nordanney
Saw this today: 90 m² (970 sq ft), 120 m² (1,290 sq ft) plot, built in the 1950s, mid-terrace house, worst energy efficiency, priced at 250,000 EUR. There’s hardly any flexibility, but you still have to renovate and insulate everything. I find that expensive by comparison. Living in West Hesse.
My plan: max 80,000 EUR for the plot (>450 m² (4,840 sq ft)), 15,000 EUR for a double garage, and 70,000 EUR for the house including all connections (only electricity and wastewater, no gas needed) = around 170,000 EUR for 70-80 m² (750-860 sq ft).
Saw this today: 90 m² (970 sq ft), 120 m² (1,290 sq ft) plot, built in the 1950s, mid-terrace house, worst energy efficiency, priced at 250,000 EUR. There’s hardly any flexibility, but you still have to renovate and insulate everything. I find that expensive by comparison. Living in West Hesse.
My plan: max 80,000 EUR for the plot (>450 m² (4,840 sq ft)), 15,000 EUR for a double garage, and 70,000 EUR for the house including all connections (only electricity and wastewater, no gas needed) = around 170,000 EUR for 70-80 m² (750-860 sq ft).
K
knalltüte18 Jun 2020 18:17I like the plan, but is it actually feasible to implement?
Mine was initially a rolling tiny house for 45K.
You can see where I ended up (so far I don’t regret it, but apart from the planning and about 50K in additional building costs, no work has started and no money has been spent).
What I mean is: you’re underestimating the amount of extra building costs!
Plan realistically. Don’t underestimate or sugarcoat anything.
My plot: 308m² (about 3,315 sq ft) for €104,720 in NRW (25km / 15.5 miles from Münster)
Mine was initially a rolling tiny house for 45K.
You can see where I ended up (so far I don’t regret it, but apart from the planning and about 50K in additional building costs, no work has started and no money has been spent).
What I mean is: you’re underestimating the amount of extra building costs!
Plan realistically. Don’t underestimate or sugarcoat anything.
My plot: 308m² (about 3,315 sq ft) for €104,720 in NRW (25km / 15.5 miles from Münster)
N
nordanney18 Jun 2020 18:22benutzername1 schrieb:
Saw today: 90 sqm (970 sq ft), 120 sqm (1,290 sq ft) plot, built in 195x, mid-terrace house, worst energy efficiency for 250,000 EUR. You hardly have any freedoms with it, but still have to renovate and insulate everything. I find that expensive in comparison.Compared to your plan, it is expensive, that's true. However, in absolute terms, that mid-terrace house doesn’t really sound expensive. For example, I’m offering a mid-terrace house with 129 sqm (1,390 sq ft) living area on a 240 sqm (2,580 sq ft) plot, built in 1970, with a small basement, described by the agent as “needs to be awakened from a deep sleep” for 569,000 EUR. It was briefly the cheapest “small” house on ImmoScout. But it is in the Düsseldorf catchment area...superzapp schrieb:
I like the plan, but is it actually feasible?
Mine also started as a rolling tiny house for 45K.
You can see where I ended up (so far I don’t regret it, but except for planning and around 50K in additional costs, no work has been done or money spent yet).
What I mean is: You are underestimating the amount of additional construction costs!
Plan realistically. Don’t try to make the numbers look better than they are.
My plot: 308m² (3,315 sq ft) for €104,720 in NRW (about 25km (15 miles) from Münster) To be honest, I’m still wondering how I’m supposed to reach €1,000 per sqm (about $93 per sq ft). Of course, you could install bathrooms and kitchen for €25,000 each, but we don’t want that and are budgeting around €8,000 (about $750) for both, including a buffer. Maybe I haven’t included everything for energy efficiency and insulation yet, but the €1,000 per sqm figure already includes additional costs (without those, I roughly end up between €600 and €700 per sqm (about $56 to $65 per sq ft)).
Once I’ve gone through all items in a few days, I’ll share the calculations.