roteweste_17 Nov 2023 20:20Hello dear home builders,
We are currently deciding whether to work with an architect on planning phases L1-3 and then hire a general contractor (GC), or to choose a catalog house and possibly customize it with the home builder.
The key points are the cost of the construction project and general warranty issues.
We are currently deciding whether to work with an architect on planning phases L1-3 and then hire a general contractor (GC), or to choose a catalog house and possibly customize it with the home builder.
The key points are the cost of the construction project and general warranty issues.
- What are the cost savings of a GC’s catalog house compared to a custom-designed house that is then built by a GC?
- Does the GC also take over all warranty responsibilities for an architect-designed house, as they do for their own design?
- How realistically can an architect estimate ongoing construction costs if a budget range is given?
roteweste_2 schrieb:
What are the cost savings Often, it is actually the architectural services. The general contractor (GC) has already monetized the plan many times, while the architect starts from scratch, and you pay 100% for that.
roteweste_2 schrieb:
Does the GC also take over all warranties for a house designed by an architect, Yes, you sign a contract for work based on the house design – just like with others.
roteweste_2 schrieb:
How realistically can an architect estimate the ongoing construction costs, No, that’s the wrong question. Often, the estimate is off by around 20%. However, the GC could provide a calculation.
The problem is: anyone who wants to build with a straightforward, normally structured GC and more or less traditional subcontractors should not be surprised if special architectural designs, complex interaction of trades, or exotic building components are not executed properly, resulting in defects.
However, it should not be a problem to have a straightforward house without significant extras built by a GC.
In that case, you should consider whether building a standard house model with minor modifications might be a better option.
roteweste_2 schrieb:
We are currently deciding whether to work with an architect for planning phases L1-3 and then hire a general contractor (GC), or to go directly with a catalog home and possibly customize it later with the home building company.My "Housebuilding roadmap, also for you: the phase model of the HOAI!" has just been extended ("Housebuilding roadmap reloaded"), yesterday with the chapter on resting the dough/setting the course. In my opinion, there is no "OR" between a catalog home and a freelance architect. A catalog home is a recommended option under two conditions:1. you are a typical family, and
2. the plot does not have such a steep slope that it would favor a "basement living space."
Or, of course, conditions 1 AND 2 are not met, and the living space in the basement would cover the additional need beyond that of a typical family. Catalog homes are usually designed for families with two adults and two children; a third child or a second home office are "deal-breakers" for using a catalog design.
With a catalog home, even when built in masonry construction, phases 4 and 5 are better assigned to the GC, so commissioning the architect for phases 1 to 3 is appropriate—but I would still proceed in two contract stages (Module A and after the resting the dough/setting the course phase then phase 3). I would also modify the catalog home with a freelance architect.
roteweste_2 schrieb:
- What cost savings are there when using a GC for a catalog home compared to an individually planned house that is then built with a GC?
- Does the GC also assume all warranties for a house planned by an architect as they do for their own design?
- How realistically can an architect estimate ongoing construction costs, assuming a price range is specified?
(1) The main advantage is the maturity of the design, with cost savings secondary (mainly through standardized structural engineering), and the cost calculation is more proven, which also relates to the answer to (3). The architect’s cost estimate in phase 3 inevitably still involves some uncertainty. The GC will also have to "gamble" when submitting (and guaranteeing) their offer price. (2) Warranties are essentially the same in both cases, as regulated by building law, and are always the contractor's responsibility. The architect’s professional liability insurance is a different matter.To avoid duplication ;-)
11ant schrieb:
Use the forum search with my posts for the terms "Housebuilding roadmap," "Gerddieter," "Individual contracting," "Self-contracting," "Tendering," and "Time and material hours."11ant schrieb:
I recommend the following approach:
1. Read existing threads here using the search terms "Housebuilding roadmap," "Gerddieter," "Individual contracting"/"Self-contracting" to learn about the process of planning a house; [... ... ...]
6. Based on the responses to your price inquiries, decide whether phase 3 (design) should be planned in masonry or timber construction, and commission the architect for the next steps (see posts on the above search terms).https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
roteweste_113 Nov 2023 07:01Thank you for the responses.
Maybe I should be a bit more specific: We are planning a fairly standard, subsidized single-family house. So far, none of the catalog homes have suited us because they rarely offer three children's bedrooms on the upper floor. Instead, they tend to allocate that space for a walk-in closet and a large bathroom. Additionally, we want a large guest/study room on the ground floor. This is often somewhat small when used as a study. To sum up: an efficient floor plan tailored to our needs is important to us. We cannot and do not want to afford any special architectural frills.
We therefore see hiring an external architect (on a fee basis) for planning phases L1-3 as a way to achieve an individual, efficient design for our plot. The zoning plan is quite generous, and the plot is not complicated.
The downside, of course, is the higher planning cost. For us, it is hard to quantify because, on one hand, using an architect allows for comparison between providers (which might provide some negotiation leverage), but on the other hand, building individually will certainly be more expensive.
We would be interested in knowing roughly how large the price difference is overall. Unfortunately, I haven’t found much on this, since catalog homes are usually advertised only with a fixed price starting "from ... €". The prefabricated house provider "isowoodhaus" mentions a price difference of 100 €/m² (about $9.30/ft²) on your homepage. Is this a typical value?
For our project, this would mean that the individual planning including architectural services would cost about 20,000 euros (about $21,000) extra. Would it be worth it?
Maybe I should be a bit more specific: We are planning a fairly standard, subsidized single-family house. So far, none of the catalog homes have suited us because they rarely offer three children's bedrooms on the upper floor. Instead, they tend to allocate that space for a walk-in closet and a large bathroom. Additionally, we want a large guest/study room on the ground floor. This is often somewhat small when used as a study. To sum up: an efficient floor plan tailored to our needs is important to us. We cannot and do not want to afford any special architectural frills.
We therefore see hiring an external architect (on a fee basis) for planning phases L1-3 as a way to achieve an individual, efficient design for our plot. The zoning plan is quite generous, and the plot is not complicated.
The downside, of course, is the higher planning cost. For us, it is hard to quantify because, on one hand, using an architect allows for comparison between providers (which might provide some negotiation leverage), but on the other hand, building individually will certainly be more expensive.
We would be interested in knowing roughly how large the price difference is overall. Unfortunately, I haven’t found much on this, since catalog homes are usually advertised only with a fixed price starting "from ... €". The prefabricated house provider "isowoodhaus" mentions a price difference of 100 €/m² (about $9.30/ft²) on your homepage. Is this a typical value?
For our project, this would mean that the individual planning including architectural services would cost about 20,000 euros (about $21,000) extra. Would it be worth it?
We had a kind of in-between situation. A building company (BU) we were in talks with offered an individual design for 1500€ (about $1600). If we had built with that BU, the cost would have been deducted from the house price. Since we decided to go with another company, we paid the firm the 1500€ (about $1600) for the planning service, but were allowed to keep our design.
The rest was then completed by the architect from the BU we ultimately built with.
I would do it that way again, but it seems not many homebuilders offer this? Maybe it’s worth asking catalog or volume homebuilders specifically if they provide individual designs. We were also lucky that the designer at the first BU wasn’t just a bored draftsman, but a local university graduate who has won some awards. 🙂
The rest was then completed by the architect from the BU we ultimately built with.
I would do it that way again, but it seems not many homebuilders offer this? Maybe it’s worth asking catalog or volume homebuilders specifically if they provide individual designs. We were also lucky that the designer at the first BU wasn’t just a bored draftsman, but a local university graduate who has won some awards. 🙂
K
KarstenausNRW13 Nov 2023 09:53roteweste_2 schrieb:
The downside, of course, is the higher price during the planning phase. For us, this is hard to quantify since, on one hand, the planning involves architects Oops. And what about the higher costs associated with catalog home providers? Don’t those deter you?
- Marketing
- Sales staff
- Administrative overhead
- Vehicle fleet
- Catalog production
- Show home parks
- Office rental costs, etc.
- Sample selection process
- Architects/structural engineers due to redesign requests
and so on.
Who do you think has to pay for all of this?
For more details, see @11ant
An architect-designed house is customized and can still be modified during the construction preparation phase (within limits). A production home is cheaper if you buy it off the shelf.
The same product will generally cost (more or less) about the same.
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