ᐅ Precast concrete construction company, or hire individual contractors?

Hello everyone,

I’m new here, and we are planning to build within the next 1–2 years. We’ve already visited several model home exhibitions and have become less convinced about prefabricated houses due to some negative aspects like sound insulation and long-term value. We definitely want a solid construction method, and I already have a few offers, but I find them too expensive based on my expectations. Now my question, which nobody has been able to answer so far: Is it cheaper to hire a prefab solid construction company, or to work with an architect and then hire individual local contractors?

Details about the house: 170 sqm (1,830 sq ft), double garage, dormer, and floor-to-ceiling windows on the terrace side, knee wall about 1.2 m (4 ft) with a gable roof at approximately 30 degrees... budget for the house is around 220,000 without the land.

Furthermore, I would like to know whether it’s better to have the heating and electrical work done by the prefab company (because of standardized solutions) or if it would be cheaper to rely on local firms.

I hope you understand what I mean!

Regards,

Alex

verbagdonas schrieb:
Information about the house: 170sqm (1830 sq ft), double garage, dormer window and floor-to-ceiling windows on the terrace side, knee wall about 1.2m (4 feet) with a gable roof around 30 degrees... budget for the house approximately 220,000 without the land.

I think that’s really affordable!

verbagdonas schrieb:
Furthermore, I would like to know whether it’s better to have the heating and electrical installations done by the prefab companies themselves (because of mass production) or if it would be cheaper to hire local contractors?

I hope you understand what I mean?!

Regards

Alex

No, I don’t understand. What do you mean by mass production?

Hello Alex,

verbagdonas schrieb:

Information about the house: 170 sq meters (1830 sq ft), double garage, dormer and floor-to-ceiling windows on the terrace side, knee wall about 1.2 meters (4 feet) with a pitched roof around 30 degrees... budget for the house around 220,000 euros excluding the land.

Sorry, that's wishful thinking. The detached house alone will cost roughly 260,000 euros, and that’s without considering a double garage; maybe a small dormer.

verbagdonas schrieb:

Furthermore, I would like to know whether it’s better to have heating and electrical work done by the prefab construction companies (because of mass production) or if it would be cheaper to rely on local companies?

It won’t be cheaper if you exclude these trades from the package. I can also well imagine that your preferred builder will then exclude other trades from their scope, so you might end up with a semi-finished shell.

If you choose a reputable provider, they will anyway work with local contractors from your area.

Regards, Bauexperte

Hello verbagdonas,
just for comparison. We built a prefabricated solid house with a waterproof basement, turnkey except for the basement rooms (only painted and without floor coverings), 109 m² (1,172 sq ft) plus about 32 m² (344 sq ft) in the basement (guest and hobby room), gable roof with a 32° pitch, knee wall 115 cm (45 inches), for a price of 238,000.
You can see how the house was built in my albums.

Regards
Lilik

Bauexperte schrieb:



It won’t get any cheaper if you exclude these trades from the scope of work. I can easily imagine that your preferred contractor would then also remove the subsequent trades from their services, so you would end up with a finished shell.

If you find a reputable provider, they will usually work with tradespeople from your local area.

So you mean a shell house without technical installations wouldn’t make sense with such a provider? Or that it wouldn’t really save much money?

What about going with a contractor versus hiring an architect and subcontracting different companies?

I don’t want a turnkey solution; I would do the interior work myself—that means installing suspended ceilings, tiling, interior window sills, underfloor heating, painting, fitting doors, making channels for electrical wiring, and so on...

I have received this offer... looks good, doesn’t it?

· Only solid 36.5 cm (14.4 inches) thick exterior walls for excellent sound insulation as well as optimal thermal insulation and heat storage
· All interior walls also built solidly to ensure the best possible sound insulation inside the house
· Energy-efficient with a comfortable and healthy indoor climate
· High and long durability of all materials used (exclusively well-known brand products such as Wienerberger, Viessmann/Vaillant, Braas, Raab-Karcher, TMP, Stadler, Vigour/Villeroy & Boch, Busch-Jäger, etc.)

· Earthworks (excavation, backfilling)
· Insulated foundation slab made of waterproof concrete
· Complete construction site setup
· All planning and architectural services, including later modifications
· Builder’s all-risk insurance
· Owner’s liability insurance
· Blower door test
· Soil survey
· Windows with triple glazing
plus
· Contractual construction time guarantee!
· Direct contact during the construction phase not only with the site manager but also with company management
Fixed price guarantee! (No cost estimate or quote!)
· Roller shutters on all windows on the ground floor and upper floor
· Knee wall height raised to 0.85 m (33.5 inches)
· Air-to-water heat pump with 400 l (106 gallons) hot water storage tank
· Additional insulation for KfW 70 energy standard
· Extra shower connection in the guest toilet
· Gable as shown in the illustration
· Floor-to-ceiling windows on the upper floor with safety glass / French balcony (optional)
· Front door with side panel (can be removed if not desired)
· Garage 3 x 9 m (9.8 x 29.5 feet) with foundations and two doors
· The following trades are not included:
Interior plaster, tiles, interior doors, drywall, screed and underfloor heating (boiler and air heat pump are already included) as well as sanitary fixtures (total package of about € 32,600)

All this for 168,000 Euro