ᐅ Cost Estimate Architect Single-Family Home. Your Assessment?
Created on: 3 Apr 2015 12:35
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Tommes78Hello everyone,
I have a question for you. We bought a plot of land (NRW) with a slight slope and recently visited an architect to have a single-family house designed with great enthusiasm.
During our first meeting, we mentioned a budget of around €260,000 for the house, including everything. He said that we could get something nice for that budget.
At the second appointment, he really presented a nice design. He responded to the sloped plot and planned a kind of split-level house with two building volumes and two shed roofs.
The planned house has an area of 146 m² (1570 ft²) of living space on the ground and upper floors, plus 24 m² (260 ft²) of utility space, totaling 170 m² (1830 ft²) of total area.
Now, the architect made a cost estimate, and he said he calculated with a medium standard. The cost framework according to BKI for 260 to 410 m³ (9200 to 14,500 ft³) of enclosed volume was estimated at 350 m³ (12,400 ft³).
The cost estimate states 763.53 m³ (26,950 ft³) × €350 per m³ (27 per ft³) = €267,236 + carport 72 m³ (2540 ft³) × €100 per m³ (7.44 per ft³) = €7,218 = a total construction cost of €274,455 excluding incidental building costs.
Or broken down differently:
Site preparation and connection: €4,600
Cost group 300 – Building structure: €222,280
Cost group 400 – Technical equipment: €45,180 (oil heating, ventilation system)
Outdoor facilities + carport: €10,000 (which I find a bit low)
Incidental building costs: €41,188
This brings us to a total of €323,000 including VAT.
We were a bit shocked, since our initial budget was €260,000, and going over by around €60,000 seems quite a lot. €280,000 is our absolute limit.
Of course, we still want to contribute some usual DIY work in the end (tiling, flooring, painting, landscaping, interior finishing), but that would probably save at most €15,000 to €20,000.
What do you think? Are those really the amounts you have to pay today, or has the architect perhaps estimated too generously or conservatively? Or is the planned house simply too upscale?
For comparison, we received a fixed-price offer from a general contractor that was quite high-end. There, a house with a gable roof and 160 m² (1720 ft²) (without attic space) was offered for €250,000, excluding basement, ventilation system, and outdoor facilities. But in that case, the plot would have had to be leveled.
Looking forward to your feedback.
Best regards,
Thomas
I have a question for you. We bought a plot of land (NRW) with a slight slope and recently visited an architect to have a single-family house designed with great enthusiasm.
During our first meeting, we mentioned a budget of around €260,000 for the house, including everything. He said that we could get something nice for that budget.
At the second appointment, he really presented a nice design. He responded to the sloped plot and planned a kind of split-level house with two building volumes and two shed roofs.
The planned house has an area of 146 m² (1570 ft²) of living space on the ground and upper floors, plus 24 m² (260 ft²) of utility space, totaling 170 m² (1830 ft²) of total area.
Now, the architect made a cost estimate, and he said he calculated with a medium standard. The cost framework according to BKI for 260 to 410 m³ (9200 to 14,500 ft³) of enclosed volume was estimated at 350 m³ (12,400 ft³).
The cost estimate states 763.53 m³ (26,950 ft³) × €350 per m³ (27 per ft³) = €267,236 + carport 72 m³ (2540 ft³) × €100 per m³ (7.44 per ft³) = €7,218 = a total construction cost of €274,455 excluding incidental building costs.
Or broken down differently:
Site preparation and connection: €4,600
Cost group 300 – Building structure: €222,280
Cost group 400 – Technical equipment: €45,180 (oil heating, ventilation system)
Outdoor facilities + carport: €10,000 (which I find a bit low)
Incidental building costs: €41,188
This brings us to a total of €323,000 including VAT.
We were a bit shocked, since our initial budget was €260,000, and going over by around €60,000 seems quite a lot. €280,000 is our absolute limit.
Of course, we still want to contribute some usual DIY work in the end (tiling, flooring, painting, landscaping, interior finishing), but that would probably save at most €15,000 to €20,000.
What do you think? Are those really the amounts you have to pay today, or has the architect perhaps estimated too generously or conservatively? Or is the planned house simply too upscale?
For comparison, we received a fixed-price offer from a general contractor that was quite high-end. There, a house with a gable roof and 160 m² (1720 ft²) (without attic space) was offered for €250,000, excluding basement, ventilation system, and outdoor facilities. But in that case, the plot would have had to be leveled.
Looking forward to your feedback.
Best regards,
Thomas
B
Bauexperte3 Apr 2015 13:05Hello Thomas,
a kind of split-level ... I can't really imagine what is meant by that. If you want a price estimate or evaluation, the floor plans along with cross-sections would be helpful.
If you prefer not to make them publicly available, I understand that of course. Maybe you could send them to me by email instead?
Regards, Bauexperte
a kind of split-level ... I can't really imagine what is meant by that. If you want a price estimate or evaluation, the floor plans along with cross-sections would be helpful.
If you prefer not to make them publicly available, I understand that of course. Maybe you could send them to me by email instead?
Regards, Bauexperte
€1830 per m² (about $200 per ft²) is reasonable—not completely unrealistic, but not cheap either. Why are you choosing an oil heating system? Are you building with a basement? Where will the tank be located?
This makes it difficult to assess—what kind of house will it be? Does it have special features like many sliding doors, corner windows, or extensions? Two building volumes with two shed roofs sound unusual—I’m not sure if that automatically means higher costs.
What are your monthly incomes? How much could you afford for loan repayment and installments each month? It would be a shame if you end up building a standard boring box and regret it for life, wishing you had followed your preferred design.
What is the price per square meter for building land in your area? (Background: the higher the land price, the more reasonable it is to build a “high-end” house—if the land costs around €30 per m² (about $3 per ft²), you might not find a bank willing to finance extravagance).
This makes it difficult to assess—what kind of house will it be? Does it have special features like many sliding doors, corner windows, or extensions? Two building volumes with two shed roofs sound unusual—I’m not sure if that automatically means higher costs.
What are your monthly incomes? How much could you afford for loan repayment and installments each month? It would be a shame if you end up building a standard boring box and regret it for life, wishing you had followed your preferred design.
What is the price per square meter for building land in your area? (Background: the higher the land price, the more reasonable it is to build a “high-end” house—if the land costs around €30 per m² (about $3 per ft²), you might not find a bank willing to finance extravagance).
Hello building expert,
I don’t have the plans with me right now, as I’m at my in-laws. So, it’s a split-level house where the entrance is at ground level. Then the kitchen, dining room, utility room, and a room for the washing machine form one level. The stairs then go half a flight up or down. You go down six or seven steps and find a small bathroom with a shower, the master bedroom, and a living room with direct access to the garden. From the stairs, you go up again to reach the two children’s bedrooms, a bathroom, and a hallway. This upper level is only above the master bedroom, small bathroom, and living room. The part with the kitchen and dining room is basically one story, and the rest is kind of two stories.
I hope I managed to explain this reasonably clearly without the plans?!
Can you say anything about the costs? Are they realistic? It’s just a shame to go 60,000 € over budget. Especially when the floor plan already looks pretty good.
I don’t have the plans with me right now, as I’m at my in-laws. So, it’s a split-level house where the entrance is at ground level. Then the kitchen, dining room, utility room, and a room for the washing machine form one level. The stairs then go half a flight up or down. You go down six or seven steps and find a small bathroom with a shower, the master bedroom, and a living room with direct access to the garden. From the stairs, you go up again to reach the two children’s bedrooms, a bathroom, and a hallway. This upper level is only above the master bedroom, small bathroom, and living room. The part with the kitchen and dining room is basically one story, and the rest is kind of two stories.
I hope I managed to explain this reasonably clearly without the plans?!
Can you say anything about the costs? Are they realistic? It’s just a shame to go 60,000 € over budget. Especially when the floor plan already looks pretty good.
Sorry, I meant gas heating. The plot is 116 m2 (1250 sq ft) of building land. The plot is divided into 650 m2 (7000 sq ft) of building land plus 400 m2 (4300 sq ft) of green space behind the house for €4.
The plot is already in our possession, but we are still paying it off with a €60,000 variable loan. This will then be replaced with the proper loan.
The plot is already in our possession, but we are still paying it off with a €60,000 variable loan. This will then be replaced with the proper loan.
Hello,
What you describe is also our current plan with the split-level entrance. Living area downstairs and bedrooms upstairs. Could you maybe upload your current floor plans once you are at home?
Thank you.
We are still in the initial planning phase and are looking to see what is possible on the plot (2m (6.5 ft) slope over 20m (65 ft)).
At the moment, we are leaning towards this solution because we only have an eaves height of 3m (10 ft) and still want to achieve a good knee wall height on the upper floor, while maintaining level access from the living area to the garden.
What you describe is also our current plan with the split-level entrance. Living area downstairs and bedrooms upstairs. Could you maybe upload your current floor plans once you are at home?
Thank you.
We are still in the initial planning phase and are looking to see what is possible on the plot (2m (6.5 ft) slope over 20m (65 ft)).
At the moment, we are leaning towards this solution because we only have an eaves height of 3m (10 ft) and still want to achieve a good knee wall height on the upper floor, while maintaining level access from the living area to the garden.
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