ᐅ Energy-Efficient Home Renovation: Is Involving an Architect Beneficial?
Created on: 22 Jan 2025 21:31
C
ChriLenaMZ
Hello everyone,
We want to carry out an energy retrofit on a house from the 1970s. The house is in its original condition. It has a full floor, a basement, and a converted attic. The living area is approximately 180 m2 (1,940 sq ft). The basement adds another 120 m2 (1,290 sq ft). Part of the basement is planned to be converted into a separate apartment (some rooms are already partially finished for residential use).
We aim to renovate to KfW 70 EE standard (KfW 261) and already have a preliminary approval certificate. For the separate apartment, we need a building permit / planning permission. We want to make only minor changes to the floor plan. We do not require an architect for the interior work.
I have read the building guide from ant11, which focuses specifically on new construction. Naturally, the simplest approach would be to commission all phases of service from an architect. I have contacted one architect regarding this (I understand more should be contacted for quotes), and their fee was quoted at €60,000. I find this extremely expensive. Therefore, I wonder if it is worth the cost?
In which areas is it essential to hire an architect, and why? Where could you potentially save that expense? What would be a good value-for-money solution?
This is about the energy-related measures: window replacement, roof insulation, facade insulation, basement floor insulation, and perimeter insulation.
It is very important for us to have expert supervision on site to ensure the work is carried out correctly. We are not able to assess this ourselves. But does this necessarily have to be an architect?
What is your general recommendation for renovations?
I am sure some details are missing that I haven’t considered. Just let me know, and I will provide them.
Thank you for your responses.
We want to carry out an energy retrofit on a house from the 1970s. The house is in its original condition. It has a full floor, a basement, and a converted attic. The living area is approximately 180 m2 (1,940 sq ft). The basement adds another 120 m2 (1,290 sq ft). Part of the basement is planned to be converted into a separate apartment (some rooms are already partially finished for residential use).
We aim to renovate to KfW 70 EE standard (KfW 261) and already have a preliminary approval certificate. For the separate apartment, we need a building permit / planning permission. We want to make only minor changes to the floor plan. We do not require an architect for the interior work.
I have read the building guide from ant11, which focuses specifically on new construction. Naturally, the simplest approach would be to commission all phases of service from an architect. I have contacted one architect regarding this (I understand more should be contacted for quotes), and their fee was quoted at €60,000. I find this extremely expensive. Therefore, I wonder if it is worth the cost?
In which areas is it essential to hire an architect, and why? Where could you potentially save that expense? What would be a good value-for-money solution?
This is about the energy-related measures: window replacement, roof insulation, facade insulation, basement floor insulation, and perimeter insulation.
It is very important for us to have expert supervision on site to ensure the work is carried out correctly. We are not able to assess this ourselves. But does this necessarily have to be an architect?
What is your general recommendation for renovations?
I am sure some details are missing that I haven’t considered. Just let me know, and I will provide them.
Thank you for your responses.
C
ChriLenaMZ23 Jan 2025 22:3811ant schrieb:
When working on existing buildings, you often need the architect even more than for new construction—especially to stay within budget. The best site manager (without quotation marks) is the architect who actually designed the renovation. I’m also happy to advise on which specialist you need for which task.
There can be no general recommendation; you should have recognized this when reading the house-building schedule: it is not intended to be a "one size fits all" formula. That’s why there are also the (continued) "Reloaded" episodes for the basic series. Additionally, at the top of the page, you’ll find where to contact 11ant personally—please don’t turn him into an ant!—simply because the renovation guide still has to be completed. The "most expensive" service phase (phase 5) is simultaneously the most cost-effective. I’m happy to find the right combination of architect, contractor, and building surveyor for you. Just get in touch (and don’t forget, you can never start too early—I unfortunately have waiting times like a specialist doctor; I don’t know my colleagues’ schedules, but I don’t expect them to be much different, since the market situation is the same for them).
It has already been mentioned here that insufficient ceiling height can prevent the conversion of storage space into living space—I hope your financing is not based on this rental income. Why is an architect more important for existing buildings than for new construction? Let’s take the roof as an example: in my naive understanding, I call the roofer, and ideally, they come by, take a look, and make an offer. A building inspector oversees the work. Where exactly is an architect helpful here? After all, nothing fundamental is changing about the roof.
ChriLenaMZ schrieb:
Why is an architect more important for renovations than for new builds? Generally, this is because with new construction, the conditions are created gradually (meaning that for the earliest trades, everything is still possible), whereas with renovations, you have to fit everything into existing structures with all their constraints. Also, in new construction, you actively ensure that the plan and reality remain aligned, whereas in renovations, you first have to check where the actual state even matches the intended state.
ChriLenaMZ schrieb:
Let’s take the roof as an example: In my naive understanding, I call the roofer, and ideally, they come, inspect it, and make an offer. A building surveyor oversees the work. Where exactly is an architect helpful here? After all, nothing fundamental is changing on the roof. Good example. The roofer can perfectly cover the roof from their own perspective, but for an external roof insulation (over-rafter insulation), everything has to be taken down again. Also, every tradesperson tends to spend about a quarter of your total budget within the scope of their own trade, meaning that in total you might easily need seven quarters. Each individual tradesperson pushes through their own part, while the architect coordinates a team effort to minimize expensive supervision hours. In a place where links are not allowed, I explained this already at the end of November:
They all only think about themselves and don’t care if you end up with unfinished items when your money runs out. If you hire five of them, one will use 50% of your budget, another 40%, and the other three will realize they can only have about 20% each, but will tell you to only do the absolute minimum. One thinks it should be 50% more, and two say it should be double. So you add it up: 50 + 40 + 30 + 40 + 40 = a total of 200 percent of your budgethttps://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
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