Hello,
I’m new here, have read quite a bit already, and hope to get your opinions to help put my ideas into perspective.
We are in our early 30s with two small children (1, 3). Our apartment is becoming too small, and we’re also open to places with a garden. So why not a house? We don’t have any special requirements. Around 120m² (1,290 sq ft) of living space should be enough, but we have quite a bit of stuff.
We currently have access to a municipal plot of land, 600m² (about 6,460 sq ft), fairly narrow at 13.8m (45 ft) in Erfurt. For comfortable financing, I had hoped for total costs around 400,000, but it’s going to be tight with 165,000 for the land alone. Normally you don’t get anything for that price in this location.
The preliminary building inquiry shows that we must attach the house to the neighboring building, so it will be a semi-detached house. The house is about 10m (33 ft) deep, has an asymmetrical roof, and a basement built into the slope since the ground is level.
A standard house from one of the catalogs doesn’t really fit here, at least that’s my impression after initial phone calls. Now the options are to build with an architect or have a first draft from one and then go with a general contractor.
It makes sense to build a basement as well, since otherwise you need to absorb loads differently, which costs about the same as putting it into the basement. I could imagine using a basement room as a workspace or hobby room. My wife works as a childcare professional and has a lot of materials for her lesson preparation. Where should a basement be insulated? The hobby room will be used infrequently, so it doesn’t need to be warm.
We were thinking of an open floor plan, although my wife insists that noise from the kitchen and living room should not reach the bedrooms (especially the children’s). So maybe a hallway or corridor separating them from the living/kitchen area? Should the basement stairs be open or better with a door for heat retention? I don’t even have an intuition about that.
Regarding the heating system, I’m currently undecided but leaning towards a heat pump. Would an air-source heat pump be disturbing in a built-up area where no one else has one? Is an annual performance factor (seasonal coefficient of performance) above 3 even realistic for an air-source heat pump? With current electricity and gas prices, you would need a factor of 4 to be cost-neutral compared to gas.
Basically, it should be low-temperature underfloor heating with supplementary heating in the bathroom, e.g., a radiant heater.
Building a house is still new territory for me, and I’m hoping to get some practical ideas and warnings. What would you estimate for the total cost (including additional fees...) for a project like this?
Thank you for reading.
Best regards,
Flo
I’m new here, have read quite a bit already, and hope to get your opinions to help put my ideas into perspective.
We are in our early 30s with two small children (1, 3). Our apartment is becoming too small, and we’re also open to places with a garden. So why not a house? We don’t have any special requirements. Around 120m² (1,290 sq ft) of living space should be enough, but we have quite a bit of stuff.
We currently have access to a municipal plot of land, 600m² (about 6,460 sq ft), fairly narrow at 13.8m (45 ft) in Erfurt. For comfortable financing, I had hoped for total costs around 400,000, but it’s going to be tight with 165,000 for the land alone. Normally you don’t get anything for that price in this location.
The preliminary building inquiry shows that we must attach the house to the neighboring building, so it will be a semi-detached house. The house is about 10m (33 ft) deep, has an asymmetrical roof, and a basement built into the slope since the ground is level.
A standard house from one of the catalogs doesn’t really fit here, at least that’s my impression after initial phone calls. Now the options are to build with an architect or have a first draft from one and then go with a general contractor.
It makes sense to build a basement as well, since otherwise you need to absorb loads differently, which costs about the same as putting it into the basement. I could imagine using a basement room as a workspace or hobby room. My wife works as a childcare professional and has a lot of materials for her lesson preparation. Where should a basement be insulated? The hobby room will be used infrequently, so it doesn’t need to be warm.
We were thinking of an open floor plan, although my wife insists that noise from the kitchen and living room should not reach the bedrooms (especially the children’s). So maybe a hallway or corridor separating them from the living/kitchen area? Should the basement stairs be open or better with a door for heat retention? I don’t even have an intuition about that.
Regarding the heating system, I’m currently undecided but leaning towards a heat pump. Would an air-source heat pump be disturbing in a built-up area where no one else has one? Is an annual performance factor (seasonal coefficient of performance) above 3 even realistic for an air-source heat pump? With current electricity and gas prices, you would need a factor of 4 to be cost-neutral compared to gas.
Basically, it should be low-temperature underfloor heating with supplementary heating in the bathroom, e.g., a radiant heater.
Building a house is still new territory for me, and I’m hoping to get some practical ideas and warnings. What would you estimate for the total cost (including additional fees...) for a project like this?
Thank you for reading.
Best regards,
Flo
Just ring your potential neighbor’s door and ask which company they built with. Then I would call that company and inquire about the costs for a semi-detached house.
For floor plans, I would simply check the websites of various manufacturers. For example, the Town & Country Mainz 128 is available with a length of 10 m (33 feet). I would also suggest visiting prefab home show villages to view model houses. I believe semi-detached houses aren’t usually available there, but you can get a feel for the room layouts, talk to potential general contractors, and align your preferences.
For the heat pump, please go for an air-to-water heat pump. A seasonal performance factor (SPF) of around 4 should be achievable. Others here can advise you further on what to watch out for.
For floor plans, I would simply check the websites of various manufacturers. For example, the Town & Country Mainz 128 is available with a length of 10 m (33 feet). I would also suggest visiting prefab home show villages to view model houses. I believe semi-detached houses aren’t usually available there, but you can get a feel for the room layouts, talk to potential general contractors, and align your preferences.
For the heat pump, please go for an air-to-water heat pump. A seasonal performance factor (SPF) of around 4 should be achievable. Others here can advise you further on what to watch out for.
haydee schrieb:
Why not ring your potential neighbor’s doorbell and ask who they built with? Then I would call that company and inquire about the costs for the twin house.According to the headline, the neighboring house dates back to the 1960s. So calling the company is probably not an option...There are certainly many floor plans for semi-detached houses available online, but it depends on the site conditions: it all starts with the exact measurements of the neighbor’s house side to which the extension will be attached. Most likely, a custom design will be necessary here.
The budget won’t be enough given the mentioned plot price, and definitely not if you want a basement. No way.
Altai schrieb:
According to the heading, the neighboring house dates back to the 1960s. So calling the company probably won’t help...
Oh, I missed that.
Oh, and a special feature of the neighboring house is that it has a full story on the street side (south side), meaning only the ground floor, and on the garden side, there are two floors with the roof shifted accordingly. Town & Country had problems with this.
What price would be more realistic? I assumed the basement would mean that the additional costs wouldn’t be that much higher.
Best regards, flo
What price would be more realistic? I assumed the basement would mean that the additional costs wouldn’t be that much higher.
Best regards, flo
Vicky Pedia2 Jan 2020 12:09Hello Flo,
you are describing a complex construction project with many unknown factors. I have just completed an identical project involving a new extension built onto an existing building from the 1930s. Comprehensive professional advice is indispensable at this stage for a layperson. I am sure you have already been provided with a contact in your region who could offer you expert, free consultation.
I have to agree with @Altai that the budget is very tight.
The decision to build with or without a basement depends not only on financial feasibility but also significantly on the ground conditions. In my case, the foundation for the basement was only slightly more expensive than a strip foundation.
In your project, the documentation and structural safety of the old building must also be taken into account.
you are describing a complex construction project with many unknown factors. I have just completed an identical project involving a new extension built onto an existing building from the 1930s. Comprehensive professional advice is indispensable at this stage for a layperson. I am sure you have already been provided with a contact in your region who could offer you expert, free consultation.
I have to agree with @Altai that the budget is very tight.
The decision to build with or without a basement depends not only on financial feasibility but also significantly on the ground conditions. In my case, the foundation for the basement was only slightly more expensive than a strip foundation.
In your project, the documentation and structural safety of the old building must also be taken into account.
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