ᐅ House Construction Planning: Solid Brick and Mortar House or Prefabricated House? With or Without a Basement?
Created on: 1 Jun 2021 18:18
R
RomanoD.
Hello everyone,
We have been researching house building for a year now and have been feeling quite uncertain throughout the process.
Basically, we need to be mindful of the budget when building.
However, we would prefer a traditional masonry house, preferably with a basement.
We honestly don’t know where to really start to find a clear direction for ourselves.
For a year now, we have been struggling with different bits of information and still don’t know which way to go.
The house should be a smart home with all related features (definitely no wireless).
It should also be possible to retrofit if, for example, a power outlet or something similar is forgotten during construction.
We basically want a basement to keep the technology, heating system, and storage space separate from the living areas.
We won’t need an attic then.
We also want a modern open-plan living, dining, and kitchen area on the ground floor, along with a guest room.
The upper floor should have the bedroom, a walk-in closet, a large bathroom, and two offices (we will not have children).
The garage should be accessible from inside the house (either through the basement or an extension).
The house will be built in the Saxony-Anhalt region.
The total usable floor area, including bathrooms and basement, should be between 200 and 300 square meters (2,150 - 3,230 square feet).
We have many wishes, but we really don’t know where to start and currently have more questions than answers.
We are looking for an online community where we can exchange ideas and experiences with others.
Is this the right place for that?
If not, does anyone know where we might be better off?
Best regards, Maxi and Romano.
We have been researching house building for a year now and have been feeling quite uncertain throughout the process.
Basically, we need to be mindful of the budget when building.
However, we would prefer a traditional masonry house, preferably with a basement.
We honestly don’t know where to really start to find a clear direction for ourselves.
For a year now, we have been struggling with different bits of information and still don’t know which way to go.
The house should be a smart home with all related features (definitely no wireless).
It should also be possible to retrofit if, for example, a power outlet or something similar is forgotten during construction.
We basically want a basement to keep the technology, heating system, and storage space separate from the living areas.
We won’t need an attic then.
We also want a modern open-plan living, dining, and kitchen area on the ground floor, along with a guest room.
The upper floor should have the bedroom, a walk-in closet, a large bathroom, and two offices (we will not have children).
The garage should be accessible from inside the house (either through the basement or an extension).
The house will be built in the Saxony-Anhalt region.
The total usable floor area, including bathrooms and basement, should be between 200 and 300 square meters (2,150 - 3,230 square feet).
We have many wishes, but we really don’t know where to start and currently have more questions than answers.
We are looking for an online community where we can exchange ideas and experiences with others.
Is this the right place for that?
If not, does anyone know where we might be better off?
Best regards, Maxi and Romano.
G
GeradeSchräg8 Jun 2021 19:23Sorry, but in my opinion, you haven’t really considered the topic enough for anything reasonable to come out of this. 🤨
The fact is, you can definitely build a house with 250 m² (2700 sq ft) of living/usable space for 600k, but not the house you have in mind! It feels like your extra requests alone already cost around 400k. But since you seem to be very well informed anyway and the users of this forum are just talking nonsense, let the actions speak. Go to an architect, explain your ideas, and prove everyone here wrong. (By the way, for a 600k building cost, an architect will probably charge between 70-80k).
The fact is, you can definitely build a house with 250 m² (2700 sq ft) of living/usable space for 600k, but not the house you have in mind! It feels like your extra requests alone already cost around 400k. But since you seem to be very well informed anyway and the users of this forum are just talking nonsense, let the actions speak. Go to an architect, explain your ideas, and prove everyone here wrong. (By the way, for a 600k building cost, an architect will probably charge between 70-80k).
GeradeSchräg schrieb:
But since you apparently are already very well informed and the users of this forum only tell nonsenseWhere exactly did I write that? So far, the opposite has been true here.
Besides, I have already thanked those who posted useful contributions 🙂
I don’t know where you’re getting your statement from 🙂
untergasse438 Jun 2021 21:02RomanoD. schrieb:
(A company from Berlin) RomanoD. schrieb:
There is a home theater company from Berlin that specializes exclusively in this. You can also just buy the equipment from them, and if you really get stuck, they will of course help you further for a fee 🙂 RomanoD. schrieb:
I know that you can get in touch with a company from Berlin here, and they will let you do the work, and what you can't manage on your own, they will help with for a fee. But the owner’s name isn’t by any chance J. F. or O. J.? The scene is small and everyone knows each other. You find black sheep very quickly, and everybody is aware of that. Anyway. NO Control4 dealer will give you the software (it is licensed to the dealer’s Control4 account) or let you “do it yourself.” Doing so would be a serious breach of their dealer agreement and risks them being banned from selling Control4 altogether. You should clarify this beforehand. The ETS software costing around 1000 euros (about 1100 USD) is easy to buy, but the rest is really difficult. Think this through very carefully and clarify it in advance. You can buy the hardware from various sources, but without the Composer software you can’t do anything with it (well, maybe with the zone amplifiers, those are straightforward).
Yes, Crestron is on a completely different level... but that’s why I understand what kind of budgets you’re thinking about, and I’m pretty sure you don’t really realize it, judging from what you wrote here.
Additionally, you will never retrofit invisible speakers. You’d have to completely open up your (drywall) walls, insulate them, and if not already done, reinforce them very solidly to avoid rattling. This is something you do during construction or never again. On top of that, you’ll need really good DSP amplifiers to properly tune those speakers—especially if, like you, you want everything “clean” and apparently haven’t given a single thought yet to the very extensive and costly acoustic treatments that would be necessary (because you don’t want anything visible). Just saying.
Ask your home theater company to explain how it works. If they even know, assuming that the “they’ll let you do it yourself” part is true. Because that would be highly unprofessional.
Well, I didn’t say the speakers should be invisible, just that they should be recessed into the wall or ceiling.
I imagine designing the house so that the ceilings are constructed in a way that allows access for future installations where needed. For example, using inspection hatches or initially simple covers.
Also, it won’t be a true home theater in the sense that some manufacturers advertise "cinema in the living room." We don’t want anything that extreme.
It should remain a normal living room. The only difference is that the technology will be integrated into the home automation system, so I can stream a movie from the living room into the guest room and have the audio signal follow me to the bathroom, triggered by motion sensors that are already part of the house.
Basically, smart technology.
It’s less about a powerful home theater experience.
Control4 was just an example at first. I know what it costs. I didn’t really find out that programming it yourself is not allowed. But, well, I am not very experienced in this area yet.
In the end, it should work just as well but be more cost-effective to implement.
That’s where Sonos comes in, which I am currently using. The sound also follows me to the bathroom when the TV is on.
It’s clear that this technology won’t be cheap no matter what, but we’ve considered that from the beginning and want to implement it step by step, with proper preparation in advance.
With KNX, it’s also clear what kind of costs to expect. At the moment, I only have the limited test version to try out, learn, and understand how to handle it.
Currently, I still have a wireless smart home system, which will need to be changed.
And I’m aware that I can’t move into the house without proper planning.
That’s why I’ve been experimenting here for a while now, especially with regard to integration with visualization systems.
I imagine designing the house so that the ceilings are constructed in a way that allows access for future installations where needed. For example, using inspection hatches or initially simple covers.
Also, it won’t be a true home theater in the sense that some manufacturers advertise "cinema in the living room." We don’t want anything that extreme.
It should remain a normal living room. The only difference is that the technology will be integrated into the home automation system, so I can stream a movie from the living room into the guest room and have the audio signal follow me to the bathroom, triggered by motion sensors that are already part of the house.
Basically, smart technology.
It’s less about a powerful home theater experience.
Control4 was just an example at first. I know what it costs. I didn’t really find out that programming it yourself is not allowed. But, well, I am not very experienced in this area yet.
In the end, it should work just as well but be more cost-effective to implement.
That’s where Sonos comes in, which I am currently using. The sound also follows me to the bathroom when the TV is on.
It’s clear that this technology won’t be cheap no matter what, but we’ve considered that from the beginning and want to implement it step by step, with proper preparation in advance.
With KNX, it’s also clear what kind of costs to expect. At the moment, I only have the limited test version to try out, learn, and understand how to handle it.
Currently, I still have a wireless smart home system, which will need to be changed.
And I’m aware that I can’t move into the house without proper planning.
That’s why I’ve been experimenting here for a while now, especially with regard to integration with visualization systems.
untergasse438 Jun 2021 21:23RomanoD. schrieb:
I know what that costs, but I didn’t get the impression that you’re not allowed to program it yourself.That’s true. For Control4 and Crestron, definitely.RomanoD. schrieb:
Well, I didn’t say the speakers have to be invisible, only that they should be recessed into the wall or ceiling.OK, I missed that. Then insulating the drywall structure is not necessary. You still have to open it up. Experience shows you will almost certainly never do that. A floor-standing speaker or the 35th Sonos One is usually bought more quickly.You should study the serious AV control systems carefully. Professional solutions with the scope you want don’t come within that budget. It usually ends up with Sonos and Harmony or something similar. With open-source visualizations, you can also achieve this on KNX. I’ve seen many clients and prospects with similar ideas come and go, but when faced with the required amount, they prefer to go to Mediamarkt. Not a criticism, but you can’t just Google this topic and figure it out instantly.
By the way, this is a good example of the many contradictions in your posts, which make us seriously doubt that you have even a rough realistic idea of what you’re planning:
RomanoD. schrieb:
Yeah, exactly, I’m fully on top of this topic ^^RomanoD. schrieb:
But okay, maybe I wasn’t that deep into that area yet.Not a big deal, but your attitude is already costing you some credibility points. 🙂You’ve combined two quotes about completely different topics.
The first quote refers to KNX smart home systems, while the second is about TV and AV...
So you can’t really compare them directly like that.
I’m experienced in the smart home field.
Regarding audio and video, I know what’s possible as well, but not specifically with Control4.
There are also various other solutions that can be integrated into smart homes for audio.
Some of these have better sound quality than Sonos.
For that, you need a smart zone distributor or multiple players that can simply be turned on as needed.
In the end, it all comes down to what you actually do with it.
However, that wasn’t really my main point.
This topic only came up here because of the questions.
The main focus was prefabricated houses versus traditional masonry, and whether or not to have a basement.
Apart from one post that linked me to another interesting post, nothing else addressed the original question ^^
The first quote refers to KNX smart home systems, while the second is about TV and AV...
So you can’t really compare them directly like that.
I’m experienced in the smart home field.
Regarding audio and video, I know what’s possible as well, but not specifically with Control4.
There are also various other solutions that can be integrated into smart homes for audio.
Some of these have better sound quality than Sonos.
For that, you need a smart zone distributor or multiple players that can simply be turned on as needed.
In the end, it all comes down to what you actually do with it.
However, that wasn’t really my main point.
This topic only came up here because of the questions.
The main focus was prefabricated houses versus traditional masonry, and whether or not to have a basement.
Apart from one post that linked me to another interesting post, nothing else addressed the original question ^^