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.
RomanoD. schrieb:
No idea if that’s possible.
That’s why I’m here—to find out. Well, then don’t talk so much and start reading through the forum.
Concrete block or timber frame basically doesn’t matter if you don’t have a preference.
Basement or not: you have to be able to afford it. Forget about the 30,000 ready-made basements—that’s just a bare shell basement and can’t be used as a garage.
And forget about the technical stuff for now—a house mainly consists of a slab foundation, walls, and roof structure or roof, windows, doors, insulation, and mechanical systems. As long as you distract yourself from that, nothing will happen.
untergasse43 schrieb:
With good quality bricks, you don’t really need insulation. That’s one of the advantages…True 🙂I agree with you.
Baugrübchen schrieb:
Try drawing a floor plan on graph paper using a reasonable scale (1 square = 0.5m (1.5 feet)) so you can visualize your rough ideas that you described here. Then we can discuss that proposal.That’s actually a great idea 🙂Floor plans are exactly what I’ve been missing while only looking at the appearance of houses.
We’ll take our time to work on that tomorrow.
Baugrübchen schrieb:
My current assessment: You are focusing on the wrong priorities regarding house building. During planning, heating systems, home cinema setups, or built-in furniture can be items on the checklist, but the detailed thoughts you have on those should really be invested in the room layout.Good point 🙂We’ll start there tomorrow…
Baugrübchen schrieb:
What does your daily life and work routine look like?We basically like to stay at home almost 24/7 and don’t go out much ^^ We also work from home.
Baugrübchen schrieb:
Why do you then need a home office with an attached private bathroom?There’s been some confusion. The office does not need its own bathroom.
That was just a list where I maybe missed a comma?
Suspended ceilings?
The idea came about for several reasons:
Since we want a ventilation system, the pipes would disappear behind the ceiling.
Also, suspended ceilings allow us to retrofit cables and wiring later on and only hide the cables inside the walls where they go down to the appropriate sockets and switches.
We don’t want to be fully restricted when it comes to retrofitting cables. Ideally, if it becomes necessary, we only need to open one wall instead of all walls throughout the house to install additional KNX, power, or network cables that we didn’t think of initially.
So it’s about flexibility for technical upgrades, especially since apart from Wi-Fi (which will be switched off by a smart home system from Unifi with the push of a button when going to bed, like everything else), we do not want to use any other wireless technology in the house.
This means that under the suspended ceilings there will be cable trays where cables can be pulled in later.
Also, technical shafts will allow cable routing between floors after the fact.
It’s all about retrofitting possibilities given the variety of technologies we want to install.
Baugrübchen schrieb:
How large do your home offices need to be? What professional requirements do you have? We both work a lot from home, but without holding phone or video conferences, and share 15sqm (160 sqft). We also archive materials once a year to free up space.We work almost exclusively from home, currently in a room about 19sqm (205 sqft).
That’s too small for us.
It’s also problematic when both of us are on the same phone or video call and can hear each other, which often disturbs our work.
Therefore, two separate home offices with enough space are important to us.
We also work with a whiteboard during video conferences to clarify workflows, so we need some room to move and more space, as each of us has our own area in the company, which eventually overlaps.
Since we currently crowd each other and each needs space for four screens, our desks are quite large.
We also have various filing shelves that we need; we want a more functional and divided setup with noise separation.
A solid wall, whether drywall or masonry, will be sufficient for that.
No music is played, just spoken communication.
So, about 16–18 sqm (170–195 sqft) per home office makes sense.
Especially because we like to move around during conferences, almost like presentations, rather than standing still.
Baugrübchen schrieb:
Someone already mentioned here that you’re building a house to fit your life, not fitting your life to the house.Exactly. In the end, the house should adapt to our lifestyle (hence the idea for flexible retrofitting).
But you’re absolutely right about the floor plan.
The best idea that has come out so far during this whole thinking and information phase.
Baugrübchen schrieb:
Regarding budget: Make an appointment at the bank and bring your preparation documents (income, equity, online quotes/estimates), and move away from the mindset of “we just asked this person roughly.” As long as you operate like that, not only will you keep the package sealed, it’s still shrink-wrapped, and you don’t have scissors to open it.You’re right about that.
We will approach it the same way soon.
Even though I’m still analyzing your post here, I’ve already made notes 🙂
Baugrübchen schrieb:
We wanted to build a solid masonry house because that’s what felt right to us. Opinions are about as evenly split as Aldi North and Aldi South. If you have a reliable architect and a confident, trustworthy builder, you can be happy with either type.True ^^
I think it really requires visits to the companies and plenty of consultations until we can confidently decide.
I come from a masonry house background, but mentally I was leaning towards a prefabricated house for some reason… maybe because of the internet. The advantages and disadvantages we read about never really helped much, as in the end we still feel that a masonry house is solid, which is also said elsewhere about prefabricated houses.
Baugrübchen schrieb:
If the trip from the Harz to a model home exhibition is too far, then you’re probably not that serious about building. Usually, you can go on Sundays when few people are there. Especially without children and obligations, I can’t understand that attitude when it’s a project in the high six-figure range. We once drove 350 km (220 miles) just to see the brickwork on a sample facade because everything was closed due to COVID and we didn’t want to decide based on only three sample bricks. That’s what I meant at the start about priorities.That’s true. For us, it’s more the effort to leave our little fortress.
We don’t like being around people.
Not because we stereotype everyone; it’s more due to our history. We’ve experienced a break-in and stalking in the past.
For many years we have lived very withdrawn.
Regarding friendships, over time, you notice which friends are really interested in themselves rather than us…
So through that selection, in the end, only a small circle of genuine friends who maintain contact remains.
Because we literally live in a high-security fortress (referring to security features and our completely inconspicuous location), and we rarely go out unless absolutely necessary, we want to have the space outdoors inside our home.
In the end, this secluded and shielded lifestyle suits us well.
Nonetheless, we are interested in visiting model home parks to get ideas and a better sense of space beyond just plans or 3D models on the computer.
We’ll get to it 🙂
Baugrübchen schrieb:
Summary:
- Draw up your plan and mull it over together with wine/beer/non-alcoholic drinksWe’ll do that tomorrow 🙂Baugrübchen schrieb:
- Choose and buy the plot of landEasier said than done, but it’s part of the process 🙂 Unfortunately, here again we have to overcome the feeling of security.
But it’s doable and not impossible ^^
Time for walks again ^^
Baugrübchen schrieb:
- Schedule bank consultation
- Visit model homes to develop a sense of spaceWill do...Baugrübchen schrieb:
- Basement? I’ve never seen a use for it and was always scared to go down there as a child.Basement because: that’s where the technical equipment will go, and I want a laundry chute right in front of the washing machine ^^ Also, space for our technical equipment and storage for supplies when we have to stay home longer ^^
The storage space you gain isn’t negligible for a fairly reasonable price.
A basement doesn’t have to be ugly if it’s white and tiled 🙂
My parents’ basement was creepy, but it doesn’t have to be that way 🙂
In theory, the offices could be located there as well.
We also want a guest room with a separate bathroom.
Baugrübchen schrieb:
- Solid masonry or prefabricated house? Trust your gut feelingMy gut says solid masonry, but honestly, it’s not 100% clear yet ^^Long story short.
Thank you very much for the guidance 🙂 At least now I have a direction to follow, and we’ll start with the floor plan tomorrow.
As soon as it’s presentable, I’ll upload and share it.
ypg schrieb:
Well, then stop talking so much and start reading through the forum.
Solid construction or timber frame doesn’t really matter if you don’t have a preference.
Basement or not: you need to be able to afford it. Forget the 30,000 ready-made basements – that’s just a bare shell basement and can’t be used as a garage.
And forget about your technical equipment for now – a house primarily consists of the foundation slab, walls, and roof structure or roof, windows, doors, insulation, and technical installations. As long as you distract yourself from that, nothing will happen. There is some truth to that 🙂
I’m now starting to follow the initial steps of the plan we have, and I will definitely report back in the next few days with some results 🙂
I’m good at talking ^^ I never seem to stop ^^
Sorry, I think I’m completely lost. Only in post #75 do you reveal important details (2 home offices with quite a bit of space needed, for example for 4 monitors and even presentation requirements). At the same time, your disastrous spoken and written style gives a certain impression that makes me doubt the seriousness of your project. (I’m not judging anyone based on their style, it just stands out to me.) At the beginning, you talk about budget and dislike guesses about your income (but that is important). Everything in this thread is so inconsistent that from now on I’ll just sit back and open a bag of chips (I’m out of popcorn). One last (probably unwanted) piece of advice: Take a break and lie down on the couch—what you’ve described above isn’t really living 🙄
i_b_n_a_n schrieb:
Sorry, I think I’m completely lost. Only in post #75 do you mention something important (2 home offices with quite a lot of space needed, for example 4 monitors and even presentation duties). At the same time, your disastrous language and writing style give a certain impression that makes me doubt the seriousness of your project. (I’m not judging anyone by their style, it just stands out to me.) At first, you talk about budget but don’t want to share assumptions about your income (which is actually important). Everything in this thread is so inconsistent that I’m going to sit back now and open a bag of chips (popcorn is all gone). One last (probably unwanted) piece of advice: lie down on the couch sometime; what you described above isn’t really a way to live 🙄 You can see it however you want 🙂
I just don’t know what one has to do with the other?
And of course I talk about budget; in the end, that’s always what it comes down to.
Otherwise, I don’t know what’s wrong with our lifestyle?
We’re not bothering anyone or causing any disturbance… in fact, you won’t see or hear us.
Regarding the presentation duties… so what? Since I’m aware of that and recognize I have some weaknesses, it doesn’t mean I can’t do anything at all…?
There are also people who work their way into a role differently and still aren’t worse off because of it.
Knowledge doesn’t mean you can do everything, but that you know where to find it or who can do it for you 🙂
And in the end, I don’t think salary belongs in a public forum.
Basically, I don’t see anything wrong with not going overboard when building a house.
But for that, there’s no need to disclose my salary range.
I have gotten the information I was looking for.
At least, I was able to take away quite a bit from the good answers here to help organize my chaos.
It’s the same at work 🙂
But just because someone is more chaotic and complicated than others doesn’t mean they aren’t good at any area.
In some cases, exactly that kind of different thinking is sought after.
Anyway, I don’t really care what people think of me.
We don’t know each other.
In the end, I did find what I was looking for 🙂
Baugrübchen schrieb:
Someone already paraphrased here that you build a house to live in, not a life that adapts to the house.That sounds more like @hampshire to me than "someone"...https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
Similar topics