Hello dear members,
We are currently in the process of planning our house construction, and since I personally enjoy reading house building diaries and similar posts, I thought I would try to give something back. We are definitely beginners but are gradually learning more about the topic. Fortunately, we have a friend who is an expert in this field and will help us with the construction description, monitoring the construction work, etc. (currently only promised help, not yet involved).
I might still upload our floor plan later.
Project idea:
Property: Single-family house
Location: Wesermarsch (Northern Lower Saxony)
Development plan:
- Two building gaps, nearly identical development plans: floor area ratio 0.3; site coverage 0.4; single-story (unfortunately); no specified eaves or ridge height or roof design
- New residential area: floor area ratio 0.4; site coverage 0.5; two stories; other details unknown
Living space: 160 sqm (1,722 sq ft) according to initial draft, with a tendency towards smaller living space
Volume: According to the first draft: rectangular, without projections, except for a projection housing half of the living room (ground floor); not built on upper floor
Energy standard: possibly KfW 55 (if it is cost-effective)
Special features: photovoltaic system, fireplace, large gallery/open space, many large windows; 2 bathrooms; ventilation system either with heat recovery and/or geothermal heat pump (depending on KfW requirements)
Cost-saving measures: partially leave the attic unfinished until children arrive (affects 1 bathroom and 2 standard rooms); instead of a basement, have an attic and a large utility room; only pave the driveway and entrance area (carport will be built later); minimize expenditure on outdoor landscaping; we currently like the industrial style: prefer steel industrial staircase over wooden stairs; possibly leave walls/ceilings "bare" in the kitchen-living-dining area; own work: electrical installation, non-load-bearing walls, flooring, painting – possibly also roof insulation.
Price including incidental costs: approx. 240,000 - 260,000 (excluding land costs)
Current status:
At the moment it is like this: We both recently started new jobs (both probation periods completed, both permanent contracts). I (26) have a new job after completing my studies; he joined the family business (initially a lower salary, significantly higher in 2 years, with another big increase in 5-8 years). So, we won’t have a lot of money available to finance the project for 2 years, but after that it won’t be a problem, even despite maternity leave and unemployment. However, we want to be able to cover financing until then, in case I have to rely on unemployment benefits (ALG I) as the main earner. Family would of course support us, but we prefer to be independent. This means the monthly payment cannot be too high, but at the same time I want at least 2.5% repayment (+ special repayments later). Well – these are the usual wishes of almost every home builder.
A low annuity goes hand in hand with low construction and incidental costs, as well as affordable land. The latter is not an issue for us; the real problem is a lack of building plots. A new development area will be designated this fall. We are on the waiting list and have applied for two attractive building gaps.
Regarding construction costs, we face the usual problem: wish vs. reality. I think we will have to make quite a few adjustments due to the budget. The builder is probably already decided. Two friends built with this company in 2014 and 2016 and only have positive feedback. The builder calculates the complete house and provides a price, then discusses which trades can be completed by ourselves. Additionally, they tendered some trades they did not want to do themselves. This was also no problem for the builder – this also saved money. Our appointment with the builder is still pending. We also plan to get three more offers.
As laypersons, we researched potential savings on the internet. Obviously: do not finish the attic. But I want a large gallery/open space in the middle of the house above kitchen and dining area, and due to energy-saving regulations, much of the attic has to be finished anyway. However, we can at least omit some interior finishing, including one bathroom.
Additionally, we can do without the carport and most landscaping for two years. We want to limit our own work to what is feasible – i.e., only what we have a family craftsman to do together with us. Well, except for painting and flooring, which we have done often enough. My partner is home by 3 pm at the latest every day (sometimes as early as 1 pm), so he can go straight to the building site =)
And maybe the industrial style will save some money, for example through the stairs and raw ceilings. Also, I am fine with tiles from the hardware store, affordable sanitary fixtures, or a kitchen from a special offer for the time being. The rest of the furniture is already available. If the builder suggests reducing the living space and it suits us, we are happy to further reduce it.
Unfortunately, we also have one or two expensive wishes that we do not want to give up for now: the large gallery/open space and a large window front on the south side of the house. I would also like a nice flooring. So, it remains to be seen whether the financial framework will be sufficient.
Current status:
Financing: Two offers obtained. Provisional "ok" from advisors.
Land: Two inquiries for building gaps; development area will be completed in October.
House: First offers expected in the coming weeks.
We are currently in the process of planning our house construction, and since I personally enjoy reading house building diaries and similar posts, I thought I would try to give something back. We are definitely beginners but are gradually learning more about the topic. Fortunately, we have a friend who is an expert in this field and will help us with the construction description, monitoring the construction work, etc. (currently only promised help, not yet involved).
I might still upload our floor plan later.
Project idea:
Property: Single-family house
Location: Wesermarsch (Northern Lower Saxony)
Development plan:
- Two building gaps, nearly identical development plans: floor area ratio 0.3; site coverage 0.4; single-story (unfortunately); no specified eaves or ridge height or roof design
- New residential area: floor area ratio 0.4; site coverage 0.5; two stories; other details unknown
Living space: 160 sqm (1,722 sq ft) according to initial draft, with a tendency towards smaller living space
Volume: According to the first draft: rectangular, without projections, except for a projection housing half of the living room (ground floor); not built on upper floor
Energy standard: possibly KfW 55 (if it is cost-effective)
Special features: photovoltaic system, fireplace, large gallery/open space, many large windows; 2 bathrooms; ventilation system either with heat recovery and/or geothermal heat pump (depending on KfW requirements)
Cost-saving measures: partially leave the attic unfinished until children arrive (affects 1 bathroom and 2 standard rooms); instead of a basement, have an attic and a large utility room; only pave the driveway and entrance area (carport will be built later); minimize expenditure on outdoor landscaping; we currently like the industrial style: prefer steel industrial staircase over wooden stairs; possibly leave walls/ceilings "bare" in the kitchen-living-dining area; own work: electrical installation, non-load-bearing walls, flooring, painting – possibly also roof insulation.
Price including incidental costs: approx. 240,000 - 260,000 (excluding land costs)
Current status:
At the moment it is like this: We both recently started new jobs (both probation periods completed, both permanent contracts). I (26) have a new job after completing my studies; he joined the family business (initially a lower salary, significantly higher in 2 years, with another big increase in 5-8 years). So, we won’t have a lot of money available to finance the project for 2 years, but after that it won’t be a problem, even despite maternity leave and unemployment. However, we want to be able to cover financing until then, in case I have to rely on unemployment benefits (ALG I) as the main earner. Family would of course support us, but we prefer to be independent. This means the monthly payment cannot be too high, but at the same time I want at least 2.5% repayment (+ special repayments later). Well – these are the usual wishes of almost every home builder.
A low annuity goes hand in hand with low construction and incidental costs, as well as affordable land. The latter is not an issue for us; the real problem is a lack of building plots. A new development area will be designated this fall. We are on the waiting list and have applied for two attractive building gaps.
Regarding construction costs, we face the usual problem: wish vs. reality. I think we will have to make quite a few adjustments due to the budget. The builder is probably already decided. Two friends built with this company in 2014 and 2016 and only have positive feedback. The builder calculates the complete house and provides a price, then discusses which trades can be completed by ourselves. Additionally, they tendered some trades they did not want to do themselves. This was also no problem for the builder – this also saved money. Our appointment with the builder is still pending. We also plan to get three more offers.
As laypersons, we researched potential savings on the internet. Obviously: do not finish the attic. But I want a large gallery/open space in the middle of the house above kitchen and dining area, and due to energy-saving regulations, much of the attic has to be finished anyway. However, we can at least omit some interior finishing, including one bathroom.
Additionally, we can do without the carport and most landscaping for two years. We want to limit our own work to what is feasible – i.e., only what we have a family craftsman to do together with us. Well, except for painting and flooring, which we have done often enough. My partner is home by 3 pm at the latest every day (sometimes as early as 1 pm), so he can go straight to the building site =)
And maybe the industrial style will save some money, for example through the stairs and raw ceilings. Also, I am fine with tiles from the hardware store, affordable sanitary fixtures, or a kitchen from a special offer for the time being. The rest of the furniture is already available. If the builder suggests reducing the living space and it suits us, we are happy to further reduce it.
Unfortunately, we also have one or two expensive wishes that we do not want to give up for now: the large gallery/open space and a large window front on the south side of the house. I would also like a nice flooring. So, it remains to be seen whether the financial framework will be sufficient.
Current status:
Financing: Two offers obtained. Provisional "ok" from advisors.
Land: Two inquiries for building gaps; development area will be completed in October.
House: First offers expected in the coming weeks.
Brief update:
On Friday, we met with our building consultant to discuss our floor plan. The conversation was still quite general, but we received the following guidelines and information:
1. We should expect costs of about 1,800 - 1,900 EUR per square meter (sq m) of living space, turnkey, excluding exterior landscaping.
2. As expected, the open space area costs almost as much as living space. For a rough estimate, he recommended counting two-thirds of the open space area as living space.
-> As we feared based on research in this forum, with 160 sq m of living space, it becomes clearly too expensive for us.
3. He recommended consulting an architect he has worked with for a long time, who would create a proper floor plan and static calculations for us. She still does this manually but is very competent and reasonably priced. Based on her work, we could then get a proper offer.
Conclusion: I have now reduced our floor plan to 147 sq m including the open space area; applying the two-thirds rule that equals about 142 sq m. I still like the plan, but I don’t want to reduce it any further. Additionally, we have slightly increased our budget (+ 20,000 EUR). However, this will need to be discussed with the bank. This should make long-term financing manageable with only one income (at least for the next 5-8 years; after that, it should be easier to cover with one income). I can just about manage this.
Current planned self-performed work with estimated costs (gathered online; exact calculations will follow after floor plan / static / energy consultant are finalized):
Electrical work: - 5,000 EUR (master electrician in the family)
Painting: - 5,000 EUR
Flooring: - 2,500 EUR
Roof insulation: - 4,000 EUR (roofer in the family)
Non-load-bearing walls: - 2,000 EUR (frequently done by family members)
_________________________
= - 25,000 EUR
I have estimated approximately 600 - 700 work hours for this.
For the online values, I applied a 1,000 EUR discount on the average for these positions.
Still under consideration:
How much can be saved by partially leaving the attic (2 rooms + bathroom) unfinished?
How much can we save or want to save by the design of the exterior facade?
Planning:
Our next step will be to return to the bank.
After that, we will wait to see the situation with the plot to ensure our floor plan definitely fits and so we can better estimate the related costs.
If everything fits, we will then visit the architect and start considering the facade design.
On Friday, we met with our building consultant to discuss our floor plan. The conversation was still quite general, but we received the following guidelines and information:
1. We should expect costs of about 1,800 - 1,900 EUR per square meter (sq m) of living space, turnkey, excluding exterior landscaping.
2. As expected, the open space area costs almost as much as living space. For a rough estimate, he recommended counting two-thirds of the open space area as living space.
-> As we feared based on research in this forum, with 160 sq m of living space, it becomes clearly too expensive for us.
3. He recommended consulting an architect he has worked with for a long time, who would create a proper floor plan and static calculations for us. She still does this manually but is very competent and reasonably priced. Based on her work, we could then get a proper offer.
Conclusion: I have now reduced our floor plan to 147 sq m including the open space area; applying the two-thirds rule that equals about 142 sq m. I still like the plan, but I don’t want to reduce it any further. Additionally, we have slightly increased our budget (+ 20,000 EUR). However, this will need to be discussed with the bank. This should make long-term financing manageable with only one income (at least for the next 5-8 years; after that, it should be easier to cover with one income). I can just about manage this.
Current planned self-performed work with estimated costs (gathered online; exact calculations will follow after floor plan / static / energy consultant are finalized):
Electrical work: - 5,000 EUR (master electrician in the family)
Painting: - 5,000 EUR
Flooring: - 2,500 EUR
Roof insulation: - 4,000 EUR (roofer in the family)
Non-load-bearing walls: - 2,000 EUR (frequently done by family members)
_________________________
= - 25,000 EUR
I have estimated approximately 600 - 700 work hours for this.
For the online values, I applied a 1,000 EUR discount on the average for these positions.
Still under consideration:
How much can be saved by partially leaving the attic (2 rooms + bathroom) unfinished?
How much can we save or want to save by the design of the exterior facade?
Planning:
Our next step will be to return to the bank.
After that, we will wait to see the situation with the plot to ensure our floor plan definitely fits and so we can better estimate the related costs.
If everything fits, we will then visit the architect and start considering the facade design.
Hello ypg – thank you very much for the quick response.
May I ask why?
About five years ago, we converted my parents’ attic space, including insulation (gable roof). I didn’t see it as particularly difficult, but perhaps something has changed due to the energy-saving regulations?
May I ask why?
About five years ago, we converted my parents’ attic space, including insulation (gable roof). I didn’t see it as particularly difficult, but perhaps something has changed due to the energy-saving regulations?
G
Goldi0911113 Aug 2016 12:03I consider the €5,000 for painting work to be very high, based on the quotes I have received so far.
Of course, feel free to ask,
welcome in the first place 🙂
We had the chance to observe the drywall installation work being done by the professionals at our construction site – and it is a rough, unpleasant job that is definitely not good for the respiratory system or the skin. It’s a task for enemies 😉
welcome in the first place 🙂
We had the chance to observe the drywall installation work being done by the professionals at our construction site – and it is a rough, unpleasant job that is definitely not good for the respiratory system or the skin. It’s a task for enemies 😉
Similar topics