U
undwasnun15 Jul 2009 22:00Hello everyone,
First of all: many thanks to everyone who reads this (long) post and even takes the time to respond!!! We are still searching for "our house" – we already have a plot of land.
We now have an offer and it would be great if you could take a look to see whether our “overall cost planning” is roughly correct or if we have forgotten something important! Many, many thanks!
It would also be helpful if you could tell us whether you consider the builder’s total price to be reasonable and our “estimated amounts” to be realistic. We tried to calculate the individual items to get an approximate total... goodness, this is quite difficult... maybe someone has built a similarly sized house and can share some experience?
The offer is for a “closed shell” for a 140 m² (1507 sq ft) house without a basement, including:
Roof covering,
foundation slab,
windows with blinds, sliding door to the terrace, some floor-to-ceiling windows, front door, window sills,
colored exterior plaster,
gas heating, underfloor heating, fireplace, solar system,
floating screed,
solid staircase to the first floor,
foundation slab for the garage.
For about 127,000 Euros
We plan to do the interior finishing ourselves (thanks to many skilled craftsmen in our nearby family circle and a talented man 🙂), and we have no time pressure.
Interior finishing means for us (it would be great if you could
a) tell us if we have missed anything
b) review our estimated costs, since we want to base our overall financing on this.
Surveys: 3,000 Euros
Building permit / planning permission: 800 Euros
Insurance: 1,000 Euros (including coverage for helpers on site—is this realistic?)
Construction electricity: 1,000 Euros
Independent building inspector: ???????????????
Utility connection fees: 6,000 Euros (requested, excavation will be done by the developer)
This "only" covers materials:
Electrical installations: 5,000 Euros
Wall plastering: 5,000 Euros
Ceiling paneling: 2,500 Euros
Sanitary fixtures: 5,000 Euros
Tiles/wallpaper/floor covering: 5,000 Euros
Interior doors: 2,000 Euros
Stairs to the attic: 5,000 Euros
Attic finishing: 2,500 Euros
Machine purchase/rental: 20,000 Euros
Exterior work/garden: 5,000 Euros
Garage: 10,000 Euros (excluding foundation slab, probably a “solid concrete garage,” as building it ourselves would likely be much more expensive?!)
And then there’s the “contingency fund.” I have seen recommendations between 5% and 20% of the total sum...
20% seems quite high... do you have any advice?
Many greetings and thanks for your effort!!!
First of all: many thanks to everyone who reads this (long) post and even takes the time to respond!!! We are still searching for "our house" – we already have a plot of land.
We now have an offer and it would be great if you could take a look to see whether our “overall cost planning” is roughly correct or if we have forgotten something important! Many, many thanks!
It would also be helpful if you could tell us whether you consider the builder’s total price to be reasonable and our “estimated amounts” to be realistic. We tried to calculate the individual items to get an approximate total... goodness, this is quite difficult... maybe someone has built a similarly sized house and can share some experience?
The offer is for a “closed shell” for a 140 m² (1507 sq ft) house without a basement, including:
Roof covering,
foundation slab,
windows with blinds, sliding door to the terrace, some floor-to-ceiling windows, front door, window sills,
colored exterior plaster,
gas heating, underfloor heating, fireplace, solar system,
floating screed,
solid staircase to the first floor,
foundation slab for the garage.
For about 127,000 Euros
We plan to do the interior finishing ourselves (thanks to many skilled craftsmen in our nearby family circle and a talented man 🙂), and we have no time pressure.
Interior finishing means for us (it would be great if you could
a) tell us if we have missed anything
b) review our estimated costs, since we want to base our overall financing on this.
Surveys: 3,000 Euros
Building permit / planning permission: 800 Euros
Insurance: 1,000 Euros (including coverage for helpers on site—is this realistic?)
Construction electricity: 1,000 Euros
Independent building inspector: ???????????????
Utility connection fees: 6,000 Euros (requested, excavation will be done by the developer)
This "only" covers materials:
Electrical installations: 5,000 Euros
Wall plastering: 5,000 Euros
Ceiling paneling: 2,500 Euros
Sanitary fixtures: 5,000 Euros
Tiles/wallpaper/floor covering: 5,000 Euros
Interior doors: 2,000 Euros
Stairs to the attic: 5,000 Euros
Attic finishing: 2,500 Euros
Machine purchase/rental: 20,000 Euros
Exterior work/garden: 5,000 Euros
Garage: 10,000 Euros (excluding foundation slab, probably a “solid concrete garage,” as building it ourselves would likely be much more expensive?!)
And then there’s the “contingency fund.” I have seen recommendations between 5% and 20% of the total sum...
20% seems quite high... do you have any advice?
Many greetings and thanks for your effort!!!
Hello,
Does a sealed shell mean without or with exterior plaster?
What is the goal—a low-energy house (standard from 1996) or a KfW 55 or 70 efficiency standard?
What about insulation in the attic? Is it included or does it need to be done separately?
The cost estimate looks good, except for the exterior landscaping. What is the ground condition like around the house? Is it fully leveled or rough and uneven?
I would recommend a 10% contingency buffer.
Does a sealed shell mean without or with exterior plaster?
What is the goal—a low-energy house (standard from 1996) or a KfW 55 or 70 efficiency standard?
What about insulation in the attic? Is it included or does it need to be done separately?
The cost estimate looks good, except for the exterior landscaping. What is the ground condition like around the house? Is it fully leveled or rough and uneven?
I would recommend a 10% contingency buffer.
U
undwasnun17 Jul 2009 12:17Hello Cmajere,
thank you very much for your reply!
The offer is for an Efficiency House 70. The exterior plaster (colored) is included in the "enclosed" shell construction.
Whether the insulation for the roof is included is a good question… I will ask the developer about that.
The outdoor area is still quite messy (and it really is "weeds," and we will soon start to "clear" it ourselves). There are no large trees or similar that need to be removed. The 5000 euros are budgeted for "after completion" of the shell construction, meaning that work and disposal costs "beforehand" are not included.
A 10% contingency on "everything," that is after material costs etc.? That would be around 20,000 euros… sounds like a lot, but it’s probably realistic… The bank will definitely not finance a contingency, meaning we would have to reduce our own equity accordingly; right?
Where we are very uncertain is the interior plaster; as mentioned, we have budgeted 5000 euros plus 2500 euros for the ceiling cladding (although I am just wondering what exactly my husband meant by that; I still need to ask).
thank you very much for your reply!
The offer is for an Efficiency House 70. The exterior plaster (colored) is included in the "enclosed" shell construction.
Whether the insulation for the roof is included is a good question… I will ask the developer about that.
The outdoor area is still quite messy (and it really is "weeds," and we will soon start to "clear" it ourselves). There are no large trees or similar that need to be removed. The 5000 euros are budgeted for "after completion" of the shell construction, meaning that work and disposal costs "beforehand" are not included.
A 10% contingency on "everything," that is after material costs etc.? That would be around 20,000 euros… sounds like a lot, but it’s probably realistic… The bank will definitely not finance a contingency, meaning we would have to reduce our own equity accordingly; right?
Where we are very uncertain is the interior plaster; as mentioned, we have budgeted 5000 euros plus 2500 euros for the ceiling cladding (although I am just wondering what exactly my husband meant by that; I still need to ask).
Hello,
I’m also not entirely sure about the interior plastering, but I prefer to have it done professionally so I can get a warranty on it—these are fundamental things. What will you do if the plaster suddenly falls off the wall?
I think it’s great when colleagues help out on a construction site. I hope my colleagues will help me too, although I’d rather leave tasks like wallpapering or tiling to them. Applying plaster evenly without any hollows or bulges sounds difficult to me.
In the worst case, this could cause serious disputes if, for example, the plaster does not adhere properly. Who will cover the costs then?
Our bank included a contingency fund. We have a buffer of 7,000 euros and still about 5,000 euros in cash reserved.
Our house will be ready for wallpapering upon handover.
Regarding the gas boiler, consider this carefully. There have recently been news reports about gas price issues and the fact that we mainly source gas from Eastern countries. I wouldn’t want to be too dependent on that.
Check if a heat pump could be an option for you, especially since you’re planning underfloor heating anyway. Depending on the size of the building, you could get up to 4,500 euros cashback from the government for a heat pump, provided it meets certain annual performance factors.
Best regards
I’m also not entirely sure about the interior plastering, but I prefer to have it done professionally so I can get a warranty on it—these are fundamental things. What will you do if the plaster suddenly falls off the wall?
I think it’s great when colleagues help out on a construction site. I hope my colleagues will help me too, although I’d rather leave tasks like wallpapering or tiling to them. Applying plaster evenly without any hollows or bulges sounds difficult to me.
In the worst case, this could cause serious disputes if, for example, the plaster does not adhere properly. Who will cover the costs then?
Our bank included a contingency fund. We have a buffer of 7,000 euros and still about 5,000 euros in cash reserved.
Our house will be ready for wallpapering upon handover.
Regarding the gas boiler, consider this carefully. There have recently been news reports about gas price issues and the fact that we mainly source gas from Eastern countries. I wouldn’t want to be too dependent on that.
Check if a heat pump could be an option for you, especially since you’re planning underfloor heating anyway. Depending on the size of the building, you could get up to 4,500 euros cashback from the government for a heat pump, provided it meets certain annual performance factors.
Best regards
U
undwasnun17 Jul 2009 14:22We have already practiced plastering a bit (in a garage), and once you get the hang of it, it goes quite well. So when it comes time to remove it again, we’ll have to do it ourselves since we won’t be involving my father-in-law... If it doesn’t work out at all, we’ll just have to “bite the bullet” and hire someone. But since, as I said, we’re not under any time pressure and can really save a lot this way, we’ll try doing it ourselves first.
We thought about and researched the heating system for a long time. Among other things, we visited the consumer advice center for energy consultation. Originally, we wanted a heat pump with deep drilling. After detailed calculations, we came to the conclusion that it doesn’t make financial sense for us. A heat pump would only pay for itself (even with high estimated gas prices) after about 20 years (I had calculated it precisely once, including interest on a larger loan, but I don’t have the exact number handy right now). And since heat pumps also have a limited lifespan—which isn’t precisely known yet but is supposedly around 15 years on average—in the worst case, it might not even be cost-effective.
Alternative heating systems like pellet stoves or air-source heat pumps are somewhat cheaper but just don’t appeal to us for various reasons. The energy consultant recommended gas heating combined with underfloor heating and a fireplace; this way, we will be well “prepared” for the future (maybe an entirely different system will become available soon).
The heating topic is very complicated. We have thought about it extensively and decided on this approach for now.
Cmajere schrieb:
Check if a heat pump might be an option for you, especially since you’re planning underfloor heating anyway. Depending on the building size, you can get up to 4500 euros cashback from the government for a heat pump, provided it meets certain seasonal performance factors.
We thought about and researched the heating system for a long time. Among other things, we visited the consumer advice center for energy consultation. Originally, we wanted a heat pump with deep drilling. After detailed calculations, we came to the conclusion that it doesn’t make financial sense for us. A heat pump would only pay for itself (even with high estimated gas prices) after about 20 years (I had calculated it precisely once, including interest on a larger loan, but I don’t have the exact number handy right now). And since heat pumps also have a limited lifespan—which isn’t precisely known yet but is supposedly around 15 years on average—in the worst case, it might not even be cost-effective.
Alternative heating systems like pellet stoves or air-source heat pumps are somewhat cheaper but just don’t appeal to us for various reasons. The energy consultant recommended gas heating combined with underfloor heating and a fireplace; this way, we will be well “prepared” for the future (maybe an entirely different system will become available soon).
The heating topic is very complicated. We have thought about it extensively and decided on this approach for now.
Hello everyone!!
I wanted to share my two cents *lol*
I have a few questions about the materials.
Electrical installations: does this include the main connection (power supply line, etc.) or just the installation inside the house?
Plastering the walls: I’d say it largely depends on whether you use machine-applied plaster (and the method) or if it’s done by hand.
Ceiling cladding: what materials are used here and approximately how many square meters?
Staircase: what material is it made of?
Attic finishing: what materials are used and approximately how many square meters?
Sanitary fixtures: how many bathrooms and toilets will there be, and what specifications?
Interior doors: what material and what kind of fittings?
And last but not least, regarding the garage:
I think and believe that building your own garage walls will be much cheaper.
Best regards.
I wanted to share my two cents *lol*
I have a few questions about the materials.
Electrical installations: does this include the main connection (power supply line, etc.) or just the installation inside the house?
Plastering the walls: I’d say it largely depends on whether you use machine-applied plaster (and the method) or if it’s done by hand.
Ceiling cladding: what materials are used here and approximately how many square meters?
Staircase: what material is it made of?
Attic finishing: what materials are used and approximately how many square meters?
Sanitary fixtures: how many bathrooms and toilets will there be, and what specifications?
Interior doors: what material and what kind of fittings?
And last but not least, regarding the garage:
I think and believe that building your own garage walls will be much cheaper.
Best regards.
Similar topics