ᐅ Is a Basement Practical for a Single-Family Home or Usually Too Expensive?
Created on: 30 Jun 2018 21:56
A
Abzug86
Hello everyone,
I’d like to take this opportunity to introduce myself briefly: my name is Michael, I’m 32 years old, married, (currently) no children, employed at an insurance agency in northern Bavaria, and my wife and I are planning to build a new single-family house in 2019. I will share more details in a separate thread once the concept is worked out in detail.
At the moment, we are getting inspiration from the catalogs of several general contractors and are considering which "type" of house is right for us. This raised the question: do we need a basement? And if so, for what purpose? I’ll explain this further with an example (both plots are level):
Single-family house 1: basement, ground floor, usable attic, footprint 100 m² (1,076 sq ft), living area (according to the Wohnflächenverordnung) 140 m² (1,507 sq ft).
Single-family house 2: ground floor, usable attic, footprint 130 m² (1,399 sq ft), living area (according to the Wohnflächenverordnung) 185 m² (1,992 sq ft).
Both options would cost roughly the same (~375,000 EUR turnkey). Single-family house 1 has a basement; single-family house 2 does not but offers significantly more living space. Both are heated by a heat pump.
In my understanding, there are three main reasons for having a basement: 1. as storage space, 2. for the heating system, and 3. for the utility/laundry room. Step by step:
1.) I can’t really think of much that I would need to store down there—at least not on a total area of about 50+ m² (540+ sq ft)...
2.) Since heating is provided by a heat pump, the "heater" itself would be located outside anyway. The basement would only house the controls (and the hot water tank?). I assume these could also be installed on the ground floor, right?
3.) If the utility room is in the basement and the bedroom is on the upper floor, my wife would have to go up and down two levels. Also, ventilation would be difficult when air-drying laundry. For these reasons, it might even make more sense to move this area to the ground floor.
I’m curious to hear your thoughts on basements—perhaps I am missing important points or have a wrong understanding regarding the "heating room." Thanks in advance for your help!
I’d like to take this opportunity to introduce myself briefly: my name is Michael, I’m 32 years old, married, (currently) no children, employed at an insurance agency in northern Bavaria, and my wife and I are planning to build a new single-family house in 2019. I will share more details in a separate thread once the concept is worked out in detail.
At the moment, we are getting inspiration from the catalogs of several general contractors and are considering which "type" of house is right for us. This raised the question: do we need a basement? And if so, for what purpose? I’ll explain this further with an example (both plots are level):
Single-family house 1: basement, ground floor, usable attic, footprint 100 m² (1,076 sq ft), living area (according to the Wohnflächenverordnung) 140 m² (1,507 sq ft).
Single-family house 2: ground floor, usable attic, footprint 130 m² (1,399 sq ft), living area (according to the Wohnflächenverordnung) 185 m² (1,992 sq ft).
Both options would cost roughly the same (~375,000 EUR turnkey). Single-family house 1 has a basement; single-family house 2 does not but offers significantly more living space. Both are heated by a heat pump.
In my understanding, there are three main reasons for having a basement: 1. as storage space, 2. for the heating system, and 3. for the utility/laundry room. Step by step:
1.) I can’t really think of much that I would need to store down there—at least not on a total area of about 50+ m² (540+ sq ft)...
2.) Since heating is provided by a heat pump, the "heater" itself would be located outside anyway. The basement would only house the controls (and the hot water tank?). I assume these could also be installed on the ground floor, right?
3.) If the utility room is in the basement and the bedroom is on the upper floor, my wife would have to go up and down two levels. Also, ventilation would be difficult when air-drying laundry. For these reasons, it might even make more sense to move this area to the ground floor.
I’m curious to hear your thoughts on basements—perhaps I am missing important points or have a wrong understanding regarding the "heating room." Thanks in advance for your help!
When I look at Immoscout, I notice the following trend (or at least it has always been this way, as far as I know): in the south (I’m looking at Munich and the surrounding area), large houses are still being built. Around 160 sqm (1,722 sq ft) and larger, always with a basement.
In the north (I’m looking at eastern North Rhine-Westphalia), smaller houses are being built, around 120 to 130 sqm (1,292 to 1,399 sq ft), usually without a basement.
We built without a basement because I didn’t want to carry laundry up and down two flights of stairs anymore – now it’s just one flight. Unfortunately, we couldn’t fit the washing machine upstairs, but it’s still an improvement.
There is a storage room next to the garage where all the tools and such go – and everything else that’s currently in the basement is just junk. We even only have a partial basement here.
I’m not going to build an expensive basement and potentially run into groundwater problems or other issues because someone did a poor job...
In the north (I’m looking at eastern North Rhine-Westphalia), smaller houses are being built, around 120 to 130 sqm (1,292 to 1,399 sq ft), usually without a basement.
We built without a basement because I didn’t want to carry laundry up and down two flights of stairs anymore – now it’s just one flight. Unfortunately, we couldn’t fit the washing machine upstairs, but it’s still an improvement.
There is a storage room next to the garage where all the tools and such go – and everything else that’s currently in the basement is just junk. We even only have a partial basement here.
I’m not going to build an expensive basement and potentially run into groundwater problems or other issues because someone did a poor job...
Hausbauer1 schrieb:
I firmly believe that the marginal benefit of having more land decreases significantly as the plot size increases and eventually becomes negative after a certain point. In other words, beyond a certain area, the value decreases for me because I can’t make any additional meaningful use of it, but I still have more costs and effort.Yes, from about 1500 m² (16,145 sq ft) that’s probably true, but anything under 1000 m² (10,764 sq ft) comes with a high price :O
In Munich and the surrounding areas, only a few people can afford a detached single-family home. Those who can usually prioritize size and having a basement. Most have to settle for a townhouse or a semi-detached house. Even for those, prices within the city area start at 700,000 and go higher.
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Hausbauer12 Jul 2018 21:14Denis L. schrieb:
In Munich and the surrounding area, very few can afford a detached single-family house. Those who can, often place importance on the size and having a basement. Most have to settle for a townhouse or a semi-detached house. Even for those, prices in the city area start at 700,000 euros.700,000 euros for a semi-detached house in Munich? Even in the Rhineland, people pay around 600,000 euros for a townhouse. I would assume Munich is even more expensive.
In the Munich suburbs, about 20 minutes by S-Bahn from Stachus, so practically already part of the city, semi-detached houses were available for 800,000 each, with 160m² (1,722 sq ft) including a basement. The plot of land was correspondingly quite small.
I didn't really note the specifications, so it was probably a standard finish that most builders would still want to add extras to.
I didn't really note the specifications, so it was probably a standard finish that most builders would still want to add extras to.
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