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!
tomtom797 Jul 2018 11:57
That was a good one!

But I meant more like this.

Chaotic garage with bicycles, stroller, ladder, and stored items.
M
Müllerin
7 Jul 2018 11:57
I will gladly upload a photo once we have moved in... right now, it is still completely empty.

Addendum since I just saw the photo: it definitely won’t look like that – otherwise, I would have to order a container for disposal.
The garage is intended for cars and bicycles.
AxelH.7 Jul 2018 12:05


Such a waste of space. The ladder on the right should obviously be folded up; you could still fit a fully equipped workbench there. It’s irresponsible to use valuable garage space like this!
B
Bookstar
7 Jul 2018 12:56
In my experience, most people who build without a basement also don’t have the budget for a proper garage. And anything smaller than 60 m² (650 square feet) is not really a garage, just a storage room. Wishing you a great weekend.
11ant7 Jul 2018 13:54
tomtom79 schrieb:
But I meant more like this.

And now please also the one from @Nordlys, with the Pirelli calendar and the car parked outside as planned
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
E
Egon12
7 Jul 2018 14:00
Sorry, just a carport with a shed for tools and equipment that wouldn’t belong in the basement either.

Besides, who would put strollers and bicycles in the basement? I assume those items are also stored on ground level somewhere, even with the existing basement.