Good evening,
A few days ago, we purchased a plot of land (600 m² (approximately 6458 sq ft)) in the Düren district. We have now received quotes for a solid masonry house. One of the suppliers is local and works exclusively with regional contractors.
Key details: The company would build for us a KfW 100 energy-efficient house, 170 m² (approximately 1830 sq ft) living space (1 1/2 stories) including architectural and structural engineering services, groundwork and foundation slab, double garage, triple-glazed Veka windows, electronic roller shutters throughout the house, plumbing, fireplace, wooden staircase, Wolf air-source heat pump, electrical package, site setup, lightweight concrete masonry, and facing brick.
Cost: 227,000 EUR. Additional own work such as painting, tile laying, purchasing interior doors, roof insulation, and drywall still need to be done.
However, an acquaintance mentioned that this quote seems much too expensive for this price. They also said that a KfW 100 house is no longer state-of-the-art and that the own work requirements are overestimated for the price.
But we have no idea…
Could someone help? What KfW efficiency class should the house ideally have? Apparently, the heating system and windows are also not good! If someone can assist, I would be glad to share the quote with them.
Thanks and best regards!
A few days ago, we purchased a plot of land (600 m² (approximately 6458 sq ft)) in the Düren district. We have now received quotes for a solid masonry house. One of the suppliers is local and works exclusively with regional contractors.
Key details: The company would build for us a KfW 100 energy-efficient house, 170 m² (approximately 1830 sq ft) living space (1 1/2 stories) including architectural and structural engineering services, groundwork and foundation slab, double garage, triple-glazed Veka windows, electronic roller shutters throughout the house, plumbing, fireplace, wooden staircase, Wolf air-source heat pump, electrical package, site setup, lightweight concrete masonry, and facing brick.
Cost: 227,000 EUR. Additional own work such as painting, tile laying, purchasing interior doors, roof insulation, and drywall still need to be done.
However, an acquaintance mentioned that this quote seems much too expensive for this price. They also said that a KfW 100 house is no longer state-of-the-art and that the own work requirements are overestimated for the price.
But we have no idea…
Could someone help? What KfW efficiency class should the house ideally have? Apparently, the heating system and windows are also not good! If someone can assist, I would be glad to share the quote with them.
Thanks and best regards!
Such an offer can only be evaluated if the provider’s detailed scope of work is available, allowing each trade to be thoroughly checked both quantitatively and qualitatively for completeness and any hidden additional or finishing costs. For this reason, the scope of work is usually kept quite general.
170m2 (1829 ft²) / €227,000 initially means about €1,335/m2 (about $124/ft²) of net living area, a price at which it is hardly possible to build, especially since it is supposed to include so-called ancillary building costs (cost group 700 according to HOAI: fees for architects, structural engineers, official charges, financing costs). This is hardly credible. The house is not offered at an extremely high price but very cheaply, which in my opinion is not realistically cheap. Either the construction quality is correspondingly inferior, or larger “finishing packages” for additional financing still await.
The sparse information—bimsmasonry (monolithic, without external thermal insulation composite system (ETICS) or with a facing brick shell and core insulation?), Wolf heat pump; Veka windows—does not allow a clear statement about the equipment standard and quality level. Wolf heating systems do not have the best reputation; Veka windows are generally acceptable, being among the more affordable reputable manufacturers in Germany. Aside from equipment details, the “architecture” of the offered house, if available, is naturally also of interest, as well as whether the desired house can be built on the plot in accordance with building and planning regulations, e.g., the zoning plan.
KfW-100 is the minimum standard and is not subsidized by the KfW bank. If this does not matter, construction with this standard is possible, since the requirements of the Energy Saving Ordinance now exceed any reasonable level, at the latest from January 1, 2016.
170m2 (1829 ft²) / €227,000 initially means about €1,335/m2 (about $124/ft²) of net living area, a price at which it is hardly possible to build, especially since it is supposed to include so-called ancillary building costs (cost group 700 according to HOAI: fees for architects, structural engineers, official charges, financing costs). This is hardly credible. The house is not offered at an extremely high price but very cheaply, which in my opinion is not realistically cheap. Either the construction quality is correspondingly inferior, or larger “finishing packages” for additional financing still await.
The sparse information—bimsmasonry (monolithic, without external thermal insulation composite system (ETICS) or with a facing brick shell and core insulation?), Wolf heat pump; Veka windows—does not allow a clear statement about the equipment standard and quality level. Wolf heating systems do not have the best reputation; Veka windows are generally acceptable, being among the more affordable reputable manufacturers in Germany. Aside from equipment details, the “architecture” of the offered house, if available, is naturally also of interest, as well as whether the desired house can be built on the plot in accordance with building and planning regulations, e.g., the zoning plan.
KfW-100 is the minimum standard and is not subsidized by the KfW bank. If this does not matter, construction with this standard is possible, since the requirements of the Energy Saving Ordinance now exceed any reasonable level, at the latest from January 1, 2016.
W. Pickartz schrieb:
.....or even bigger "expansion packages" may be waiting for additional funding.
I only skimmed through the offer so far: The listed DIY tasks are definitely not trivial! That’s a significant amount of work, even if the materials are provided. Do you know what kind of effort drywall installation (insulation is still manageable) entails? And installing insulation for underfloor heating is not something you can just do over a weekend.
Also: Painting the roof overhang. That has to be done twice. But there’s no mention of a scaffold being supplied. Climbing around on a ladder for that is not recommended; it’s better to do that during plastering. I wouldn’t want to risk injuring myself that way! The offer almost sounds more like a shell-and-core house......
The offer does mention house connections. But connecting them is only half the story. Also, the price seems low, even if you don’t have a gas connection.
What about drainage? The inspection chamber? The house perimeter / splash protection? I don’t see anything about these in the offer (well, it’s late and I’m tired). But if those really are missing, we’re talking about many thousands of additional euros waiting for you.
The excavation is limited to 50 cm (20 inches). Fifty centimeters for a foundation with a concrete slab is tight. Usually, depending on the soil report, it’s more like 80 cm (31 inches). That means quite a bit of material, and excavation, transport, and disposal costs can quickly run into thousands of euros. Of course, you can do a shallow foundation with frost protection edging, but I didn’t see anything about that……(were parts of the offer cut off?)
Personally, I find the offer (the description) quite sparse and often vague. Quality of workmanship and materials, etc.—from my point of view, it’s way too thin, honestly it feels mostly wishy-washy. At least that’s my impression…..perhaps I’m just oversensitive? (W. Pickartz, building expert)
Until proven otherwise, I would cautiously say: This construction could bring some unwelcome surprises in terms of ancillary building costs, plus it involves a very high amount of DIY work (which you must a) be capable of, b) be willing to do, and c) have the time for—lots of time or many friends to help out).
Best regards
Thorsten
It’s good that the company is at least (on paper) capable of leveling concrete ceilings accurately. That gives some hope. Otherwise, in my opinion, it’s not worth studying or commenting on this "scope of work" document. It is more than sparse; it’s meaningless. If the house design was created with a similar level of care, I would rather move into a few well-arranged construction site containers.
The offer for the client to install supplied materials themselves is certainly profitable for the company, but not for you.
The offer for the client to install supplied materials themselves is certainly profitable for the company, but not for you.
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