ᐅ New single-family house with basement (on a sloped site)
Created on: 6 Jul 2025 21:36
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dragonheart100D
dragonheart1006 Jul 2025 21:36As a family with a child, we want to build a single-family house south of Stuttgart. We have a plot in sight. We looked at the Flair 113 model from Town & Country since the plot is on a slope and includes a basement.
Does anyone have experience with this?
What budget should generally be expected? Is around 400,000 euros (house + additional costs) realistic?
The following work is planned to be done by ourselves: drywall, electrical installations, interior doors, plumbing/tiling, interior plastering, painting, and flooring.
The financing is planned, among other things, through the L-Bank with the Z15 loan.
Which other construction companies should we consider, especially taking into account the planned owner participation?
We look forward to your feedback!
Does anyone have experience with this?
What budget should generally be expected? Is around 400,000 euros (house + additional costs) realistic?
The following work is planned to be done by ourselves: drywall, electrical installations, interior doors, plumbing/tiling, interior plastering, painting, and flooring.
The financing is planned, among other things, through the L-Bank with the Z15 loan.
Which other construction companies should we consider, especially taking into account the planned owner participation?
We look forward to your feedback!
G
Gerddieter6 Jul 2025 22:16Phew, that’s quite a significant amount of self-contributed work.
The shell, roof, windows, and screed remain. I wouldn’t necessarily go with Town & Country for that—try to find a local mid-sized general contractor who can handle the planning and shell construction at a reasonable price and maybe also perform one trade themselves (the good ones usually have 2-3 in-house trades; in our case, it was shell, roof, and plaster/drywall). For the rest, you could either contract it out yourself or have the general contractor include it in their offer.
Gerddieter
The shell, roof, windows, and screed remain. I wouldn’t necessarily go with Town & Country for that—try to find a local mid-sized general contractor who can handle the planning and shell construction at a reasonable price and maybe also perform one trade themselves (the good ones usually have 2-3 in-house trades; in our case, it was shell, roof, and plaster/drywall). For the rest, you could either contract it out yourself or have the general contractor include it in their offer.
Gerddieter
Exactly, Town & Country is not a manufacturer of shell houses. There are others for that. But:
For a sloped plot, I always recommend consulting an architect. Especially if you have to build with a basement, it should be assessed how to best utilize the slope. On one hand, the landscaping is part of the planning and may require multiple retaining walls or layers of fill in different areas. On the other hand, it might make sense to build only one floor (similar to a bungalow) and finish the basement as living space. In this case, I consider Town & Country absolutely unsuitable. They don’t have the best reputation anyway. Those who want to build simply might be satisfied with them, but anyone planning a complex build could end up very unhappy with this franchise company.
For a sloped plot, I always recommend consulting an architect. Especially if you have to build with a basement, it should be assessed how to best utilize the slope. On one hand, the landscaping is part of the planning and may require multiple retaining walls or layers of fill in different areas. On the other hand, it might make sense to build only one floor (similar to a bungalow) and finish the basement as living space. In this case, I consider Town & Country absolutely unsuitable. They don’t have the best reputation anyway. Those who want to build simply might be satisfied with them, but anyone planning a complex build could end up very unhappy with this franchise company.
W
wiltshire6 Jul 2025 23:46dragonheart100 schrieb:
As a family with a child, we want to build a single-family house south of Stuttgart. We have a plot of land in mind. We looked at the Flair 113 model from Town & Country, since the plot is on a slope and includes a basement.
Does anyone have experience with this? Slope: yes
Town & Country: no
And: a slope is always something unique depending on the soil type you find and the amount of earth that needs to be moved, not to mention the steepness. Our plot will very likely be quite different from yours.
Why I am still contributing:
I get the impression that you think a house is just a house and can be placed anywhere as long as there is some sort of level surface beneath it. This is not the case with a sloped site, especially if the basement rooms are part of the floor plan and one side is connected to the ground while the other is not.
The idea of combining a standard house model with a non-standard terrain is, on closer inspection, a bold undertaking that is unlikely to save money—if that is the underlying idea.
A slope costs money, and not all slopes are the same.
For us, the "basement" has become a living floor and is now the ground floor. Quite traditionally, it includes an entrance, building services, guest bathroom, and an open-plan living-dining area with kitchen. There is level access to the terrace.
You have to consider the entire plot. How do I position the house, and how do I design the outdoor area with as little earthwork as possible? How do I use the basement? If it is empty space, it's expensive; if you fill it with necessary living areas, the extra cost is somewhat offset.
For us, the "basement" has become a living floor and is now the ground floor. Quite traditionally, it includes an entrance, building services, guest bathroom, and an open-plan living-dining area with kitchen. There is level access to the terrace.
You have to consider the entire plot. How do I position the house, and how do I design the outdoor area with as little earthwork as possible? How do I use the basement? If it is empty space, it's expensive; if you fill it with necessary living areas, the extra cost is somewhat offset.
W
wiltshire7 Jul 2025 10:00haydee schrieb:
Building on a slope costs money, and not all slopes are the same.100% agreement. haydee schrieb:
In our case, the "basement" has become a living floor and turned into the ground floor.We did not build a basement. As a result, the price per square meter increased significantly.If you want to build on a slope with financial efficiency, invest in a skilled planning partner. They will save you more than they cost.
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