ᐅ Planning/Architect, possible execution by a prefab home supplier

Good morning!
We can now make our dream of owning a single-family house come true. It was almost impossible to find a nice plot here, but we finally succeeded.
We want to start the actual construction next spring and are currently gathering ideas. Like many others, we are facing the decision between a solid construction (e.g., T8) with individual contracts or a high-quality timber house builder offering a turnkey solution. To estimate the costs for solid construction, we basically need at least a preliminary design. There are many construction companies in our area, but hardly any offer turnkey solutions. Therefore, to really compare the offers, the same basis must be sent to all trades for solid construction and to the turnkey builders.

Now the question: An architect doesn’t plan these things for free. Do you have any experience whether providers like Sonnleitner, Adlerhaus, Gruber Naturholzhaus, i.e., turnkey builders, offer a meaningful discount if the planning is completely done by an external architect? Usually, the employees of the companies handle all planning themselves. If that is no longer the case, is this really reflected in the price? Of course, these plans still need to be processed for production.
It would be somewhat frustrating to choose a turnkey timber house builder and spend an additional 20,000 EUR on an architect that in the end wasn’t even necessary.

Context:
Single-family house, 1.5 or 2 stories
Approx. 150 sqm (1,615 sq ft)
Living and dining area
Expected construction cost including basement but excluding garden/exterior approx. 360,000 EUR (Rainwater retention required, soil replacement on building site due to peat layer)

Regards
Benjamin

Hello,

we basically wanted to do the same as you, but ran into resistance from the prefab house companies we approached. Their reasons included statements like "We have our own architects and do not build with or according to external plans."

Additionally, we experienced that although these companies advertise "individuality," they are not really able to offer it, and only gradually reveal the limitations by saying things like "That’s not possible," or "That can’t be done like that," and so on.

We ended up building a solid (concrete/masonry) house with T8 and contracted all trades ourselves (we had no prior construction experience) and would definitely do it the same way again. Despite what is often claimed, it wasn’t any more stressful for us than building “turnkey.”

Since you still have time, the following approach might be an option:

Create a floor plan (based on your local building regulations) and find a draftsman (not an architect) to book services 1-4 (i.e., the draftsman prepares the submission plan for the building authority, submits it, and their work ends with the granting of the building permit/planning permission). This way, you remain fully flexible and free in your technical decisions.

Then find a site manager who can assist you in obtaining quotes, and you decide who gets the contracts. This way, you remain the client and are not dependent on any site manager assigned to you.

What you sometimes read here about time delays, missed deadlines, and the “inaccessibility” of contact persons always shocks me—fortunately, we were almost completely spared from that since we knew each craftsman personally.

There were other advantages too, but those were not part of your question.

Best regards

Hello mybaublog,

thank you for your reply.
But isn’t the architect usually the best person to deliver these services? What are the advantages of hiring a draftsman/building technician instead? Is it cost-related?
I don’t have to hire the architect for all phases of the project anyway.
How much did you spend on external support from the building technician and draftsman?

Best regards,
Benjamin

I don’t know the companies involved, but with our prefabricated house builder, having our own architect wasn’t an option. However, the company assigned us an architect who helped us customize a standard floor plan.

Alternatively, a completely custom design would have been possible, but at a significant extra cost (including structural recalculations, etc.).

However, if you choose a prefabricated house company, you will probably have to wait longer than until spring. We waited almost 11 months until the house was assembled, and we moved in about three months later.

For us, it wasn’t important to know the individual craftsmen; what mattered was having a single point of contact.

That proved extremely useful in the end because one of the subcontractors didn’t take his work quite seriously. He gave us the usual excuses about being within tolerance, but after pressure from the house builder, he re-did the work. In fact, his supervisor came personally to oversee it.

We would have been lost on our own.

Managing individual contracts would be too risky for me because whenever there is a delay somewhere, you’re the one who has to coordinate everything else. With this arrangement, that responsibility was taken off our shoulders—and since all the tasks were standard, there were no delays anyway.

Hello Moser7,

Our approach was recommended to us by a retired general contractor. It is apparently significantly cheaper than hiring an architect, since billing is not done according to the architect regulations.

Also, for a single-family house, an architect is apparently not required (that’s what we were always told). They prepared all the necessary building documents for us (floor plans, drainage plan, exterior design plan, etc.), obtained signatures from the neighbors, hired a surveyor (separate invoice), and had an appointment at the building authority to discuss and clarify any questions on site. Thus, after about two weeks, the building permit was granted.

The cost was about 6000 to 6500 euros (to state the exact amount I would need to find the invoice; since it was one of the first bills, it is probably still in some moving box).

I don’t see what an architect could have done “better” during this phase. However, we had a fairly straightforward floor plan and hardly needed any assistance.

There were a few points we changed based on the draftsman’s recommendations, as our floor plan had to be slightly adjusted by the draftsman to comply with building regulations.

Best regards

Hello,

I never quite understand the idea people have about what architects are responsible for. Their role usually goes far beyond just drawing colorful floor plans. There is the HOAI (Fee Structure for Architects and Engineers), which not only regulates fees but also outlines which services must be provided in each of the nine service phases. And I receive only the services I commission.

For our construction project, we hired an architect for phases 3 to 5, and a structural engineer for phases 6 to 9. The contracts were awarded individually. Our structural engineer creates the bill of quantities, evaluates the results, negotiates with the contractors, and I then commission exactly as negotiated. This does not create any extra effort for me.

If you want a single point of contact, you can assign phases 1 to 9 to one planner. Depending on the construction budget, the planner will then receive their fee. For us, this was about 10% of the construction sum.

It was important to us that the site manager has no conflict of interest during supervision. I often have concerns with site managers employed by general contractors—whether they are more loyal to their employer, who pays their salary, or to the client…

Best regards,

Ronny