Hello everyone,
We are currently looking for a developer for our house. At the same time, of course, we are also focusing on the right design, features, and price of the house.
Building a house is truly an adventure, and as you can imagine, there are a thousand questions and it’s hard to know where to start.
What I would like to know here is whether we are on the right track with a specific offer and if it can be implemented without any major concerns.
The key details are as follows:
Single-family house with approximately 140m² (1,507 sq ft) of living space, gable roof without dormers, KfW 70 standard, and
- central mechanical ventilation with heat recovery
- triple glazing with a U-value of 0.5
- solar rooftop system for domestic hot water with a 300-liter (79-gallon) storage tank
- roller shutters on the ground floor and upper floor
- underfloor heating return circuits in bathroom and kitchen
- triangular windows in the gable ends
The price for the whole package is supposed to be 180,000 euros. Overall, I find the price fair, but of course I’m also interested in your opinion.
Then I have a few more questions:
1. The construction description has very little information about the ventilation system installation. Should I follow up on this?
2. A condensing boiler from Vaillant, Junkers, Elco, or equivalent will be installed. Is this recommended, or are there specific things I should look out for?
3. What other aspects of the construction description should I pay attention to before accepting the offer? Are there any critical points I should be aware of?
Looking forward to your answers.
Best regards,
Matthias
We are currently looking for a developer for our house. At the same time, of course, we are also focusing on the right design, features, and price of the house.
Building a house is truly an adventure, and as you can imagine, there are a thousand questions and it’s hard to know where to start.
What I would like to know here is whether we are on the right track with a specific offer and if it can be implemented without any major concerns.
The key details are as follows:
Single-family house with approximately 140m² (1,507 sq ft) of living space, gable roof without dormers, KfW 70 standard, and
- central mechanical ventilation with heat recovery
- triple glazing with a U-value of 0.5
- solar rooftop system for domestic hot water with a 300-liter (79-gallon) storage tank
- roller shutters on the ground floor and upper floor
- underfloor heating return circuits in bathroom and kitchen
- triangular windows in the gable ends
The price for the whole package is supposed to be 180,000 euros. Overall, I find the price fair, but of course I’m also interested in your opinion.
Then I have a few more questions:
1. The construction description has very little information about the ventilation system installation. Should I follow up on this?
2. A condensing boiler from Vaillant, Junkers, Elco, or equivalent will be installed. Is this recommended, or are there specific things I should look out for?
3. What other aspects of the construction description should I pay attention to before accepting the offer? Are there any critical points I should be aware of?
Looking forward to your answers.
Best regards,
Matthias
M
Matthias18220 Feb 2013 19:24Hello Lulac,
You have already been able to read some of our experiences in this thread. However, it only reflects a part of what we have experienced so far. I always find it difficult to give an overall assessment. You may have noticed that many people have simply discouraged it without much differentiation. I think this topic always needs to be looked at very carefully. There are different parameters, and you have to decide which ones are the most important for you.
I will try to describe the whole situation as objectively as possible and explain how I feel about it today.
If you look at the building specification, you will find it quite appealing because it includes many features, and hidden extra costs are rather unlikely. Of course, savings have been made in the bathroom fittings. However, in my opinion, the electrical work and tiling are clearly above what is usually offered, even by more expensive providers.
The price was also a very important factor for us. Not the total price itself, but rather what I get in terms of "quantity" for my money. For me, having an extra 10cm (5 inches) of space was already significant.
We have just celebrated the topping-out ceremony (unfortunately, the weather wasn’t always on our side), and so far, there are two main impressions. The quality of the work, from our point of view and also that of our architect (I can highly recommend professional construction supervision because, from a technical perspective, you are clearly outmatched), is flawless. The companies involved know their trade and definitely do not cut corners.
After an incident with the kitchen drain, we immediately stopped construction and insisted on completing the final execution planning. Since that was done, there have only been minor issues. We consistently refer to the plans, which leaves no doubt for either side.
Of course, there have been defects. But after reporting them, they were either fixed immediately or the remedial measures were coordinated with us and planned for a specific construction phase. Here comes the second impression: the communication is very poor. Simple inquiries are answered slowly. Usually, the response is something like, “Yes, we’ll take care of it, and you will have an answer by next week.” But this rarely happens. You really have to follow up yourself on many issues. Only when it comes to defect reports is the response quick. There is definitely room for improvement here. I have been frustrated several times because of this.
In the end, you have to be clear about what matters most. You only get what you pay for. As long as the “shortcomings” don’t affect our house, I can accept it. If you want more, you definitely have to pay more. In my experience, when building with a “budget-friendly” builder, you have to stay closely involved and keep an eye on everything yourself. You learn quickly this way. Still, I can always recommend having construction supervision.
In our circle of friends, others are building right now as well. Their experiences are generally very similar or even worse. Would I build again with this builder? Maybe. I just don’t believe it would really be better without a significant price increase. The problem seems to be that many smaller builders try to do too much just to survive in the market. Also, the building industry as a whole appears to be very particular.
I would be very interested to hear about the exact experiences of the others you talked to. If you want to know more, feel free to message me directly. We can also arrange a call if you are still considering building with them.
Best regards,
Matthias182
You have already been able to read some of our experiences in this thread. However, it only reflects a part of what we have experienced so far. I always find it difficult to give an overall assessment. You may have noticed that many people have simply discouraged it without much differentiation. I think this topic always needs to be looked at very carefully. There are different parameters, and you have to decide which ones are the most important for you.
I will try to describe the whole situation as objectively as possible and explain how I feel about it today.
If you look at the building specification, you will find it quite appealing because it includes many features, and hidden extra costs are rather unlikely. Of course, savings have been made in the bathroom fittings. However, in my opinion, the electrical work and tiling are clearly above what is usually offered, even by more expensive providers.
The price was also a very important factor for us. Not the total price itself, but rather what I get in terms of "quantity" for my money. For me, having an extra 10cm (5 inches) of space was already significant.
We have just celebrated the topping-out ceremony (unfortunately, the weather wasn’t always on our side), and so far, there are two main impressions. The quality of the work, from our point of view and also that of our architect (I can highly recommend professional construction supervision because, from a technical perspective, you are clearly outmatched), is flawless. The companies involved know their trade and definitely do not cut corners.
After an incident with the kitchen drain, we immediately stopped construction and insisted on completing the final execution planning. Since that was done, there have only been minor issues. We consistently refer to the plans, which leaves no doubt for either side.
Of course, there have been defects. But after reporting them, they were either fixed immediately or the remedial measures were coordinated with us and planned for a specific construction phase. Here comes the second impression: the communication is very poor. Simple inquiries are answered slowly. Usually, the response is something like, “Yes, we’ll take care of it, and you will have an answer by next week.” But this rarely happens. You really have to follow up yourself on many issues. Only when it comes to defect reports is the response quick. There is definitely room for improvement here. I have been frustrated several times because of this.
In the end, you have to be clear about what matters most. You only get what you pay for. As long as the “shortcomings” don’t affect our house, I can accept it. If you want more, you definitely have to pay more. In my experience, when building with a “budget-friendly” builder, you have to stay closely involved and keep an eye on everything yourself. You learn quickly this way. Still, I can always recommend having construction supervision.
In our circle of friends, others are building right now as well. Their experiences are generally very similar or even worse. Would I build again with this builder? Maybe. I just don’t believe it would really be better without a significant price increase. The problem seems to be that many smaller builders try to do too much just to survive in the market. Also, the building industry as a whole appears to be very particular.
I would be very interested to hear about the exact experiences of the others you talked to. If you want to know more, feel free to message me directly. We can also arrange a call if you are still considering building with them.
Best regards,
Matthias182
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