Hello dear forum community,
I have a question and I hope you can help.
We are building a house measuring 8.84 x 10.64 meters, so the ground floor area is 85 sqm (915 sq ft). My husband really wants to have a basement. Our prefab house manufacturer has already told us that this would cost at least €50,000 (watertight concrete, purely functional basement).
My husband does not want to accept these costs and is currently looking for a local basement specialist to work with him so they can build the basement themselves, with some support.
I do not want this basement. Either we can afford the one from the prefab manufacturer, or we will do without. Any discussion with my husband about this leads to an argument.
I have researched online and read several times that building yourself might save at most 20%, but I worry that the local basement builder might charge less.
Could you please give me a realistic assessment whether it is possible to build a watertight basement of this size with a budget of €25,000 in cash? I would sleep better if we were talking about a price of €30,000 to €40,000 because then the basement would definitely be off the table.
Thank you,
Julia
I have a question and I hope you can help.
We are building a house measuring 8.84 x 10.64 meters, so the ground floor area is 85 sqm (915 sq ft). My husband really wants to have a basement. Our prefab house manufacturer has already told us that this would cost at least €50,000 (watertight concrete, purely functional basement).
My husband does not want to accept these costs and is currently looking for a local basement specialist to work with him so they can build the basement themselves, with some support.
I do not want this basement. Either we can afford the one from the prefab manufacturer, or we will do without. Any discussion with my husband about this leads to an argument.
I have researched online and read several times that building yourself might save at most 20%, but I worry that the local basement builder might charge less.
Could you please give me a realistic assessment whether it is possible to build a watertight basement of this size with a budget of €25,000 in cash? I would sleep better if we were talking about a price of €30,000 to €40,000 because then the basement would definitely be off the table.
Thank you,
Julia
Jaydee schrieb:
... if we skip other things (carport, new kitchen, landscaping, etc.). His dealbreaker argument: "You can do all those things later. You can’t build a basement afterwards!" Tsk... men... as if there will be extra money later! But he wants to build an overpriced storage room for it... Nobody feels like constantly carrying garden furniture and bikes up and down (through the house). I’d rather have a bit of normal luxury on the ground and upper floors, like a kitchen, etc.
In five years, he’ll have enough rooms upstairs for storage.
But who am I kidding?! I don’t think you’ll get anywhere with that, since the overpriced arguments or warranties probably carry more weight. Fingers crossed for you.
Hello,
I wanted to update you on the (preliminary) outcome. The basement contractor provided a quote: €36,000, assuming my husband and some friends help with the construction.
That is DEFINITELY too expensive.
*yes!* I knew it!!!! (I’m allowed to say that here).
However, another basement contractor has gotten back to us. My husband wanted a quote from him weeks ago, but it never arrived. His quote is €28,000 (I can’t imagine how there can be such different prices).
In my opinion, this contractor is out of the running because he simply isn’t reliable. It took him ages just to find time to visit the site, and then he delivered the quote 4 weeks late. Well, not really delivered—it was only communicated verbally. He still hasn’t sent it in writing after 3 days...
I don’t even want to imagine how often or if he even has time to build a basement...
I wanted to update you on the (preliminary) outcome. The basement contractor provided a quote: €36,000, assuming my husband and some friends help with the construction.
That is DEFINITELY too expensive.
*yes!* I knew it!!!! (I’m allowed to say that here).
However, another basement contractor has gotten back to us. My husband wanted a quote from him weeks ago, but it never arrived. His quote is €28,000 (I can’t imagine how there can be such different prices).
In my opinion, this contractor is out of the running because he simply isn’t reliable. It took him ages just to find time to visit the site, and then he delivered the quote 4 weeks late. Well, not really delivered—it was only communicated verbally. He still hasn’t sent it in writing after 3 days...
I don’t even want to imagine how often or if he even has time to build a basement...
Oh, I almost forgot:
The costs would also have included the earthworks, which my husband probably didn’t consider at all. For excavation, transportation, and disposal, I would have estimated around €12,000.
Of course, with a concrete slab foundation, there are also earthworks to pay for, but these should be much less significant due to the considerably lower volume in cubic meters.
The costs would also have included the earthworks, which my husband probably didn’t consider at all. For excavation, transportation, and disposal, I would have estimated around €12,000.
Of course, with a concrete slab foundation, there are also earthworks to pay for, but these should be much less significant due to the considerably lower volume in cubic meters.
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