ᐅ Realistic Cost Estimate: Single-Family Home with Challenging Site Access

Created on: 20 Jan 2023 10:50
S
schmeissrein
Hello everyone,

I have been following this forum for a while and first of all, a big thank you to everyone who shares their advice here and sometimes also speaks hard truths. I didn’t originally want to create a new thread but intended to form an opinion based on other discussions. However, you convinced me that this building project is too individual for that. So here is our plan:

- Building a new single-family house in the far north of Germany (Schleswig-Flensburg region).
- Plot size is over 1000sqm (10,764 sq ft).
- Total square meters are not so important as long as the layout works.
- Basement is not planned.

What we would like:
- Open-plan kitchen-living area of at least 36m² (388 sq ft).
- Guest room (at least 10m² / 108 sq ft) and small guest bathroom with shower on the ground floor, so that in old age, with disability, or a broken leg, the ground floor can be used independently and possibly serve as a bedroom.
- Utility room / storage room / pantry with heat pump of at least 8m² (86 sq ft) (KfW 40 standard would be great, of course).
- Upper floor with three rooms (1 office, 1 master bedroom, 1 child’s room) each at least 14m² (151 sq ft) and one bathroom. Our dream would be a “walk-in” (what a silly word – aren’t all showers walk-in?) shower to avoid having to clean those limescale-rusty, annoying shower enclosures.
- We could contribute labor for garden landscaping and painting/wallpapering; otherwise, we would prefer a turnkey build.

As for the house style, regionally typical Frisian houses or captain’s houses (with all the “cute” features like small gables, etc.) are in consideration, or also not completely unimaginative “normal” single-family houses. We are not afraid of Bauhaus-style concrete marvels either, but those tend to be more expensive. In terms of fittings, no “gold-plated faucets” and no smart home – but decent and presentable.

The big BUT: the plot is not connected to utilities, and the distance to the street is about 65m (213 ft), of which 50m (164 ft) is a paved driveway and paved parking area that would have to be dug up (across another property). The connection costs and incidental construction costs worry us quite a bit. Does anyone have experience with such a “mammoth connection” for a relatively small building project? What realistic costs should we expect for both?

We would greatly appreciate any thoughts on this project, thank you very much in advance!
Tolentino2 Feb 2023 18:14
Yes, in my local supply area of the Berlin Waterworks, they do not connect beyond 15m (50 feet). Beyond that distance, a transfer chamber is required (which you have to provide yourself), then the connection goes into the chamber, and that is where the official supply line ends.
However, this was no problem with an experienced civil engineer.
Of course, if there is ever an issue along the line, you will have to take care of it again (or your appointed representative).
11ant3 Feb 2023 01:03
schmeissrein schrieb:

It’s not necessary either; the draftsman just noted it there for now, and I uploaded it so people could get an idea of the connection situation. Whether the house is later shifted a few meters (yards) to the side and rotated slightly doesn’t make a significant difference for that.
On the contrary, if you hadn’t been so stingy with the plan excerpt, we could have already had a more creative discussion about this.
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
schmeissrein2 Apr 2023 21:19
11ant schrieb:

On the contrary, if you hadn’t been so stingy with the plan excerpt, we could have offered more creative advice by now.

To revive this topic: less stinginess is coming. We have now obtained several quotes, developed and discarded floor plans, and finally oriented the houses on the plot. Progress is slow for various reasons, but I’ll spare you the details.

Angled bungalow: Entrance, hallway, bathroom, and guest toilet on the north side. Kitchen faces west. Living room towards the south/east by the terrace.
Captain’s house
Ground floor: Hallway facing north. Utility room and guest toilet in the northeast. The entire south side is an open-plan space. Upper floor still unclear... Two captain’s gables look nice but make floor plan design surprisingly challenging.

What do you professionals think? 🙂
Lageplan eines Baugrundstücks mit Gebäuden, Zufahrt und Gartenflächen
11ant2 Apr 2023 22:11
schmeissrein schrieb:
The upper floor is still unclear... two gambrel gables look nice, but they make the floor plan design surprisingly difficult.
No one needs a second captain just for the reverse maneuver. I don’t understand the second part of the sentence.
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
schmeissrein3 Apr 2023 06:59
Ah, "need" and need... Of course, you don’t really need it, and we seriously considered leaving it out. But the front gable creates that "I always look forward to coming home to my beautiful house" feeling, and the rear gable provides a nice small bay window in the open-plan area and a room upstairs facing south without sloped ceilings. The downside with the floor plan upstairs is that either the north gable has the corridor, which wastes space, or there is a very small room (which we don’t really need) that blocks the possibility of natural light in the corridor. I think it will probably be the latter, as natural light in the upstairs corridor is likely not that important. But for now, the focus should be on the orientation of the houses 🙂
H
hanghaus2023
3 Apr 2023 11:15
Finally, you are providing the site plan. Is the positioning on the plot mandated like this?

You can’t seriously intend to reverse out of the driveway, can you?

I would solve it this way if the building envelope or any other regulations do not oppose it. The bay windows appear to be non-negotiable.


Lageplan eines Grundstücks mit Gebäuden, Umrissen und Gartenflächen