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!
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!
Winniefred19 Apr 2023 11:40You don’t need everything. We keep the wheels and gardening tools in the garage. The trailer and trash bins are stored under the carport. I use the table under the gazebo for sowing and planting. The shed is used to store more gardening supplies or building materials. We wouldn’t have built any of these if they hadn’t already been there. They provide useful storage space but aren’t absolutely essential. If you have a car, you need a place to park it without it sinking into the ground, and I believe the most important paths should be walkable without getting your feet wet.
Winniefred19 Apr 2023 11:43And you simply buy plants as your budget allows. A larger fruit tree can quickly cost over 200 EUR (approximately 215 USD) at the nursery. But you don’t have to buy it if you don’t want to. However, we are now growing a lot of fruit and vegetables, so I have considered the expenses for useful plants, beds, and seeds as an investment.
I’m really annoyed by the posts here that keep mentioning optional external works. In my opinion, they are not included anyway. The original poster needs a basic access road where water, sewage, electricity, and all that stuff are installed. There’s no such thing as "I’ll do it later sometime."
K a t j a schrieb:
I'm really annoyed by the posts here that keep mentioning optional outdoor areas. In my opinion, they’re not included anyway. The original poster needs a basic access road where water, sewage, electricity, and all that stuff are installed. There’s no “I’ll do that later someday.” Sorry 🙂 I’m probably one of those annoying posts. But I basically agree—there are things you should definitely plan for in this case, and infrastructure and the road certainly belong to that, and that already involves a lot of money.
What I find a bit confusing, though, is when it starts with “you need a road” and then immediately jumps to “and a paved parking space, a terrace, and well, I’d plan the garden right away too—you know how expensive plants are!” For me, that’s a different matter. Of course, it’s better if you plan those and have the budget, but everything beyond the essentials is by no means a necessity.
W
WilderSueden19 Apr 2023 13:09But precisely because a lot of money is involved, it’s important to calculate honestly. Building a house almost always ends up more expensive than expected, and if you’re already budgeting very tightly and plan to save for landscaping five years after moving in, you won’t have any reserves. The lower loan repayment also doesn’t justify the 500€ (about $545) or more per month that you need to set aside for it to work out. Always remember that life doesn’t always go as planned. Those who always plan at their limit are very vulnerable to shocks, whether it’s an involuntary job change with reduced salary, inflation shocks, separation, or if the planned second child turns out to be twins.
Before I start building at all, I'll just leave out the terrace for now – that’s clear. However, the installments won’t suddenly become cheaper after three years, and the terrace probably won’t either. So where is the money supposed to come from? Therefore, it makes more sense to plan smaller right from the start but include the must-haves.
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