ᐅ Conversion of a Multi-Generation House – Uneasy Experience with General Contractor
Created on: 29 Jan 2022 22:31
C
cryptoflam
Hello everyone,
My wife and I, together with her mother, have decided to convert the existing single-family house into a multi-generational home. Unfortunately, the house is not large enough to accommodate two households, and additionally, the roof is not insulated yet. Besides an extension, there is also renovation work needed.
Below, I will summarize our experience with our general contractor (GC), as we are currently very uncertain about how to proceed.
In short: Are we being too naive, or do we simply have the wrong expectations?
______
In January 2021, based on a recommendation, we got in touch with a GC who inspected the house with us and discussed our ideas. Afterwards, he gave us an offer for the planning phase, which we started with his wife as the architect.
This was the first time we asked for a rough cost estimate for the entire project. Our GC replied that it was difficult for him to give a price without plans but promised to provide one before submitting the building permit / planning permission application.
Planning
Since the planned extension requires approval, we decided with the architect to create a preliminary design to use as a basis for a building inquiry at our local planning authority.
Our planning authority now generally rejects preliminary building inquiries and only responds to specific applications. So basically, we have to plan and hope... (2 drafts were basically wasted).
The planning phase has been slow because the architect keeps forgetting agreements, and we have to remind her of previous points during meetings. Additionally, the first two plans did not include access to the existing basement, which caused problems in the designs.
Between June and December, we worked with her on four different drafts.
We have come to realize that we probably focused too much on details.
Now, one year later, we have a design we are about 90% satisfied with. In hindsight, it might have been better to move forward earlier with a 70% solution...
Then came the big day for the rough cost estimate. We sat down with our GC and discussed the desired quality levels, etc.
Yesterday, we received an email from the GC stating that his brother (who runs the construction company) cannot prepare the cost calculation without structural engineering and formwork/reinforcement plans. (Cost for these is 2,500 Euros).
Now we are a bit shocked and at a loss:
We have already spent nearly 11,000 Euros on the architect’s plans without knowing whether the entire renovation project is financially feasible for us.
The existing plans have not been checked by a structural engineer, nor is it clear if the planned extension will even be approved in its current form.
Our GC still refuses to provide a cost estimate, citing the lack of structural engineering as the reason.
(Surveyors, energy consultants, and others are also still missing, of course.)
We are currently concerned that this might be getting out of hand and are feeling uneasy about the whole situation.
I would appreciate any advice.
My main questions:
Is all of this normal? Are we simply inexperienced?
Should we seek a second opinion or look for another GC, etc.?
Thank you!
My wife and I, together with her mother, have decided to convert the existing single-family house into a multi-generational home. Unfortunately, the house is not large enough to accommodate two households, and additionally, the roof is not insulated yet. Besides an extension, there is also renovation work needed.
Below, I will summarize our experience with our general contractor (GC), as we are currently very uncertain about how to proceed.
In short: Are we being too naive, or do we simply have the wrong expectations?
______
In January 2021, based on a recommendation, we got in touch with a GC who inspected the house with us and discussed our ideas. Afterwards, he gave us an offer for the planning phase, which we started with his wife as the architect.
This was the first time we asked for a rough cost estimate for the entire project. Our GC replied that it was difficult for him to give a price without plans but promised to provide one before submitting the building permit / planning permission application.
Planning
Since the planned extension requires approval, we decided with the architect to create a preliminary design to use as a basis for a building inquiry at our local planning authority.
Our planning authority now generally rejects preliminary building inquiries and only responds to specific applications. So basically, we have to plan and hope... (2 drafts were basically wasted).
The planning phase has been slow because the architect keeps forgetting agreements, and we have to remind her of previous points during meetings. Additionally, the first two plans did not include access to the existing basement, which caused problems in the designs.
Between June and December, we worked with her on four different drafts.
We have come to realize that we probably focused too much on details.
Now, one year later, we have a design we are about 90% satisfied with. In hindsight, it might have been better to move forward earlier with a 70% solution...
Then came the big day for the rough cost estimate. We sat down with our GC and discussed the desired quality levels, etc.
Yesterday, we received an email from the GC stating that his brother (who runs the construction company) cannot prepare the cost calculation without structural engineering and formwork/reinforcement plans. (Cost for these is 2,500 Euros).
Now we are a bit shocked and at a loss:
We have already spent nearly 11,000 Euros on the architect’s plans without knowing whether the entire renovation project is financially feasible for us.
The existing plans have not been checked by a structural engineer, nor is it clear if the planned extension will even be approved in its current form.
Our GC still refuses to provide a cost estimate, citing the lack of structural engineering as the reason.
(Surveyors, energy consultants, and others are also still missing, of course.)
We are currently concerned that this might be getting out of hand and are feeling uneasy about the whole situation.
I would appreciate any advice.
My main questions:
Is all of this normal? Are we simply inexperienced?
Should we seek a second opinion or look for another GC, etc.?
Thank you!
C
cryptoflam31 Jan 2022 14:3111ant schrieb:
I assume the house is attached to the neighboring house on the right side as a semi-detached house (?), but it is not part of a terraced row (?) and therefore must maintain a boundary setback on the left side towards the neighbor (depending on the federal state, this is usually 3.0 or 2.5 meters (9 ft 10 in or 8 ft 2 in) or more). However, in this case, the entire existing 5.4 meters (17 ft 9 in) boundary setback is filled with living spaces, which are not allowed to have an exemption from the setback. The residential area is a terraced housing development. Regarding the 2.5m (8 ft 2 in) boundary setback, our architect argued the following:
The idea [behind the new staircase] is to essentially set the main house at the minimum 2.50 m (8 ft 2 in) boundary distance from the neighboring building and only attach the stair tower directly.That sounded very plausible to me at the time, but after your post, I’m not so sure anymore.
hanse987 schrieb:
How many parking spaces are required for you? I see two, but often 1.5 parking spaces per dwelling unit are required. Why don’t you shift the carport slightly to the right? As it is now, if two cars are parked there, you can’t really get to the garden gate.
Does the neighbor have a basement under their house? If not, dealing with foundation supports will get tricky.
The issue with the boundary setback, as 11ant pointed out, also caught my attention. Has this already been clarified with the building authority / planning permission office? I thought it was two parking spaces per dwelling unit; I will need to check. Thanks for the tips!
--
We will now make it clear to our general contractor that we cannot proceed without a rough cost estimate (thanks to K1300S).
Then we will wait and see if we get anything from them; otherwise, we will probably start looking for alternatives in parallel.
Thank you all for your comments regarding feasibility, etc. That has already been very helpful!
cryptoflam schrieb:
The housing estate is a row house development. Regarding the 2.5 m (8 feet) setback from the boundary, our architect explained it as follows:
The idea [behind the new stairwell] is that the main house is positioned with a minimum 2.5 m (8 feet) setback from the neighboring building, and only the stairwell is directly attached to the boundary.
That made sense to me at the time, but after reading your post, I’m not so sure anymore. Either it is a row house development (g) with mandatory attachments on both sides, or it is not (o), and then a setback from the boundary applies. "Don’t know" does not exist in zoning plans.
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
cryptoflam schrieb:
So far, we have spent nearly €11,000 on the architect’s plans without knowing if the entire renovation project is even feasible for us. What exactly did you commission for the €11,000, and how is the billing structured?
At this rate, you’ll need another six months and an additional €10,000 before getting the building permit / planning permission.
Which federal state is this? At least in North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW), you can build dormers much closer than 2.5m or 3m (8 ft 2 in or 10 ft) from the neighbor’s property, which could create more space.
Maybe it’s time to call it quits and look for an independent architect.
I couldn’t continue working with the general contractor (GC) and his wife.