ᐅ Semi-detached house, upscale fittings: Are the additional costs accurate?
Created on: 6 Dec 2014 11:35
3
305er
Hello,
Yesterday, we met with an architect who showed us a plot of land for a semi-detached house. The other half is already built.
The house has 140 sqm (1507 sqft) of living space, although a large part of this already includes the basement, as it is usable living space (with a window).
The house will be finished to a high standard (I will copy the real estate listing at the end here).
The architect will act as the general contractor and work with local craftsmen.
For additional work such as extra electrical outlets, different bathroom fixtures, etc., I will need to contact his respective craftsmen, who will then provide me with the costs.
Now to the main questions:
The house comes only with a gas heating system and radiators in the rooms.
He said if I want underfloor heating, it will be operated by an air-source heat pump.
The extra cost for this system plus underfloor heating is about €15,000 (about $16,200).
This sounded reasonable to me as I didn’t have any idea before. On this forum, some people were shocked when someone had to pay €8,000 (about $8,600) more.
What do you think about my price?
Also, he kept saying that this air-source heat pump is a form of solar technology, because it extracts heat from the air.
Furthermore:
There are additional costs of about €18,000 (about $19,400) for earthworks, sewer connections, and utility connections.
Is this reasonable?
He said this includes excavation and laying the connections from the street to the house (electricity, water, etc.).
Another extra:
We could install a heat recovery ventilation system with air filters for about €15,000 (about $16,200), similar to what you find in passive prefab houses.
He estimates this could improve the energy efficiency rating from KfW 70 (the usual) to 55.
Is it worth the extra cost, also considering the health benefits?
I am allergic to pollen and suffer from extreme eye itching/burning, throat itching, etc.
These were my main questions so far.
Additional points:
I forgot to ask about the cost for electric shutters. What would you estimate?
And approximately how much would a garage cost?
Is a bedroom with a walk-in closet sized at 15 sqm (160 sqft) big enough? It seems a bit small to me.
Finally:
The plot is on a slight slope. This means roughly half of the basement is below ground level, or put differently, from the terrace there are a few steps down to the garden.
On the left side is the other semi-detached house, on the right side there is a stream, and behind the garden, directly adjacent without any gap, the forest slope goes up.
There is occasional wildlife visiting (according to the neighbor: mice, two rats, a marten’s nest somewhere nearby, a young deer, wild boar).
How would you assess this kind of plot? We are basically city people.
That’s all from me for now. Thanks for your help.
Here is the listing:
+++ NO COMMISSION +++ “BAUHAUS STYLE” IDYLL BY A STREAM – with Basement
Purchase Price:
289,820.00 EUR
Rooms:
5.0
Living Area Approx.:
140.91 sqm (1,517 sqft)
Plot Size Approx.:
420.00 sqm (4,500 sqft)
Main Features
House type:
Semi-detached house
Usable area approx.:
16 sqm (172 sqft)
Number of floors:
3
Bedrooms:
4
Bathrooms:
1
Guest toilet:
Basement:
TV / Internet / Telephone:
Electricity consumption: from 2,500 kWh*
Costs
Purchase price:
289,820.00 EUR
Buyer’s commission:
None
Building Quality
Construction phase:
House in planning (designed)
Standard of finishes:
High-quality
Heating type:
Central heating
Energy certificate:
Not yet available
Property Description
Idyllically situated by a stream, secluded at the edge of the forest, a planned, attractive detached family home with a basement will be built here, turnkey and solidly constructed. This spacious and modern energy-efficient house can be customized with the architect to meet your personal needs, including changes to the floor plan and finishes for your “dream home.” - the open living/dining area is spacious and bright with lots of glazing overlooking the garden and terrace - room layout changes possible - master bedroom with walk-in closet and two children’s rooms - daylight-filled comfort bathroom - generous living/work room in the garden-level basement
Features
“Masterful craftsmanship by local specialized tradesmen” - finished basement - energy-saving, breathable natural brickwork with additional external insulation for energy-conscious comfort - heating system with efficient gas condensing technology, optionally with solar collectors and underfloor heating - family-friendly daylight bathroom with tub and shower - ceramic sanitary fixtures by “Villeroy & Boch” - bathroom and guest toilet tiled in granite - smoke detectors in all bedrooms - partially glass interior doors with decorative balcony railings on the upper floor - interior window sills in “Carrara Bianco” marble - solid wood veneer interior doors with stainless steel handles - electrical switches by “Gira” “Everything is possible, nothing is mandatory... let your wishes run free.”
Additional
Availability: approx. 16 weeks construction time after start
Floor plans and elevations may include optional features at extra cost.
Turnkey means in this offer:
- including plot
- including finished basement without plot-related costs such as earthworks, sewer and utility connections
Floor coverings and painting/wallpapering work done by buyer
Yesterday, we met with an architect who showed us a plot of land for a semi-detached house. The other half is already built.
The house has 140 sqm (1507 sqft) of living space, although a large part of this already includes the basement, as it is usable living space (with a window).
The house will be finished to a high standard (I will copy the real estate listing at the end here).
The architect will act as the general contractor and work with local craftsmen.
For additional work such as extra electrical outlets, different bathroom fixtures, etc., I will need to contact his respective craftsmen, who will then provide me with the costs.
Now to the main questions:
The house comes only with a gas heating system and radiators in the rooms.
He said if I want underfloor heating, it will be operated by an air-source heat pump.
The extra cost for this system plus underfloor heating is about €15,000 (about $16,200).
This sounded reasonable to me as I didn’t have any idea before. On this forum, some people were shocked when someone had to pay €8,000 (about $8,600) more.
What do you think about my price?
Also, he kept saying that this air-source heat pump is a form of solar technology, because it extracts heat from the air.
Furthermore:
There are additional costs of about €18,000 (about $19,400) for earthworks, sewer connections, and utility connections.
Is this reasonable?
He said this includes excavation and laying the connections from the street to the house (electricity, water, etc.).
Another extra:
We could install a heat recovery ventilation system with air filters for about €15,000 (about $16,200), similar to what you find in passive prefab houses.
He estimates this could improve the energy efficiency rating from KfW 70 (the usual) to 55.
Is it worth the extra cost, also considering the health benefits?
I am allergic to pollen and suffer from extreme eye itching/burning, throat itching, etc.
These were my main questions so far.
Additional points:
I forgot to ask about the cost for electric shutters. What would you estimate?
And approximately how much would a garage cost?
Is a bedroom with a walk-in closet sized at 15 sqm (160 sqft) big enough? It seems a bit small to me.
Finally:
The plot is on a slight slope. This means roughly half of the basement is below ground level, or put differently, from the terrace there are a few steps down to the garden.
On the left side is the other semi-detached house, on the right side there is a stream, and behind the garden, directly adjacent without any gap, the forest slope goes up.
There is occasional wildlife visiting (according to the neighbor: mice, two rats, a marten’s nest somewhere nearby, a young deer, wild boar).
How would you assess this kind of plot? We are basically city people.
That’s all from me for now. Thanks for your help.
Here is the listing:
+++ NO COMMISSION +++ “BAUHAUS STYLE” IDYLL BY A STREAM – with Basement
Purchase Price:
289,820.00 EUR
Rooms:
5.0
Living Area Approx.:
140.91 sqm (1,517 sqft)
Plot Size Approx.:
420.00 sqm (4,500 sqft)
Main Features
House type:
Semi-detached house
Usable area approx.:
16 sqm (172 sqft)
Number of floors:
3
Bedrooms:
4
Bathrooms:
1
Guest toilet:
Basement:
TV / Internet / Telephone:
Electricity consumption: from 2,500 kWh*
Costs
Purchase price:
289,820.00 EUR
Buyer’s commission:
None
Building Quality
Construction phase:
House in planning (designed)
Standard of finishes:
High-quality
Heating type:
Central heating
Energy certificate:
Not yet available
Property Description
Idyllically situated by a stream, secluded at the edge of the forest, a planned, attractive detached family home with a basement will be built here, turnkey and solidly constructed. This spacious and modern energy-efficient house can be customized with the architect to meet your personal needs, including changes to the floor plan and finishes for your “dream home.” - the open living/dining area is spacious and bright with lots of glazing overlooking the garden and terrace - room layout changes possible - master bedroom with walk-in closet and two children’s rooms - daylight-filled comfort bathroom - generous living/work room in the garden-level basement
Features
“Masterful craftsmanship by local specialized tradesmen” - finished basement - energy-saving, breathable natural brickwork with additional external insulation for energy-conscious comfort - heating system with efficient gas condensing technology, optionally with solar collectors and underfloor heating - family-friendly daylight bathroom with tub and shower - ceramic sanitary fixtures by “Villeroy & Boch” - bathroom and guest toilet tiled in granite - smoke detectors in all bedrooms - partially glass interior doors with decorative balcony railings on the upper floor - interior window sills in “Carrara Bianco” marble - solid wood veneer interior doors with stainless steel handles - electrical switches by “Gira” “Everything is possible, nothing is mandatory... let your wishes run free.”
Additional
Availability: approx. 16 weeks construction time after start
Floor plans and elevations may include optional features at extra cost.
Turnkey means in this offer:
- including plot
- including finished basement without plot-related costs such as earthworks, sewer and utility connections
Floor coverings and painting/wallpapering work done by buyer
D
Doc.Schnaggls18 Dec 2014 13:16Well, I don’t know, I’ve been here for almost two years now and have gained a lot of good ideas from the forum.
Sometimes, though, I have also been brought back down to earth, and I’m grateful for that by now.
The fact that you only read threads where the creator is told that something (what exactly?) is unreliable, I just can’t understand at all...
Sometimes, though, I have also been brought back down to earth, and I’m grateful for that by now.
The fact that you only read threads where the creator is told that something (what exactly?) is unreliable, I just can’t understand at all...
305er schrieb:
I’m bringing this topic back up since not all questions have been answered yet, and I’m taking the opportunity to attach our offer and the construction service description Hello,
is this the only quote you have obtained so far?
If so, you can compare the offers in detail and identify where improvements can still be made. Otherwise, I would recommend getting additional quotes to compare.
A simple example: tiles. We received different price per square meter (sqm) in various offers, ranging from 20 to 35 euros. It also depends on where the tiles will be laid. Sometimes the kitchen is included, sometimes not. Then you might prefer tiles larger than 30cm by 30cm (12 inches by 12 inches). Suddenly, the total can increase by several thousand euros compared to what seemed like a low bid.
In your case, tiles are priced at 18 euros per sqm (about $20 per sq ft)... That’s nearly the cost of our garage tiles.
I haven’t read the construction specification in detail, but from my perspective, there is little (if any) “premium” included—it’s pretty much basic equipment, especially since the scope of work is quite limited aside from the materials. The example with the tiles is a good illustration. For 18 EUR per square meter (about 5.80 USD per square foot) at a wholesaler, you generally only get basic models. If you’re fine with that, then great. Otherwise, it’s not really that cheap anymore.
Our contract included tiles up to 40 EUR/m² (about 13 USD/ft²). That was sufficient for bathrooms, kitchen, and hallway (after accounting for lower tile height, omission of tiling backsplashes, etc.—speaking of backsplashes! Never mind…). The living room, however, was significantly more expensive.
The sockets and switches are also quite minimal. I didn’t see a single three-way switch included. Meaning: you have *one* switch for the hallway on the ground floor and one on the upper floor. We found it practical to have four switches total (for lighting on ground floor and lighting on upper floor). No telephone or network outlets either... I’d say you can easily add around 20,000 EUR (about 22,500 USD) for your special requests and still be far from what I would call “premium.” Believe me, or just blindly jump into your biggest adventure—building a house itself is a big adventure.
Good luck
K1300S
Our contract included tiles up to 40 EUR/m² (about 13 USD/ft²). That was sufficient for bathrooms, kitchen, and hallway (after accounting for lower tile height, omission of tiling backsplashes, etc.—speaking of backsplashes! Never mind…). The living room, however, was significantly more expensive.
The sockets and switches are also quite minimal. I didn’t see a single three-way switch included. Meaning: you have *one* switch for the hallway on the ground floor and one on the upper floor. We found it practical to have four switches total (for lighting on ground floor and lighting on upper floor). No telephone or network outlets either... I’d say you can easily add around 20,000 EUR (about 22,500 USD) for your special requests and still be far from what I would call “premium.” Believe me, or just blindly jump into your biggest adventure—building a house itself is a big adventure.
Good luck
K1300S
Jochen104 schrieb:
Hello,
is this the only offer you have obtained so far?
If yes, you can compare the offers in detail and see where improvements can still be made. Otherwise, I would recommend getting more offers and then comparing them with each other.
A simple example: tiles. We had different prices per square meter in different offers. They ranged from 20 to 35 euros. It also depends on where the tiles are installed. Sometimes the kitchen is included, sometimes not. Then you might want tiles larger than 30cm x 30cm (12 inches x 12 inches). And suddenly, you end up with a total amount of several thousand euros for what seemed like a cheap offer.
In your case, the tiles are priced at 18 euros. That’s about what our garage tiles cost. Hi, so far we only have one more offer, but that house was already starting at 359,000 euros. This one includes all the extras we wanted plus additional construction-related costs.
The problem is that there isn’t really a wide selection in this price range around here. =(
And I also find 18 euros per square meter for tiles quite low. We were at a furniture store yesterday (a bit more expensive), and their tiles started at 55 euros per square meter.
In our other offer, the tiles included were at least 30 euros per square meter.
First of all, it mentions granite tiles... and those for 18€ (about $20)? That’s very strange.
But what also doesn’t make sense is that in the bathroom, one side is tiled up to 1.25m (4 feet) high, and the other side up to 2m (6.5 feet)... how is that supposed to look?
Four-way switches? So you have a switch at every entrance of the room to control the hallway light?
As for the network, I actually only need a phone line; everything else will be handled via Wi-Fi.
But what also doesn’t make sense is that in the bathroom, one side is tiled up to 1.25m (4 feet) high, and the other side up to 2m (6.5 feet)... how is that supposed to look?
Four-way switches? So you have a switch at every entrance of the room to control the hallway light?
As for the network, I actually only need a phone line; everything else will be handled via Wi-Fi.
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