ᐅ Today was the material and finish selection appointment, smile
Created on: 9 Mar 2017 13:40
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Nordlys
Some leftover vacation days in March. We just had the selection appointment. This morning at nine. Selection appointment with the mid-sized company. Waiting for us were Mrs. L., the secretary, with a coffee; Mr. K., the master carpenter; and Mr. R., the head of masonry and roofing. Mr. K. starts. In front of him, the building plan of our house, next to him a laundry basket full of various bits and pieces. Let’s get started. With windows. He flips through the building specification. Ah, they’re from Poland. He rummages through the laundry basket and pulls out a profile sample. Veka, triple glazing, Roto fittings, Hoppe handles. The handles can also be lockable, costs extra. But then you just lose the keys, no one needs that, and if burglars want to get in, they will anyway; it just ends up broken... My wife examines the profile. Well, you can easily wipe off the dirt, can’t you? And colored, she asks? Mr. K., dryly: Yeah, it’s possible. But it’s a waste of money; it doesn’t make a difference when looking out either... So, it remains white. It goes on in that style with tiles, interior doors. When it comes to the exterior window sills, he really gets going. Yes, those are aluminum, white or nothing at all. He grins. And on the inside? Laundry basket. Granite slabs are brought to the table. Four pieces. Two disappear right away because they are polished high gloss. That’s nonsense, he says; anyway, you’ll just put flowers on them. My wife picks one from the remaining slabs. Done, moving on. The roofing expert chimes in. Hey, I need to take off some joints first, what’s the plan? He takes us outside. There lies a package from Braas with sample tiles. He picks out three. That one, that one, or that one is allowed in the building plan. We choose the dark red one. Gloss coating against moss? Doesn’t work, there are no trees here. In High German: You don’t need it because there are no trees where you are building. Okay, convinced. The roof is done. He storms off. Inside we go. Front door, Mr. K. says, now that’s a topic. So, here are the panels from Rodenberger; from K1 to K6 are included at no extra cost. The long handle costs 100 extra. The very long one 250. But that one is no good, it’s flimsy. Then take the short one for 100. We flip through. That one is good, he says. Stable, timeless, with K5 included, okay price, has some glass, lets some light into the hallway, but it’s not a department store door. Done... that’s the one. Now the interior staircase, he judges... Yeah, you take beech, it’s a hard, quiet wood. It’s coated with parquet lacquer, so it’s also durable. And as a railing, a handrail with metal rods. He grins, done. Can it be done differently? White? Hmm, he shakes his head. It’s possible. But... that costs more, you have to paint, sand, and fill more. You can see on his face what he thinks about white stairs. I give in. Beech, parquet lacquer. Matte. Then he and my wife decide where the towel radiator should go. Here or there! And how and where tiles will be installed... done. Oh yes, facade... we’ll do it like the garage, right? So, everything smooth and seamless. The plinth a little anthracite accent, everyone does that. He rummages for some color samples for the plinth from the basket. Yes, that will do.
Selection appointment with the mid-sized company. Two hours, one coffee, and not a penny extra paid.
Selection appointment with the mid-sized company. Two hours, one coffee, and not a penny extra paid.
Although we built with a developer, we had almost complete freedom to choose from what the market offers. Only the stores were predetermined. However, these stores were mostly in the higher price range. In some cases, they did not have standard items in stock or any tiles within the included 35 euros or flooring under 60 euros. As a result, the sample selections added almost 20% to the purchase price.
K
Knallkörper9 Mar 2017 22:17In our housing development, there is a house where the same tiles were installed in the bathroom as in ours (Venis Platino 1000x333mm (39x13 inches) and Feroker 660x440mm (26x17 inches)). These houses were built by the same general contractor. Our additional cost per square meter is only 40% of what the other homeowners paid. The difference: we selected the tiles before signing the contract. This approach is consistent across all trades. I'm starting to understand why the modular system seems a bit expensive here sometimes.
Sascha aus H9 Mar 2017 22:29We proceeded by internally deciding to work with a general contractor (GC) and then pre-selected everything (except for brickwork and electrical installations).
We obtained a list of tradespeople, scheduled individual appointments with each, and sought their advice. Our approach was to not let them show us what they had available but instead to present them with our own ideas. This ranged from specific brands and product lines to printed images from the internet.
Of course, this took us weeks of work, and if we had ultimately not signed the contract, we would have had to go through the entire process again.
However, for us, the advantage was worth it because we first knew whether our ideas could be realized and had a fairly high level of cost certainty. As a result, we didn’t have to plan for a contingency of $30,000 to $40,000, but instead went into the project with a relaxed buffer of $15,000.
This is how working with a general contractor can be successful, especially if you don’t want to hire an architect.
We obtained a list of tradespeople, scheduled individual appointments with each, and sought their advice. Our approach was to not let them show us what they had available but instead to present them with our own ideas. This ranged from specific brands and product lines to printed images from the internet.
Of course, this took us weeks of work, and if we had ultimately not signed the contract, we would have had to go through the entire process again.
However, for us, the advantage was worth it because we first knew whether our ideas could be realized and had a fairly high level of cost certainty. As a result, we didn’t have to plan for a contingency of $30,000 to $40,000, but instead went into the project with a relaxed buffer of $15,000.
This is how working with a general contractor can be successful, especially if you don’t want to hire an architect.
Sascha, I just don’t get it. Some things, actually a lot, are already decided. Of course, you choose the tiles. But what exactly am I supposed to discuss with the heating contractor? The building specification says Junkers. There’s the Junkers system, and whether they wrap the pipes with blue or gray foam doesn’t really matter. If the building specification lists Braas Double S roof tiles and the zoning plan requires red or anthracite, then there are only three tile options. What is there to discuss with the electrician besides the placement of switches and outlets? It states 46 outlets, 20 switches, five-core exterior cable, two TV sockets, and one telephone socket, attic light, and an outlet. You can only briefly talk about whether you need 49 instead of 46 outlets. And what they look like—come on, you could make a whole movie about doormats. Or is it me who lacks imagination?
Nordlys schrieb:
Sascha, I just don’t get it. Some things, sure, a lot are already decided. Of course you choose the tiles. But what exactly am I supposed to discuss with the heating engineer? The building specification says Junkers. And then there’s Junkers—whether they wrap the pipes in blue or gray foam doesn’t really matter. If the specification for the roof says Braas Doppel S and the planning permission requires red or anthracite, then there are only three tile options. What am I supposed to discuss with the electrician besides the locations of switches and outlets? It says 46 outlets, 20 switches, outdoor cabling five-core, two TV sockets, one telephone socket, attic light and outlet. At most you can briefly discuss whether to have 49 instead of 46. And what they look like, those things—you could make a movie about doormats. Or am I just lacking imagination here?Carsten, what’s written in the scope of work is usually not the optimum.
The standard is often just the bare minimum and has little to do with comfort.
Heating engineer: layout of the heating loops, more heating circuits, a base for the burner, a larger system on the roof, a bigger storage tank.
Instead of Junkers, Viessmann, for example, can be chosen. Controlled ventilation systems for living spaces are installed anyway, but usually not included in the scope of work and come as an extra.
For the roof, there are also fancier options than the Braas S tiles.
The electrician can add a few more wall outlets, which is more practical later than having floor lamps everywhere that also require an outlet. Also consider protected circuits for the microwave and washing machine; for light switches, dimmers or additional switches controlled from the bed are often appreciated. You’ve worked your whole life for this, so it’s understandable to want things a bit more practical than an outdated standard from the late ’70s.
And so on.
It’s also possible to go overboard with frugality.
Best regards, Yvonne
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