I’m basically curious about your opinion on what would be more cost-effective.
Here’s the plan:
A house is to be built.
The ground floor (GF) should be about 65 sqm (700 sq ft). Bathroom (9 sqm (100 sq ft)), kitchen/living room (35 sqm (377 sq ft)), bedroom (15 sqm (161 sq ft)), hallway (7 sqm (75 sq ft)).
Additional rooms are needed: utility/technical room (10 sqm (108 sq ft)), home office (18 sqm (194 sq ft)), guest room (12 sqm (129 sq ft)), storage room (8 sqm (86 sq ft)).
This would require roughly another 48 sqm (517 sq ft).
Now the question is whether to add an upper floor (UF) on top of the ground floor or to build a basement.
The upper floor can have some sloping ceilings, since the full 65 sqm (700 sq ft) are not needed.
The house is planned as a KfW 40 energy standard home with a heat pump.
If a basement is built, it would have to be fully developed as a living space and insulated.
Advantages I see with a basement:
The technical room can be located there, with all connections coming in directly.
Less facade to maintain and care for.
Advantages I see with an upper floor:
Less excavation work required.
The upper floor can probably be built more ecologically than a basement (materials/resources).
More natural light in the home office and guest room.
What might also be relevant: The construction will be timber frame with a wooden facade.
The following work will be done mostly as owner contributions: electrical installations, partition walls if non-load-bearing, partial bathroom finishing, flooring, and painting.
So now I’d be interested in the cost comparison. What is cheaper—upper floor or basement?
I don’t need inquiries yet, as this is still in a very early phase and building is planned at the earliest in three years. I’m just curious about your assessment so I can have a rough direction for developing my considerations.
Thanks in advance.
Best regards,
Specki
Here’s the plan:
A house is to be built.
The ground floor (GF) should be about 65 sqm (700 sq ft). Bathroom (9 sqm (100 sq ft)), kitchen/living room (35 sqm (377 sq ft)), bedroom (15 sqm (161 sq ft)), hallway (7 sqm (75 sq ft)).
Additional rooms are needed: utility/technical room (10 sqm (108 sq ft)), home office (18 sqm (194 sq ft)), guest room (12 sqm (129 sq ft)), storage room (8 sqm (86 sq ft)).
This would require roughly another 48 sqm (517 sq ft).
Now the question is whether to add an upper floor (UF) on top of the ground floor or to build a basement.
The upper floor can have some sloping ceilings, since the full 65 sqm (700 sq ft) are not needed.
The house is planned as a KfW 40 energy standard home with a heat pump.
If a basement is built, it would have to be fully developed as a living space and insulated.
Advantages I see with a basement:
The technical room can be located there, with all connections coming in directly.
Less facade to maintain and care for.
Advantages I see with an upper floor:
Less excavation work required.
The upper floor can probably be built more ecologically than a basement (materials/resources).
More natural light in the home office and guest room.
What might also be relevant: The construction will be timber frame with a wooden facade.
The following work will be done mostly as owner contributions: electrical installations, partition walls if non-load-bearing, partial bathroom finishing, flooring, and painting.
So now I’d be interested in the cost comparison. What is cheaper—upper floor or basement?
I don’t need inquiries yet, as this is still in a very early phase and building is planned at the earliest in three years. I’m just curious about your assessment so I can have a rough direction for developing my considerations.
Thanks in advance.
Best regards,
Specki
N
nordanney29 Oct 2019 14:16Specki schrieb:
What is more cost-effective? An upper floor or a basement? Since you will need a roof anyway, it is usually cheaper to build an upper floor than to fully finish the basement as living space. Exception: if your soil conditions require a lot of excavation anyway, then the basement might be more economical to build.
Specki schrieb:
A house is to be built.
The ground floor should be about 65 sqm (700 sq ft). Bathroom (9 sqm (97 sq ft)), kitchen/living area (35 sqm (377 sq ft)), bedroom (15 sqm (161 sq ft)), hallway (7 sqm (75 sq ft)).
Additional rooms are needed: utility room (10 sqm (108 sq ft)), study (18 sqm (194 sq ft)), guest room (12 sqm (129 sq ft)), storage room (8 sqm (86 sq ft)).
This would require roughly another 48 sqm (517 sq ft). Then you don’t even need a full upper floor. Perhaps a finished attic would be sufficient. This means both of the advantages you see in the basement disappear: you won’t have more exterior wall area than with a basement house. And for the utilities, it makes no difference whether they run through a basement wall or go under the slab and enter directly into the utility room.
I would reconsider the room layout, though—who would want the utility room and storage room on the upper floor, having to carry beverage crates, tools, and so on upstairs all the time? The washing machine would also be upstairs, while the bedroom and bathroom would be on the ground floor, right? Besides, the 7 sqm (75 sq ft) hallway space still needs to accommodate a staircase.
Best regards,
Sabine
Best regards,
Sabine
Curly, you’re already thinking too far ahead.
We are currently at a basic planning stage. The exact room layout will only become clear over the next 2 years.
It is possible that the entire building will be different anyway—two living units, one upstairs and one downstairs. Of course, then larger.
So a lot is still uncertain. For now, my main concern was which is cheaper: a basement or an upper floor.
Best regards,
Specki
We are currently at a basic planning stage. The exact room layout will only become clear over the next 2 years.
It is possible that the entire building will be different anyway—two living units, one upstairs and one downstairs. Of course, then larger.
So a lot is still uncertain. For now, my main concern was which is cheaper: a basement or an upper floor.
Best regards,
Specki
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