Building cheaply - this is how it can be done too!

Savings potential. Windows in standard widths.

What is the standard width? When I was planning, I asked my architect what a standard width for windows is. "There isn't one, everything is custom-made" was the answer. I'm still no wiser to this day.

I am unsure about the windows in standard size. One large one is cheaper than two small ones. From 2 sqm onward, it can also be deducted from the wall area.

I once had a thread here with our final invoice, but I can’t find it anymore, so here is a rough calculation.

House (Move-in May 2016)

1.5 stories KFW 70
monolithic with 36 cm wall
8.6 m x 10.4 m (142 sqm living area)
reinforced foundation
condensing boiler, hot water production on the roof
complete underfloor heating
fully electric roller shutters
chimney with independent ventilation in the foundation
ground floor fully tiled
top floor bathroom tiled otherwise laminate
bathrooms tiled up to 1.80 m all around
main bathroom with walk-in shower
guest bathroom with shower
complete painting
own work only laying laminate

170,000 euros

Outdoor facilities

carport, fence and paving work 17,000
house connections 10,000

Plot
120 €/m²

Who was the manufacturer?

Good price for the house, almost too cheap.
And that without personal contribution?
Which region?

What is the standard width? When I planned back then, I asked my architect what a standard width for windows is. "There isn’t any, everything is custom-made" was the answer.

What does this architect do for a living?

The answer is absolutely true, and yet nonsense. You can order windows, i.e. have them made only after an order is placed. But if you have no special requests and are fine with a white plastic window: then you will find that these are kept in stock in hardware stores. And there are standard stock sizes, e.g. 110 cm width (outer frame dimension, for rough opening 113.5 cm) is frequently requested. You also find this with garage (up-and-over) doors, where certain sizes are bestsellers and offered at a better price. Basement windows 80/60 or 100/60 for example, which logically continues with the light wells. With front doors, price competition is strongest in the stock size 110/210.

Architects who make such unqualified statements then also plan accordingly: with window formats that differ only slightly (not intentionally, but out of thoughtlessness). The customer pays unnecessarily more for this, without the window supplier earning more: the additional cost mainly comes from resetting the machines when different formats are processed within the same order. Structured planning saves money without really "costing" any creative value: no house has to look simpler if you coordinate the formats a bit. But that belongs to the tasks that sloppy workers avoid.