Building surveying before construction

Good question. 30K was planned for this, but unfortunately, this is now additional because the house became significantly more expensive due to a grid expansion and after the selection of finishes.

We also greatly underestimated the amount of incidental construction costs. For the excavation alone with the cistern, we have to pay almost 13,000 euros plus architect fees, utility lines, construction electricity/water, surveyor, expert, etc. etc.

Best regards Silke

Good question. 30K were planned for this, but unfortunately these are now additional costs, as the house became significantly more expensive due to a grid expansion and after the sample selection.

We also completely underestimated the height of the incidental construction costs. We have to pay nearly 13,000 euros just for the excavation with the cistern plus architect fees, supply lines, construction power/water, surveyor, expert, etc. etc.

Best regards, Silke

Excavation and cistern 13,000? That’s quite a statement. How much was excavated and transported away, how big is the cistern?

I can quickly pull some numbers from memory.

Excavation (256t) and bedding cushion for the floor slab = 2,600,- included in the house price.

Transport and disposal (which probably never happened) of the excavated soil also 2,600,- we had to pay extra for. I’m still annoyed about this position because it was way too expensive.

5m³ concrete cistern including installation, with pump, electrical supply – switchable from the house, outdoor water outlet on the house with GARDENA coupling and automatic pump control, so practically ready to go without having to add some kind of domestic water system nonsense = 4,500 EUR

That makes a total of 7,100,- in additional costs for the positions you mentioned.
For the other items, the following comes to mind at once:

Architect – as general contractor, included in house price.
Supply lines:
Electricity installation and connection by the energy supplier: 1,600,-
Drinking water line (22m) installation and connection including meter pit outside: 1,365,-
Wastewater drainage pipes included in house price
Rainwater including connection to downpipes and cistern – 25m included in house price, additional 35m: 1,680,-
Construction power / construction water: peanuts. I don’t remember exactly. Construction power probably around 300,- including meter cabinet. Construction water including meter rent around 400,-
Surveyor: included in house price
Expert costs: just under 500,-

Since this is our first construction project, unfortunately we did not know in advance what additional costs would come up. The excavation, about 300 tons of gravel, [Zisterne 7500l] etc. etc. were added. The trench for the ground source heat pump was also extra. It just adds up... Now we are wiser and can share our experiences. Regards Silke

Ok, it's a double-edged sword. I always see both parties responsible for the additional costs. On the one hand, I think it's lousy of the [BU] to keep the builders in the dark about possible additional costs and their amounts before signing the contract. On the other hand, of course, the builder is also responsible for carefully reading their [BB] and questioning positions that do not appear there but might possibly arise. One must of course add that the latter holds the significantly worse cards because they are usually inexperienced and not equipped with the appropriate expertise. The salespeople from various house-building companies do their part by repeatedly telling the builders what is included and thus creating and reinforcing the impression that almost everything is included in the house price. I even dare to claim that this sometimes happens consciously, just to get a signature on the contract as quickly as possible. I can only recommend to every builder to acquire as much expertise about the house-building process before signing the contract so that they are at least somewhat able to recognize which significant positions, such as earthworks, drainage, etc., are missing from the construction description and can question them.

@ catweazlecat

Again my question. You paid 260,000 EURO for a house with 150sqm living space, without a basement, including additional costs, right?

No, the 260 thousand is without additional costs. Those will be added.

Best regards, Silke