Cost savings through recessed gable roof

Neither nor; not even if you stomp your foot

depending on what you base it on. and there you missed it ^^ the thread starter asked for a calculation. and when it comes to house construction, it’s not about 5000€...

ps: and just because the bathroom area is twice as large doesn't mean it costs twice as much

in the end, everyone here is hung up on the roof. maybe ask a different architect or ask the current one how he imagines a free flat roof. or maybe we don’t have all the information here. the architect must have a reason why the calculation is made solely based on the price per cubic meter.

First, the roof will be cost-neutral because it is significantly more complex. The few saved materials don't really matter. Additionally, the attic is not being converted (as far as I understand). Therefore, these cubic meters are not as expensive in reality as in the two lower floors.

Second, it looks so damn awful that I wonder how it could still become a dream house. Even if you spend most of the time inside the house, I couldn't come to terms with such a construction (unless you turn the flat roof into a nice sun terrace).

Third, this is not a serious calculation if I determine the costs based on cubic meters. This is a rough estimate for the initial ballpark figure, nothing more. If your architect really wants to start cutting costs based on the cubic meters, you should look for something more reliable. Otherwise, you will probably never come close to your estimated costs.

Dear house building forum,

after having some phone calls with our architect at the beginning of last week, I would like to give you a brief update on how things have progressed:

Unfortunately, the architect did not want to provide us with a more detailed cost calculation for the different roof options (30° gable roof, recessed gable roof). The pure cost estimate based on the volume is derived from experience from previous construction projects. Due to the reduced volume with the recessed gable roof, savings arise for the following reasons:


Smaller volume => influence on the design of the heating system
Lower material costs for beams, masonry gables, electrical wiring, …
Smaller roof areas …

Since we did not like the recessed gable roof option visually and were somewhat suspicious of the “beautifying” of the volume calculation, we have now taken the following approach:

- We optimized the floor plan slightly, resulting in only a minor reduction in the living space on the ground and upper floors.
- We discarded the previously planned loggia on the upper floor. Since the utility room is on the upper floor, a small extension (approx. 20 sqm) will be realized as a walkable terrace.
- Instead of a 30° gable roof, we will now build a 25° roof.

Since a mistake in the volume calculation had crept in by the architect in the previous variant, with the above-mentioned points we are now back within the planned range.

The house now has a gross volume of 1090 m3 (including garage). The living area is approximately 190 sqm plus a partial basement.

For the cost estimate, the architect calculates €340 net/m3 plus architect fees and incidental costs.

Since we are now shortly before the building permit application, the next major discussion point is a roof overhang. The plans and cost estimate so far do not provide for a roof overhang. We looked at many houses in new housing areas over the weekend. Our favorite would actually be at least a small roof overhang.

But the quoted €10k net is quite a sum.

@ toxicmolotow:

I will order the book.

Why exposed roof truss? Because we both like it very much. And we want to build the house so that we like it. We will certainly only build once. But of course, we also have a limited budget and therefore “unfortunately” have to keep an eye on the costs…

The house now has a gross volume of 1090 m3 (including garage). The living area is approximately 190 sqm plus partial basement.

For the cost estimate, the architect calculates with €340 net/m3 plus architect fees and incidental costs.

Tell your architect to show the garage separately. The cost estimate based on volume ONLY for the residential building. Then you have more transparency and can possibly postpone the garage if it gets out of hand.

And remember, these are all net figures; 19% VAT will be added at the bottom.

What can I say...

What you like,
costs money.

We are talking about 400 TEUR plus incidental construction costs, land, and ENK.

So in the end it will come to 500 TEUR plus the land price. You have to know which extras are associated with which additional costs. If you approach all points like this, a 6 will also stand in front of five more digits.

Every saving is a kind of compromise. It starts with the shape of the stairs and ends with the exposed roof structure.