Decision aid for choosing the construction company

We read a lot (Stiftung Warentest "Handbook" on prefab house builders, general experience reports - although most only write about the negative stuff -, here in the forum, etc.)

If you have no idea about house building, then do as the cobbler does and stick to your lasts. That is to say: avoid committing to a particular construction method or specific materials and focus on what you know best - namely your own wishes, which you surely know better than any salesperson. By the way, there is by no means only negative stuff here, but also plenty of reports about recommendable providers. These are usually those that don’t even appear on comparison portals and magazines because, as non-national providers, they fly under their radar.

So what can you rely on? The contact persons at the prefab house builders are the only ones who plan the entire house with you. :/

They do plan houses, but not FOR YOU in the sense of "in your interest." Their job is to turn as many of your needs as possible on your plot of land into their money. They do that very professionally, but a freelance architect would do it much better: firstly, you don’t need one for a flashy villa, but because he does his job PARTIALLY FOR YOU; and secondly, he pays full attention. The "draftsman" of a provider is supposed to get only two signatures: yours under the construction contract and the mayor’s under the building permit.

I follow the whole discussion about solid house or timber frame here with a smile. You can easily achieve any KfW level with both variants. Just as excellent sound insulation is possible in both variants. And in the end, both variants cost more or less the same price.
It’s always a matter of personal gut feeling. Personally, I would never want to build a timber frame. Why? I just think it’s silly.
I prefer to look at how well a craftsman does his work, not with which material.

That is certainly true, but unfortunately not everyone is an expert. I simply have a completely different profession and just don’t know much about building/crafts. People can easily “tell me stories.” So I cannot judge whether the construction company offers me good sound insulation or not. How should I? I look at some measurement values, but of course, those are also “nicely calculated.” As a layman, it’s all not so simple.
That’s why I asked my question regarding the walls with timber studs: every wall is somehow totally different in itself. Some have 20 cm insulation, others 28 cm. But the first one has more boards, the other fewer, etc.
But it’s certainly also wrong to just think: the more solid material (boards/stone), the better the sound insulation. That’s clear to me. I currently live in an old building with about 40 cm thick exterior walls. And I hear almost everything from outside. So every thinner, more modern wall is better in sound insulation.
So far, I have not received any answer in this forum or anywhere else.
Also for example the point: vapor barrier. For some providers, it inevitably gets pierced when screwing into the wall, for others not. You read about this: horrible, everything molds or totally does not matter...
And this goes through every forum and so on.
And then comes the naive thought again: The construction methods must know what they are doing. It can’t be that every second house rots away within 15 years.

Hi!
We recently also had such a conversation with a Streif Haus consultant (we are in southern Germany).
May I ask how you followed up on this point (consultant “knows” partner companies who do the trades like flooring, painting, etc.)?
We generally liked him as a person, but of course they are salespeople who live on commission. Nevertheless, at no point so far did we feel we were being swindled, sold something we don’t want, or the like. On the contrary, he even came to our property at the first consultation to take a look and assess roughly what could be built, allowed, etc.

(I unfortunately cannot send private messages yet because I only recently discovered this forum and have just registered)

No, we did not pursue that any further. Streif Haus was somehow off the table for us. You can of course criticize that, but somehow it irritated us.

That is certainly true, but unfortunately not everyone is an expert. I simply have a completely different profession, but I just don’t know anything about building/crafts. People can easily "tell me anything". So I can’t judge whether the construction company is offering me good sound insulation or not. How should I? I then look at some measured values, but of course, those are also "nicely calculated". As a layperson, it’s not so easy. That’s why I asked my question about the walls in timber frame construction: Every wall is somehow totally different. Some have 20 cm insulation, others 28 cm. One has more boards, the other fewer... etc. But it’s certainly wrong to just think: The more solid material (boards/stone), the better the soundproofing. That’s clear to me. I currently live in an old building with about 40 cm thick exterior walls. And I hear almost everything from outside. Every thinner, more modern wall is better at soundproofing. So far I have received no answer in this forum or anywhere else. Also, for example, the point: vapor barrier. With some suppliers it inevitably gets pierced when screwing into the wall, with others not. One reads about this: terrible, everything molds or completely irrelevant... And it goes on through every forum and so on. And then comes the naive thought again: The construction types must know what they’re doing. They wouldn’t let every second house mold away within 15 years.

That is completely true that you have no idea. You don’t need to either. It can be completely irrelevant to you who builds which wall why and how. You want a house with the specifications "x and y." Then set the specifications and have the house built. Thinking too much is unhealthy. When you live in it, you won’t notice any difference anyway (of course, if you build according to the energy saving ordinance, you will probably have higher heating costs than with KfW 40). You can live well in all houses – and 100,000 families do just that every year. It’s like buying a car. All manufacturers offer functional models that get you from A to B. All models work in the city, on country roads, and on the highway. All models keep out the rain. Some models are just higher quality (star on the hood, kidney grille, or the like). They offer better workmanship and quality. Maybe also more functionality. Some cars are more economical in consumption than others. Think about how you want to live. What are your requirements for the house – room schedule, equipment, price, etc. With that, you find a provider. Not by choosing based on wall structure or such. You are starting from the wrong side.

It's totally true that you have no idea. You don't need to. You couldn't care less who builds which wall why and how. You want a house with the specifications "x and y". Then set the specifications and have the house built for you. Overthinking it is unhealthy. Once you live in it, you won't notice any difference anyway (of course, if you build according to the Energy Saving Ordinance, you will probably have higher heating costs than with KfW 40).
You can live well in all houses – and 100,000 families do so every year.

It's like buying a car. All manufacturers offer functional models that get you from A to B. All models work in the city, on country roads, and on the highway. All models keep the rain out. Some models are more premium (star badge, kidney grille, or similar). They offer better workmanship and quality. Maybe also more functionality. Some cars are more fuel-efficient than others.

Think about how you want to live. What are your requirements for the house – room list, equipment, price, etc. With that, you choose a provider. Don’t choose based on wall construction or similar.
You're starting from the wrong side.

At least that doesn't sound so absolute and totalitarian like the statements usually posted here :D Thanks. That was also my naive thought: most people don't build complete rubbish.

However, I do think I have to choose a provider. Otherwise, I could just throw an arrow and have that one build it.

Does no one else here worry about the walls? Am I giving that too much importance? Especially regarding sound, the construction is relevant, right?

Doesn't anyone else here think about the walls? Am I giving this too much importance? Especially regarding sound, the construction is relevant, isn't it?

You can search here for sound transmission in semi-detached houses. Many have problems when there are sound-transmitting components. Even the best general contractor won't help if not built correctly. I will soon be living in my fifth own property (from condominium to semi-detached house to detached single-family house). Only in one condominium from the 60s did I hear my neighbors. Otherwise, there were never any sound problems – all solid constructions (including interior walls) made of different materials around 1900 / 2004 / 2014 / 1967.

Doesn’t anyone else here worry about the walls? Am I giving it too much importance? Especially regarding sound, the construction is relevant, isn’t it?

Don’t worry about the wall construction, but about the characteristics of the house.
If the plot and floor plan fit, you can ask for better soundproofing, but that includes not only walls but also doors, windows, and other things. Tell them you want the version for the FFM flight path.
Then the company will also tell you the surcharge for it.
You don’t choose a car by stacking engine characteristic curves either.