General procedure for construction project in the Potsdam area

Hello everyone,

We are at the beginning of our house construction project; we have already signed for the plot.
We want to build a town villa with a basement on it.
Now we are concerned with the question of the general approach.
We expect cost potential through self-contracting the following work:

[*]Earthworks (good contact with the local civil engineer)
[*]Precast concrete basement
[*]Interior finishing such as floor coverings, painting & interior doors (we also want to do some of this ourselves)
[*]Photovoltaic system

We want to then contract all from the basement ceiling upwards including heating, electrical & sanitary works to a general contractor (GU).
My current plan is this:

[*]Sit down with an architect for planning.
[*]Plan with the architect up to performance phase 3 (design planning).
[*]Request quotes from the civil engineer, basement provider, GUs and photovoltaic providers using the documents from the design planning.
[*]Simultaneously start a building preliminary inquiry with the design planning (the plot is in the unplanned inner area according to §34 Building Code).

Then I think three variants open up:

[*]Carry out all further planning and contracting of the construction management with the architect.

Or

[*]Based on the design planning, carry out all further planning and the construction management with the GU.
[*]Carry out all further planning with the architect and commission the best GU with the execution.

The following questions arise for me regarding the two variants:

[*]In variant 2, does the GU provide the planning documents for the basement to the basement builder I commission?
[*]Do I risk paying double fees for the contracts in variant 3 (once for the architect and then the GU who contracts to subcontractors)?
[*]Is it possible to design the design planning so that both a solid builder and a timber frame construction (e.g. Kampa) can be requested?
[*]Have you built in a similar way and can give me tips?
[*]How do you see this planning, do you see any major mistakes in my explanations?

Best regards, Tim

I would make the preliminary design planning the phase in which the construction method is clarified - and also the phase in which the building preliminary inquiry is submitted.

I would not specifically choose a general contractor, but rather prepare the tender documents with the architect, simply not excluding general contractors. I would leave it to the shell construction general contractor to decide whether to construct the basement themselves or source it as a module from a pre-supplier. OKKD is a sensitive interface; I would not play a high-risk game there.

The architect's basic evaluation will already determine whether the desire for the house shape of the "city villa" can be pursued at all. By the way, I would always have the architect also supervise construction, as the general contractor employee who is also called "construction manager" has a significantly different scope of responsibilities.

We come from the Potsdam-Mittelmark area and submitted our building application over 6 months ago.

Carrying out the planning with the architect is a very good idea; unfortunately, we did not do it, even though we are very satisfied with the result.

We proceeded as follows:
1. Bought the plot 3.5 years ago cheaply with a lot of luck. Size: approx. 73m length, 20m width.
2. It was clear to us from the beginning that it would be a bungalow. Maximum building width is 14m (20m - 2x 3m building boundary neighbors).
3. Max sqm set. It should be about 140, the house should also have a covered terrace. Thus, a building size of 13.5m x 13.5m resulted.
4. Rooms sorted according to cardinal direction. Living room/bedroom/children's room in the south, kitchen/utility room in the north, etc.
5. We then browsed through Polish project magazines (2.5€ for about 200 house projects) and put our house together.
6. Contacted home builders (around 10) and also asked them to create floor plans with the respective requirements.
7. Included these in our project, choosing the home builder where a) the construction service description was correct and b) we had the best feeling.
8. Made a planning contract with the home builder. Up to the application/building permit 5% of the construction sum. These are deducted with the work contract.
9. Went through and optimized the basic sketch with the home builder’s planner.
10. During the building application period, everything was selected. Interior and exterior doors, bathroom and kitchen come from Poland, the rest from the main contractor.
11. Now waiting for the building permit.

If you want to build more expensively, then go to Kampa. That was our first home builder. Under 3,000 € back then he said it would hardly be possible.

I would make the preliminary draft planning the phase in which one becomes clear about the construction method – and also the one in which the preliminary building enquiry is submitted.

That is certainly a good suggestion, I will take it as such.

I would then leave it to the shell contractor whether he wants to build the basement himself or obtain it as a module from a supplier. OKKD is a tricky interface, I wouldn’t play a risky game with that.

Since the planning comes from the architect anyway, it should hardly make a difference whether I commission the basement builder myself (which will probably result in a waterproof concrete basement due to groundwater) or the general contractor does it, right? The architect is liable for the planning in any case, and the basement builder for the execution.

By the way, I would always have the architect also manage construction, the GU employees who also call themselves "site managers" have a completely different assignment.

But that means I pay both the architect for service phase 8 and the site manager of the general contractor. Do you also think it possible here, instead of the architect’s service phase 8, to involve a construction expert to accompany the acceptance phases? I am somewhat concerned that otherwise the additional costs will soar. Best regards, Tim

OKKD is an interface where fitting matters and blaming is almost inevitable if it doesn’t work out. With the solid house built on-site, this is a bit less critical than with the prefabricated house (equally whether stone or timber frame). I don’t want to say directly that the "construction manager" of the general contractor is your enemy, but he serves another master and one should not be fooled by the "name similarity." If you build according to architect’s detailed plans but without architect supervision, you urgently need the expert. One and the same general contractor builds differently depending on whether he is working with your architect or not. You can believe it or learn it ;-)

Which option you choose also depends on your time commitment and your willingness to familiarize yourself with the subject matter. The more time and opportunities for involvement you have, the more freely you can work with the architect and construction company to develop solutions. From my point of view, it is important to arrive at a suitable design, so I would carry out the architecture up to the detailed planning and approval with one contact person, e.g., the architect. When awarding contracts, it is important to me that the contracted companies can work well together to minimize the risk of running into an interface problem as described by . The more service providers you commission, the more flexible you can execute the individual trades – this requires time and commitment and demands significantly increased coordination effort. The latter in particular requires good project management skills and expertise, so it is good to have a trusted person who carries this out or at least supports it. Whether this is the architect, a person from the circle of contracted companies, or an expert is rather secondary – as long as you are not stingy when paying for this service. For us, this role was filled by one of the carpenters – a likeable, competent, and reliable person with – sounds almost old-fashioned – decency. Many roads lead to Rome – it is more important that the path suits you and your contractors than abstract philosophizing about the principal pros and cons of one or the other approach model. Why you do not want to already determine the construction method of your house during planning was not clear to me. When it comes to costs, comparisons can be estimated with sufficient accuracy in advance.