Home renovation with upscale features, cost estimates

Hello everyone,

we have the following project ahead of us and lots and lots of open questions...

The parental home of my girlfriend is to be "renovated" or partially refurbished on the ground floor.

The situation is as follows:

The house was built as a bungalow in the 70s and extended upwards at the end of the 80s.
Ground floor: 220 square meters.
Upper floor: 150 square meters.

On the ground floor, new floors, new wall coverings, new ceilings, new electrical installation (BUS), alarm system, new windows, new bathroom, new gas fireplace, one wall removed as well as the entire interior are to be done.
The whole thing is to be carried out to a high standard.

We are currently working on a rough cost estimate and find it difficult to assess the individual trades.

What is the best way for me to proceed? Should I have each trade come individually and get quotes?

I would do the gutting myself. Also the electrical work together with a friend. I also trust myself to lay parquet.

An offer for windows is available (approx. 20,000 EUR incl. new front door).

Looking forward to tips.

Thanks in advance

How do I proceed best? Should I have each trade come individually and get quotes?

Yes, or you look for an architect or contractor who coordinates all of this.

I wanted to organize everything as much as possible on my own. Then I will probably start getting quotes.

220 sqm on the ground floor is something else.... I might better include a building surveyor after all. With the list you wanted to work through, I would estimate the total costs to be well over 100 k€. Spending 2-3000 € on a surveyor who can give you good advice on what makes sense and what doesn’t could be well-invested money.

In general, you have a construction project on your hands whose scope is not far from that of some small new builds. Personally, I would find it difficult to effectively take on the construction management myself. I simply wouldn’t have the time next to my job. Whether that works out for you, only you can decide.

Good luck!

Best regards,

Andreas

I have a relatively flexible schedule and work from home in my job. Therefore, I can coordinate quite a lot.

We have a total budget of 180k€. (With buffer 200k€)
However, the complete furnishing should be included.

My concern is simply how to create a statement now so that we can calculate whether we can manage with the budget.

There are so many individual trades.
But I will probably have to go and request everything individually.

What exactly does a building surveyor do?
Or is an architect even worth it? Can they largely offset their costs through better planning?

I would hire an architect who specializes in old buildings and/or renovations. They can better assess whether the wall to be removed presents a structural problem. They can also make suggestions for space optimization. If the cost of a single-family house is being invested into a single-family house, then it should be the optimum, right?!

Since you find it difficult to evaluate individual trades, I would advise having it done by a professional. That would also be the task of an architect.