Is a house for a total volume of 400k still possible at all?

2020-11-08 15:45:52

You said 1m2 of bare basement is more expensive than 1m2 of high-quality living space. And I gave a current counterexample where 1m2 of bare WU-basement was about as expensive as 0.5 to 0.7m2 of high-quality living space on the ground floor and attic. That doesn’t have to mean you can generalize from me to the public. I was also told that basement is more expensive than above-ground living space, but this surprisingly was not confirmed in the calculation.

I am still glad not to have a basement under the water because of the groundwater risk.

2020-11-09 07:29:00

You said 1m2 of bare basement is more expensive than 1m2 of high-quality living space. And I gave a current counterexample where 1m2 of bare WU basement was about as expensive as 0.5 to 0.7m2 of high-quality living space on the ground floor and attic. That doesn’t necessarily mean you can generalize from me to the public. I was also told that basements are more expensive than above-ground living space, but that surprisingly didn’t hold true in the calculation.

I’m still glad not to have a basement under the water because of the groundwater risk.

That is actually true – it was the same with us. It always depends on the building area. Depending on that, a basement isn’t necessarily much more expensive than enlarging the above-ground living space... That can also make a basement sensible for a larger flat plot. Of course, it’s also a matter of personal preference... I would never have built without a basement.

But well, nonetheless, I also think that you probably won’t be happy without a basement, judging by your comments. So, with 400k all in all, you will never be able to build a single-family house of that size. At the beginning, we also looked into prefabricated houses – exactly the same structure as the house from Bien-Zenker, which you posted here.

All in all, with a basement, we ended up at exactly 400k. We might have been able to reduce that to 380k. Without a basement, you might manage about 340k. If you then scale down drastically (no garage, etc.), you might get it to 280-300k. But honestly... you first have to be happy with that, and I really doubt it :D

For us it was very clear: if a house → then properly! Of course, you always keep costs as the number one priority in mind, but we wouldn’t want to give up many things... For us, it would also clearly be the basement. I actually think, if we played with this budget with the thoughts you have, we wouldn’t build a house.

You really have to be sure about this project and should feel comfortable afterward. If you can manage with a 280k house at 120m² without your actually demanded “features” and you think you can live with that, then go 4 it! Otherwise, that probably won’t work for now :(

2020-11-09 08:45:05

That's actually true - it was the same for us. It always depends on the building area. Depending on that, a basement doesn't necessarily cost much more than enlarging the above-ground living space...
For that reason, a basement can make sense on a larger flat plot. Of course, it's all also a matter of personal preference... I would never have built without a basement.

But well, nevertheless I also think that you probably won't be happy without a basement if I read your comments like that. So, with 400k all in all you will never be able to build a single-family house of that size. We initially also looked into prefabricated houses - exactly the same design as the house at Bien-Zenker, which you posted here.

In total, with a basement, we ended up at exactly 400k. We might have been able to reduce that to 380k. Without a basement you might manage 340k. If you then cut down extremely (no garage etc.), you might get down to 280-300k. But honestly... you first have to be happy with that and I strongly doubt that :D

For us it was very clear: If a house --> then right! Of course, you always keep costs as the first priority in mind, but we also wouldn’t want to do without many things... For us, it would also definitely be the basement. I actually think, if we were also playing with these thoughts you have within that budget, we wouldn’t build a house.

You really have to be sure about this project and should feel comfortable with it afterwards. If you can manage with a 280k house at 120m² without your actually required "features" and you think you can live with that, then go for it! Otherwise, it probably won’t work out for now :(

For the original poster, all in means including 75k€ for the plot, was that also the case for you?

2020-11-09 08:54:49

For the OP, all in means including 75k€ for the land, was it the same for you?

Nope, sorry. 400,000€ just for the house! Without the land!

My calculation o.s. is based solely on the house costs (excluding additional construction costs and land).

2020-11-09 09:08:25

I am totally fascinated that some people here say they would have rather not built at all than build without a basement - you could almost think that there is otherwise no place to laugh in a home. Or something like that.

2020-11-09 09:16:58

I am totally fascinated that some here say they would rather not have built at all than to build without a basement – one might almost think there is no other place to laugh in a home. Or something like that.

Well, it basically has nothing to do with that... I think you surely also have priorities for your house, right?

For me, things like drying laundry in the living area, storage rooms, workshop, no "laundry room," technical room on the ground floor, unnecessarily many rooms due to more floor space needed in the attic/ground floor, smaller garden/terrace (since you would then want a bigger house that takes up more space on the plot), a "junk garage" because otherwise there is no space, storage in the attic with pull-down stairs (no desire to crawl up there constantly), are deal-breakers or points where I clearly think: I want to have that. This area simply outweighs everything else. Some points may not interest every builder, but the statement: "first check if you even need a basement – look beyond the 'tip of your nose'" is totally wrong :D This is a personal attitude. Any things that some other builders choose, I would never even consider... For me, the basement is 100x more important. It's an endless topic. Ultimately, everyone has to handle it themselves and know what is personally important.

Especially also: How many people will later live in the house? With a family of four, a lot definitely adds up... If I planned a life without children – or maybe only three people – then I might also decide against a basement.

@TE: And as I said... Make sure to calculate the costs for the basement (if that is even an option for you at all) very precisely again, or compare the increase in floor area exactly with the costs for the basement... Only then can you see exactly how "expensive" a basement really is. It's extremely deceptive!

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Is a house for a total volume of 400k still possible at all?

Ötzi Ötztaler

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