Is an architect really that expensive?

  • Erstellt am 2015-11-14 15:17:30

Grym

2015-11-15 13:39:36
  • #1
Hello Sebastian,

8.50 EUR minimum wage and on top of that about 40 percent employer contribution plus overhead costs plus calculated vacation/sick leave/etc. result in 11.90 EUR. 20 EUR gross for the contractor including everything therefore results in a gross wage for the mason of around 14.30 EUR. That is well above the average gross hourly wage in East Germany. If the contractor calculates 20 EUR in costs for his own craftsmen, there is a large buffer in that and already a share of profit.

It is different if you want to employ a mason for an hour who does not work in YOUR company; then completely different overhead costs arise, as you pay for the accountant, the tax advisor, the administration, etc. Also, you pay the VAT, the company's taxes, and so forth, easily reaching 60 EUR to 80 EUR.

The general contractor certainly does not pass on the entire advantage, absolutely correct. But from significantly lower purchase prices, market power with subcontractors, own mason and site manager, and possibly the site manager even being authorized to issue certificates, a large cake emerges, whereby the general contractor already makes a profit through his own employees. And this large cake partly goes to the general contractor, but partly also to the client. After all, the general contractor is also in competition with other general contractors.

Do you have a price breakdown for your house? Then one could check that. You have taken out here and there a few individual aspects and they may be correct as such. But what use is it to you if you saved 3,000 EUR on the controlled residential ventilation when the starting price for a basic house at the architect is already 50,000 EUR higher?
 

Sebastian79

2015-11-15 16:00:36
  • #2
A bricklayer or any other skilled worker on a construction site will not earn the minimum wage, but more

Well, in the far East that might be different in some cases, but the majority of Germany will have higher wages.

No, I just have my total cost calculation at hand, but I'm definitely paying less than what you usually hear here for turnkey houses. Why should the "basic house" at the architect cost more – what even is a basic house? You don't just order a piece of house out of a drawer...

I'm not wearing rose-colored glasses, but I do see the total costs. By the way, I save more than 3 grand on controlled residential ventilation
 

Grym

2015-11-15 16:15:02
  • #3
For example, we have an offer from a local GÜ and also from one of the largest prefabricated house builders in Germany. The prefabricated house is just 75-80k EUR more expensive. The GÜ does not yet include the Controlled Residential Ventilation (because it is extra to the basic construction service description), but the prefabricated house has this kind of air-to-air heating instead. If you were to calculate both towards Controlled Residential Ventilation + underfloor heating, hardly any price difference would disappear. And 75-80k EUR won't even balance out if you install golden faucets. Ok, the U-value of the walls is a bit better in the wooden house. But that is a single component, and in the end, I still prefer massive walls...

Therefore, a statement that you pay less than what is often read here is not very meaningful at first. If you compare it with these large prefabricated house suppliers, then I believe you too. But the comparison with a local GÜ might look different again.
 

Sebastian79

2015-11-15 16:26:39
  • #4
No, I tend to compare myself more with local GÜ/GUs - I know the prices better.

And of course what you see in the forum - of course a direct comparison is rather difficult because there are big differences in detail and you can never fully compare everything. But when I already read air-to-air heat pump or even an air-to-water heat pump, that’s usually enough for me... then decentralized ventilation, no network, 2 sockets per room and who knows what else.

But just the bills, like Bauexperte likes to give (which I don’t doubt at all) - if I took that as a basis, we would probably pay five figures more... but we don’t.
 

merlin83

2015-11-15 21:32:13
  • #5
What Grym writes refers to GÜ and GU with whom no sensible builder wants to build.
 

tbb76

2015-11-15 21:53:34
  • #6
The minimum wage only applies if no industry-specific minimum wage applies. However, in the construction sector, it is already 14.20 (West) for skilled workers, 10.75 (East). That is why "self-employed" Eastern Europeans or those working under a contract for work also work there.....
 

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