KfW40 level, heat pump / solar system, timber construction / solid construction?

I think the question of construction time is pointless – it really always depends on the provider – if I look at the Massivbau AG story, there are the same cases everywhere. Whether solid building, prefab, wood, developer. Building is one of the last true adventures.

Unfortunately, that’s true. You never know what can happen; there are incredibly many variables, and most of them are incalculable.

Often, I think, builders themselves are not sufficiently prepared, and some decisions only need to be corrected relatively late.

I was really appalled when many consultants said that we had dealt with the topic extraordinarily intensively. Many seem not to engage with the important technical details at all.

Yes, we feel the same way – well, in the past months I’ve read through all (im)possible books, magazines, forums, websites, etc. … my head is spinning, but at least now I know some basic structures and can talk to the architect and craftsmen on a better footing.

Based on experience, I live by the saying: "If you don’t do it, nobody will," which, applied here, means:

I know what I want, or rather have to find out, and then make sure that it is done exactly the way I want (and it makes sense; well-intentioned advice from professionals is, of course, welcome).

We were at a prefab house provider at the very beginning, and my questions were so unpleasant for him that he charmingly left us standing and took care of another couple…

The architects I’m currently dealing with see it both positively and negatively that we are more informed; positively because then they don’t have to explain certain things or stress them at first, but negatively because we know what’s going on and they can’t just sell us useless things that are lucrative for the architect.

In addition, he has to be very good and stand behind his work, because otherwise he knows he’ll get into trouble.

- Oh man, I’m already totally excited…
Hope that everything will go well with the house construction.

Regards
Honeycake

Yes, the consultant quality is very very different

- From the consummate expert to people who were still selling jeans a few months ago, everything was included.

With 5-6 consulting sessions, you learn for construction and for life

I think a middle ground is best somewhere here. Some truly good experts, however, were very detail-oriented and more focused on their technical wishes than on an economical solution.

I would suggest everyone take at least 1 year to acquire the necessary knowledge and always examine individual solutions intensively for advantages and disadvantages.

Many solutions in construction are not always universally good – they depend on many accompanying factors. Much is also sugar-coated or calculated nicely when you deal with it more intensively.

Yes, the quality of consultants is very very different

- Everything from the absolute expert to people who were still selling jeans a few months ago was included.

With 5-6 consultant meetings you learn for construction and for life

I think something in between is probably best here. Some really good experts were, however, very detail-oriented and more focused on their technical wishes than on an economical solution.

I would suggest everyone take at least 1 year to acquire the necessary knowledge and always examine individual solutions intensively for pros and cons.

Many solutions in construction are not universally good – they depend on many accompanying factors. A lot is also sugar-coated or calculated nicely when you deal with it more intensively.

I can fully agree with that.

Hello, you two!

Wow, it’s great how detailed your answers were, thank you very much!

We had already decided on a ventilation system; nowadays it is really almost standard and shouldn’t cause any problems regarding hygiene and humidity. Of course, one should carefully choose the exact system and not just take the first one suggested.

We are currently also getting advice. We visited a solid house contractor, so brick by brick and custom-made. From what you hear around here, they’re good but not exactly cheap. Of course, you still need to pay attention to details yourself: for example, during a shell inspection of the provider’s work, we noticed that old network cables were used. We’ll ask about that at the next meeting with the company; maybe the builders wanted to save money there.

Then we are currently arranging appointments with an architect who builds wooden houses. We happened to have already met the owner of the timber construction company, and he made a good impression so far. We are also looking for alternatives to the initially mentioned solid house provider, since there doesn’t seem to be much selection here in North Hesse...

Some colleagues of mine have a wooden house; we will visit them soon, and then their children can really make some noise upstairs

There will certainly be more questions,
thanks and best regards,
Christiane

Hello!

Just to keep you briefly updated: The decision is basically made, and it will be a wooden house, that is, timber frame construction. Especially when you want to build nearly zero-energy houses (we are aiming for Kfw40), wooden houses are apparently at an advantage because they achieve very good insulation with ecological materials without the walls having to become ridiculously thick.

We have also already found two companies that both build ecologically, e.g. with insulation made of cellulose and wood fiber. Now we are moving forward, starting our own initial planning so that the potential house builders can give us approximate price information.

Best regards,
Christiane