Massive construction or prefabricated house

Then I like that you are very free in planning. And if you want, you can build with a regional, smaller company, where customer service still takes place between the boss and the customer, and you have their mobile number.

You can also have this if you have a timber frame house built by a local carpentry company. Personally, I would not call that a prefabricated house. I had a timber frame house erected by a local carpentry company with insulation materials made of wood fiber. I am currently working on the interior finishing, but I could have had it turnkey as well. During the shell construction, this shell feels much better to me than a shell made of bricks would. How it turns out later remains to be seen. And I have to say that I like the material wood more and more. However, these are personal feelings and everyone has to decide for themselves what they want.

A prefabricated house is usually somewhat more expensive in the single-family house sector with the same equipment, unless it is a cheap prefab home. I don’t know what you are comparing there. Additional construction costs should be about the same, as they relate to the plot and not the house. The decision is shaped by personal priorities and also by the feeling towards the house builder.

The biggest difference between the providers lies in the different equipment and the different construction specifications. Is the foundation slab included or not? Up to what depth are earthworks included? Which sanitary fixtures are included as standard? How many power outlets, lamp sockets, etc. are included? Which stair coverings, wood (which kind?), steel stairs, concrete stairs with tiles/granite/wood? Is underfloor heating included in the price or not? What kind of roof covering, clay or concrete? Which windows with which values (security class, for example)? Front door made of plastic or aluminum? What wall construction (these also differ significantly among prefabricated houses or solid houses)? What energy standard is achieved? What kind of heating is installed? Is there a controlled residential ventilation system? According to the construction description, what must be carried out "on site"? Can the floor plan be individually planned/changed without additional costs for extra planning effort? These are just a few examples. The construction specification consists of what feels like thousands of different things, each of which can vary individually from provider to provider. That is why prices differ significantly from one solid house provider to another, as well as from one prefabricated house provider to another. The decision between a prefabricated house and a solid house is therefore not the main cost criterion, but rather the entire construction specification itself. And that makes it so difficult to compare the various providers—regardless of the construction method. It is a real jungle to wade through. However, we have also experienced that prefabricated houses seem to be somewhat more expensive, but we have not compared that precisely enough to specify it exactly.

The decision for a construction method should therefore primarily not be based on costs. At the same standard, they do not differ too much, at least if you rely on the "major" providers. In my experience, small solid-house builders are cheaper than the big ones. In the end, we decided on construction with an architect and individual contract award (solid construction) because it was clearly the cheaper way for us (cheaper than construction with a large general contractor or small general contractor). My cousin is building a timber-frame house. He had the shell built by a local carpenter and awarded the remaining trades individually. That was also cheaper than going with a large prefabricated house builder. Nevertheless, his house was significantly more expensive than ours, which of course is also due to the fact that he is building to a different standard (we energy saving ordinance, he KFW40).

Which construction method it will be is simply decided by personal preference. Some can do more with wood, others prefer the classic stone house.

The advantage of prefabricated construction is that as the builder, you have completed all the sampling and thus all decisions before the first groundbreaking is done. In the case of a solid house, sampling is often done little by little, namely when the trades are scheduled. Many see this at least as an advantage, but it can also be a disadvantage.

Many prefab house providers offer turnkey solutions, meaning really everything except the floor slab, but of course it is still difficult to compare

Turnkey is a very, very flexible term. And the starting price discussed in the first meeting often differs significantly from the final price after one or another planning and sample selection round.

But with a solid construction house provider, the costs are definitely much higher!

That depends on whom you compare it with. Assuming you mean the big red one, then that’s clear.

But if you actually go to a good general contractor in the region, they are usually considerably cheaper than the prefab house providers in the model park. However, they don’t just roll out several model houses in the landscape.

Much more, the question for you should be which construction method you prefer; also how much own work should be contributed (etc).

Prefabricated houses are slightly more expensive than solid houses with the same quality and equipment; you can also find comparisons on the internet. At Bien-Zenker, for example, not everything is included; architect fees must be paid separately. With every house provider, the inclusive services are different; some, for example, include earthworks, others do not. You do not build a wooden prefabricated house to save costs, but because you want such a house; not everyone wants a stone house.

Best regards
Sabine