New construction planning - single-family house 160 sqm without basement - floor plan, costs, etc..

Hello forum members!

We are a family of four (parents, 2 small children) who have been dealing with the construction of a new single-family house for some time now. We are building in NRW, postal code area 34439, which is not far from Paderborn...

Our firmly reserved plot measures 880 sqm and is flat, no hillside location.
We took a self-created design, which we adapted to the plot, to the architect, who adopted the drawing almost one to one. Originally, a basement was also planned — after receiving the cost calculation and further "pros and cons," we decided to go a bit wider above ground and shelve the basement.

The house now has a footprint of 9.11*10.31 meters plus an extension with a windbreak, utility room, and double garage.

It was important to us to have a "free" room on the ground floor (here a guest room), so without a basement, a space for the utility room had to be found — since I also wanted the possibility to enter the house directly from the garage — a windbreak was added.

The house now measures (including extensions) 165 sqm living space (605 cubic meters enclosed space in the house, approx. 218 cubic meters in the extension). It will be built according to the latest standards in solid construction with 24cm Unipor T14 and 16cm ETICS (PS20 WLG035). Exterior plaster with paint, no bricks.

We have a clear favorite for the construction execution but are legitimately obtaining comparison offers. Roughly, the turnkey house costs around 230k, the extension (windbreak, utility room, garage) about 50k, plus own finishing costs for kitchen, floor coverings, stove, interior fittings, and attic finishing (35k), the plot (35k – yes, it's still cheap in the sticks) as well as the exterior facilities (10k) and additional construction costs (5k). All in all, that's initially about 365k, which we still have to refine as much as possible with sweat equity.

This is the first offer; in the next few days, there will be 2 more offers from solid builders and 2 from prefab builders for comparison. After that, further exploration will take place.

The technology is, by the way, gas condensing boiler, underfloor heating, and a log wood stove in the living room. I can no longer avoid two solar panels for hot water, said my architect (5% of the energy demand must come from solar...).

That's it for now... I'll attach the floor plans and elevations. Suggestions and opinions are welcome.

Edit: I have subsequently attached photos of the plot, which will be posted again later.

Hello ChrisBr,

Welcome to the forum!

All in all, a really nice floor plan.

If I were you, I would consider two things:

1. Does the partition wall between the hallway and living room really have to be there? I would probably leave it out.

2. Bathroom: The layout doesn't really convince me – the shower might be very dark (masonry side walls). I would still play around a bit with the sanitary fixtures.

Additional construction costs of TEUR 5 are clearly too low. Here in the forum, people calculate a value of about TEUR 30 - 40...

Please ask your architect about that again.

Regards,

Dirk

You should search for additional construction costs in the forum and consider what is already included in your amounts, or say goodbye to your assumed 5k.

About the plan.

I find the wardrobe too small for 4 people, unless something else is also planned in the hallway.
In the guest WC, I find it unpleasant that I have to squeeze past the shower to get to the toilet/sink.
I don’t know if the dressing room works like that without measurements, but the closet doesn’t look like it is 60cm deep.
I also find the arrangement of things in the bathroom unsuccessful, especially the sink.

Hello - thank you for the welcome and thank you for the quick feedback.

I have created a large overall calculation. Everything that officially belongs to the incidental construction costs I have partly already allocated elsewhere. Included in the 5k are "only" the construction professional association, builder's liability insurance, building surveying by the district administration, the fee for the building permit (67BauO), construction electricity and water, as well as the chimney sweep's approval for the chimney.

The partition wall between the living room and hallway was deliberately designed so that you cannot look directly at the sofa from the front door. To make the room larger "if needed," we decided on the sliding door between the kitchen and living room, which depending on the "tidiness" of the kitchen could also be left open.

The sanitary facilities will indeed probably be adjusted somewhat... room by room will be reexamined. The kitchen layout is also not quite right as in the draft.

The staircase system will be a stringer staircase, which is clad underneath and provides a storage/pantry space with a door. The vestibule with wardrobe would really only be for "clothes"...

Hello,

the reference to the wall between the hallway and the living room was less about the room size, but rather because I fear that the hallway will become very, very dark.

Have you looked at the list of [Baunebenkosten] here in the forum and checked whether you have taken everything into account?

Regards,

Dirk

Hello, I also notice a few points. For example, I would reconsider the layout with the shower in the guest room. And somehow there is a wasted space in the middle of your living room. Also, in the upper bathroom, you look directly at the toilet as soon as you enter the door. That wouldn’t be my preference either. But otherwise, all in all, a nice layout.