New single-family house construction in wind load zone 4 - what adjustments are necessary?

Good morning! I was just going through the construction service description of our potential general contractor and got stuck on the information that the structural design of the houses is based on the requirements of wind load zone 2. Wind and northern Germany go together, but I wasn’t clear exactly which wind load zone we are in. Wind load zone 4 corresponds to the relevant postal code and now I am wondering with a queasy feeling in my stomach what an adjustment of the structural engineering (and possibly further adjustments to the roof construction or other things I cannot even imagine yet ...) might entail in terms of effort, costs, and redesigns. No contract has been signed yet, there is no floor plan and thus no structural engineering – but there is a financing framework that must be adhered to and if we talk to the general contractor about the topic of wind load zones, I would like to be somewhat prepared.

I hope I have created the topic in the correct forum section. Thank you very much for any response!

Best regards Kerstin

I already wrote a few minutes ago in your other thread about an early marriage with a GU. Does the property also have warts, bumps, a limp, and a crooked nose? It seems to me that you are collecting property offers with cosmetic defects; the one before the peat bog was one with an evaporation requirement... Each single flaw is certainly somehow manageable, and the partial aspect that I would call a storm expectation situation is probably easier to control with (more) clamps in the roof covering and the like, but overall I can only warmly reiterate my recommendation to continue searching.

Thank you very much! Not married - just engaged! Everything is still exciting, but the flirt has already been going on for three quarters of a year. We have a pile of construction service descriptions/information from GUs here, whose weight seems suitable for ambitious sports exercises. We have searched and compared, informed ourselves, and looked at things. I have read the recommendation many times to rather rely on an architect's design and then obtain offers from construction companies for it, and I completely understand it! That is the ultimate, as it best combines the wishes of the builders and the conditions of the property. I get that!

But if I am offered a house from a GU that appeals to me and whose floor plan is freely adjustable with the rather simple conditions of north access to the house and garden in the southwest with (almost ... I admit only almost) standard wishes (2 children's rooms, 1 office, utility room, 1 bedroom whether with or without dressing area separation is initially irrelevant, 1 bathroom upstairs, 1 bathroom downstairs, space for a suitably sized wardrobe and a multipurpose room with open kitchen) and the price for what the construction service description respectively the offer contains is rather cheap, what speaks against it then? That the fixed price alone is not enough, that other items will be added on here and there is clear, we are researching like crazy to gather all that. The GU has good creditworthiness, builds a lot here in the north, is not a luxury provider but offers good quality at affordable prices.

More roof clamps okay - one could say, what else would be necessary to make the house ready for wind load zone 4?

I have read many times the recommendation to rather rely on an architect’s design and then obtain bids from construction companies for it, and I completely understand it! That is the ultimate, as it best combines the wishes of the builders and the conditions of the plot. I get it!

I am not entirely sure how fully you understand. An architect is worthwhile not only for an individual design but also for the selection and adaptation of a catalog design. The architect only as a tailor-made designer is a popular misconception; even as a modification tailor, he is an asset.

But if I get an offer for a house from a general contractor that appeals to me and whose floor plan is freely adjustable with the rather simple conditions of a north entrance to the house and garden in the southwest with (almost ... I admit only almost) standard wishes (2 children's rooms, 1 office, utility room, 1 bedroom whether with or without a dressing area is initially irrelevant, 1 bathroom upstairs, 1 bathroom downstairs, space for a suitably sized wardrobe and a multipurpose room with an open kitchen) and the price for what the construction service description respectively the offer includes is rather cheap, then what speaks against it?

Little to nothing, as long as you stick to late marrying. For floor plan adjustments, an architect is very useful, a draftsman only becomes and can only rather fiddle around. An important point is that the number of rooms does not increase compared to the template.

The general contractor has good creditworthiness, builds a lot here in the north, is not a luxury provider but offers good quality at affordable prices.

Good creditworthiness is unfortunately not fixed. Which general contractor is it? – especially thanks to , one knows many here in the NDR broadcast area.

More roof clamps okay – one could say, what else would be necessary to prepare the house for wind load zone 4?

Two people can especially tell you a lot about this: a roofer (preferably one who is also an expert) and a representative for natural hazard insurance.