Offer comparisons - reference values, experiences?

Good evening everyone,

My wife and I are currently in the planning phase of building our house. Despite the heavy demand on craftsmen, we have decided on individual trade contracts.

With the cost estimate from our architect + buffer and an upward correction of the cost estimate based on our own research, we have ultimately defined our financial framework and completed the financing.

Now we are receiving offers that I would like to discuss in order to be able to assess and evaluate them with the help of your experience.

To start with an example that somewhat surprised us: heating and plumbing. Here we had budgeted 50k for 2 bathrooms, a solar-supported gas burner boiler, solar for hot water preparation, and underfloor heating, as after an initial conversation with the gas-water installer an amount of 40-45k (including buffer) was mentioned.

The offer shows an amount of 62.5k. The price seems extremely high to me? Are there any reference values on this?

We are also still waiting for further offers, but as it probably is currently with individual trade contracts, one can be glad if someone still has time in the second half of the year.

Thank you very much for your opinions and best regards.

By the way, I would like to keep the thread going to possibly discuss the other offers here as well.

Hard to say when you don’t know the house and requested equipment. Standard single-family home and standard equipment: 35-50k€. Wait for the other offers. You can’t do much anyway except own work or, for example, buy the sanitary objects yourself and then have another craftsman install them. Costs for heating/sanitary were also much underestimated in individual contracts, or rather by the architect.

Good morning,

Thank you for your feedback. Truly, there’s not much one can do.

A few details about the house:
240 sqm, built solidly with a basement
2 bathrooms + sanitary connections in the basement
- Guest bathroom 8 sqm
- Master bathroom 19.7 sqm
- Basement 8 sqm but the fittings for that will be bought from the hardware store

The fittings are “normal,” I would say. Mostly ceramic from Vigour, concealed fittings in both bathrooms from Grohe, we could save another 1500 on the washbasin (if we can choose a different one freely and forego the mirror cabinet which was more or less just a compromise anyway).

What surprises me most is that the architect was so far off (50%).

I'm especially surprised that the architect was so off (50%).

Post the cost planning for the trades here, you'll surely get a lot of feedback and can better and earlier assess whether the entire plan is viable or not.

When is the execution planned? I have someone who works in the Rhein-Main area and whom you could ask. However, he would first have to carry out the work for us in May. According to the architect, he was always at the top in the last tenders and does good work.

good point, I will post the entire cost planning this evening.

for September (2019). It would be nice if you could possibly name a company to me via private message. We won't get in each other's way timewise.