Overview of the offer and construction work description

One should definitely know the floor structure, as it is also decisive for the actual window sill height from the finished floor level. Additionally, you then also know the real room height. The shell dimensions are much less important to you than the actual dimensions that result after completion.

yes, I understand, but doesn’t that only come up in the detailed planning? So far we haven’t signed anything yet. But that the correct heights are adhered to should be obvious in the further planning.

I also notice the staircase. The description lacks the type of wood. Quite often a point for customization because the standard wood type is not liked. Looking at the floor plan this way, I find the staircase very short. Short means the staircase will be very steep. Has anyone walked a staircase with these dimensions?

It is beech. I will bring up the staircase, good point, thanks!

One should definitely know the floor structure, as it is also decisive for the actual window sill height from the finished floor level. Additionally, you then also know the real room height. The shell dimensions are much less important to you than the actual dimensions that result after completion.

I also notice the staircase. The description lacks the type of wood. Quite often a point for customization because the standard wood type is not liked. Looking at the floor plan this way, I find the staircase very short. Short means the staircase will be very steep. Has anyone walked a staircase with these dimensions?

The door from the garage to the utility room takes up quite a bit of space for the technical equipment. You can’t push the technology together down to the millimeter, since you also need a working space on the side.

33 sockets are rather a drop in the bucket. A proper number will be added. Don’t forget the internet topic. You need the network cables once to the rooms and additionally network cables for the WLAN access points. Don’t forget the space in the technical room for the network cabinet. Should there still be SAT or do you use IPTV?

What would be your suggestion? This is actually exactly the advantage of the room, that it also functions as a dirt lock. Without a door, the room wouldn’t be optimally used somehow.

33 sockets are rather a drop in the bucket. A proper number will be added. Don’t forget the internet topic. You need the network cables once to the rooms and additionally network cables for the WLAN access points. Don’t forget the space in the technical room for the network cabinet. Should there still be SAT or do you use IPTV?

Yes, the electrical installation is not sufficient, but we know that we still have to customize it extensively. IPTV is planned. I will no longer need SAT. Network cabling will be done on my own.

I took out several trades and after getting 3 quotes per trade, I each time awarded the contract to the local craftsman who would have done it anyway for the general contractor... They were simply always the best offers.
I didn’t have to coordinate anything – they did that among themselves – they knew each other.
Ask your general contractor if you may arrange the ventilation directly with his heating specialists, they are sometimes quite relaxed about that...

hmm.. I can bring it up, but I would be surprised if it gets cheaper. What would the general contractor gain from it? He doesn’t have to provide any warranty on the trades, but otherwise?

yes, I understand, but doesn't that come in the detailed planning?

You sign now and then later you hear that the room height is only 220 cm? Normal height only with an extra charge.
Or that for a "normal" room height you then need VIP panels for insulation, which cost 300€/sqm instead of 5.95€/sqm for EPS?

Yes, in the detailed planning/execution planning the details are determined. But a room height or parapet height is not a detail, but basic like the size of the house. You want to know that beforehand too and not only in detail whether it will be 140sqm or 95sqm...

Ready for wallpapering means Q2, and if you then want to wallpaper, that should also be sufficient.
But basically, you have to mention that things like finishing strips or sanitary objects will correspond to the price level and an upgrade will also take place here if you don't want to live with plastic rails in the bathroom or the cheapest switch series.

We will still discuss this with the general contractor. But of course, if you want to build cheaply, you have to save somewhere. I had thought about buying all the switches and socket strips myself. So basically only the rough installation but then doing/changing the plastic covers etc. myself.

3000€ are already gone for the walk-in shower if you want a shower rail (instead of the one shown) in stainless steel and tiled floor. Then you need a custom-made shower enclosure.

This should actually already be included; I will have this put into writing. Even if it is shown differently. It was agreed to be tiled with a stainless steel drainage channel.

Yeah, the warranty. No one will mess around with the shell by third parties, that’s pointless. Ours cost 12,500€ 11 years ago. It’s just the way it is if you want to build with a cheap general contractor.

12k 11 years ago. Now it should be cheaper to get. For us, it’s 18k. For 12k I wouldn’t say anything and just let them do it. But 18k I find a bit too high.

I would save that: with a house width under 8 meters and a 20-degree roof you won’t even have 170cm height at the peak.

You would insulate the roof then? Because currently, there is no insulation in there, only the top floor ceiling. That will probably make a difference in price as well.

Since apparently no painting work is included anymore, everything that needs to be impregnated or painted on wood, e.g. also the roof eaves, possibly stair parts.

Impregnation is included; painting is possible for an extra 2400 €.

Kitchen: better plan an entire vacation for your walk-in closet.

Then maybe a normal door or sliding door after all. Hmm…

Lots of improvement potential in my opinion:
The wardrobe is a joke for 4 people, kitchen too, there is hardly any workspace. The corner between sink and tall cabinet is storage, and otherwise the remaining space next to the stove. Two tall cabinets for fridge and oven, no more.
What the kitchen lacks in workspace, the living area has too much.
1.76 cubic meters for the dressing room, you basically have just a cabinet depth as a passage and more disadvantages than with an open conservative cabinet concept. The bathroom is also not really cozy. Utility room with 2 sqm is very cramped.. I can’t see window sizes. There’s really not much storage space. Hmm.

We really only want to build as big as absolutely necessary. Actually, I would like to go even smaller. There would also be room for a wardrobe under the stairs, and also a small wardrobe in the utility room. The kitchen has little workspace, but all appliances are supposed to always be hidden in the pantry. So only the coffee machine remains free in the kitchen; all other kitchen appliances are only taken out when needed. And that should be sufficient for cutting. But I’ll think about it again. Maybe we will leave out the door in the kitchen and then gain a little more space there.
Where exactly can I save something in the living area? Otherwise, the house will just get too narrow again.
Currently, I have a dressing room at home with exactly 1.75m. Shelves with 40 cm depth are installed on both sides. That means 80-85 cm taken and a passage of 85-90 cm. For a closet where you don’t stay long, that should actually be enough, right? Am I overestimating it?
The bathroom will be revised again. We don’t like it, especially the toilet. Maybe we will also leave out the utility room upstairs and just put the washing machine and dryer in the bathroom. Building a separate wall might simply be too much. This way the current utility room could be converted into the walk-in shower, the washbasin moved forward a bit, and the toilet placed next to the basin with a thin partition. At the back, where the shower and toilet currently are, there would be good space for the washing machine, dryer, and other cabinet for towels etc.
Yes, the house naturally doesn’t have much storage space because of its size. But it couldn’t be done differently. For that, I planned a niche in the garage. Depending on the situation, additional storage will be created with a wooden house in the garden.

You sign now and then later you hear that the room height is only 220cm? Normal height please with an additional charge.
Or that for a "normal" room height you need VIP panels for insulation, which cost 300€/sqm instead of 5.95€/sqm for EPS?

Yes, the details are determined in the detailed planning/execution planning. But a room height or parapet height is not a detail, it is basic like the size of the house. You want to know that beforehand too and not only in detail whether it will then be 140sqm or 95sqm...

I am happy to take the issue with me and have it clarified.

To bridge small stress cracks at the panel joints, all ceilings should be wallpapered."

You don’t really want to wallpaper all the ceilings, do you?

With our general contractor, we were able to buy many items ourselves (bathrooms, partial electrical work...), upgrades only cost us the price difference of the items in online retail. That was of course a significant advantage for us, especially when I sometimes read about expensive upgrades.
We didn’t really have a typical upgrade; the general contractor only has a small local office, and for example, we went to the stair builder ourselves to look at the included standard.
From this experience, I can only tell you to look very closely and check with your own eyes exactly what the offered written service includes. Why not visit a neighbor who also built with them and have a cup of coffee with them? They might be able to help you.
I don’t mean to imply that someone is trying to pull a fast one on you, but as is well known, significant misunderstandings often arise during construction about what is considered taken for granted. I fear that substantial (and understandable) additional costs will come up for you, which might shock you but are considered standard by the general contractor.
We opened our wallets several times for things we never expected and that are not listed anywhere in a description. Therefore, contact with the neighbor would probably be very enlightening.
At the moment, you only know that you will get a car for a certain price. Which one? You might be assuming a mid-range car, but your general contractor understands (rightly so) only the bare minimum with four simple wheels that can be called a car on German roads at all.
The problem is that there are no definitive lists, because sometimes things come up that nobody would have thought of, even with corresponding prior experience as a client. I would take enough time for this, just as you should for the final floor plan, which will also affect the (follow-up) costs.
I read it as if you are already very far along mentally and want to sign the next moment. I do not see this from your information level by far, and above all, I see no helpful reason for hurry.

If a small general contractor like ours handles various things rather loosely, this can be very interesting but equally risky. Basically, I like that, but of course, it also leaves me out in the rain at times, and I get annoyed about it. Look at the things at the neighbor’s!

We really only want to build as large as absolutely necessary. Actually, I would like to go even smaller.

That basically makes sense. But small living spaces require significantly smarter detailed planning. A kitchen passage is quickly drawn in the floor plan, as is a sliding door. The beautiful execution of these versus the costs involved is not done so quickly. A shower can (and must) be planned cheaply so that it does not generate follow-up costs like a shower cabin or similar; I have not seen such detailed planning so far. The supposed savings through fewer square meters quickly evaporate or are exceeded by (un)necessary follow-up costs.
I read about a garage and an additional wooden house in the garden as possible storage space due to lack of space in the house.
I would recommend that you start a basic floor plan discussion here, which you have not really looked for so far. So far, there is too much “somewhere/somehow” in it; a house also needs storage space, which can largely be clarified in advance, and afterwards, some discipline is required. You are still BEFORE the construction and can still consider everything. Afterward, it’s no longer possible or only half-hearted and/or expensive.