Prefabricated house or solid construction - what is your opinion?

We informed ourselves during the house construction.... and the value of our furnishings was significantly lower than the cost of truly secure windows

And the cost of the insurance anyway...

Only at the front door, I'm almost sure that no one gets through there. I still had a few special cylinders at home that I installed.... You don't get far with a drill... only with a diamond drill

Only that burglars don't prefer the front door, but the small side window, which is nicely opaque and away from the street

My parents bought a prefabricated house and never regretted it. At that time, prefabricated houses were far superior to solid houses in terms of thermal insulation. However, solid houses have since caught up. There were and still are high-quality prefabricated houses, just as there are cheap and high-quality solid houses. The advantage of prefabricated houses, aside from the construction time, is mainly that they are mature models at a fixed price and there are many house types. You can simply choose the best one from all the house types. Seventeen years ago, I renovated and modernized a solid house, and in the end, the architect exceeded the budget by 130,000 DM. That would not have happened with a prefabricated house.

You can build a solid house at a fixed price just like a prefabricated wooden house, there is absolutely no difference. We also built a turnkey solid house at a fixed price and paid exactly the agreed amount. So that is not an argument for a prefabricated house; I think that prefabricated house enthusiasts just like to live in a wooden house. Best regards Sabine

Oh dear. Then I’ll briefly introduce myself here.
Hello, my husband and I (both in our late 20s) have been planning to build a house for some time now.

For a few days, I have been actively reading in this forum. After two visits to various model house parks, we have now looked at different solid houses and prefabricated wooden houses. From the prefabricated houses, we were able to take some offers directly & have already favored two companies with whom we will soon sit down (including independent financial advisors, who are apparently also provided by the companies?) and discuss everything in detail.

Unfortunately, the gentlemen in the solid houses didn’t have much time. But we also want to obtain detailed "offers" here and inquire at a regional provider as well.

At first, we focused on a prefabricated house because initial research showed that only these come with a fixed price and everything "from a single source." We quickly learned from experience reports that turnkey solid houses "from a single source" are also available. That’s why we are undecided again now.
It’s good that you can read so many experiences here. I was particularly struck by the comments from "Der Da." It looks similar for us. We favor the prefabricated house because it should be ready to move in quickly & the price (after individual planning with the company) should not double – but we have doubts about durability & resale value (in case our children want to sell the house later...).
With the solid house, we often read that a certain price was stated & then it more than doubles (here in the financing threads). How can that be? Is it simply the case that not everything is considered beforehand in such cases? Or is it really due to rising labor/material costs?

Best regards

Hello bswunde,

welcome to the forum!

As you have correctly written, there are providers both in classic prefabricated houses (timber frame construction) and in classic solid houses who offer you everything from a single source and also work with fixed prices.

You should take a very close look at what is actually included in this fixed price. For example, incidental construction costs are not included in the price by any provider known to me, as these can vary greatly.

Even with houses (of both construction types) there are "Dacias" and "Porsches". This is not meant in a judgmental way at all, you just have to be clear about what you are buying to avoid disappointments. There are also very big differences in the "standard equipment" of the house. Therefore, comparing the construction service descriptions is extremely important. For example, we created an Excel spreadsheet and tried to compare the different construction service descriptions with its help.

The problem with the spiraling costs arises either from unconsidered incidental construction costs or when building is done without a fixed price and with individual trade allocations – here the architect estimates the costs – how this can end you can see in the respective posts here in the forum.

By the way, there are also prefabricated houses made of concrete or other "massive" building materials.

I would recommend that you have some conversations and get offers to get a feel for the cost dimensions.

Regards,

Dirk