Single-family house KfW55 - Extra costs: rip-off or justified?

One question still bothers me. According to the Building Energy Act, is such a low standard even permissible? My understanding is that all new buildings must meet a certain energy standard.

In my opinion, that is a very good question. We have never dealt with it and simply always assumed that a German home builder would build a house that complies with German regulations. From time to time, we were also told that this or that was due to laws or requirements from utility providers. So far, I assume that a residential building that does not comply with laws/regulations may not be inhabited, will not be approved, and therefore does not have to be paid for. But that is just my layperson's idea. I am curious about the answers from more knowledgeable forum members.

Well, an energy saving ordinance certificate must be provided for the building application. I'm curious how that is supposed to work according to the standard description.

- The building has 3 floors (basement, ground floor, attic)
- Living area 152sqm²
- Volume 980m³
- Costs: roughly ~560k

Is the basement in addition to the 152sqm?! Have you ever considered giving up the 70sqm of usable space and enlarging the house by 10-15sqm?

580k€??? With the construction description?
That sounds very, very expensive to me.

I don’t get to that amount either… however, we don’t know the fittings. (Although I don’t think they play a role here)
Were the other offers more expensive? Or were some of the incidental building costs included in the offers?

Basically, I get the feeling that your contractor builds to a very simple standard? Uninsulated basement, metal windows, roof without insulation, mediocre windows, roof windows only double-glazed

The description of the basement gives me chills :eek:, although you first get the basic (uninsulated) offer, and you can upgrade that. The initially cheaper offer makes sense, because not everyone wants or needs the crown for the little princess.
Also, double glazing in living areas is not “very simple standard” just because some think that triple-glazed windows including KfW-40 standard are the ultimate. Double glazing has always proven itself and has some advantages over triple glazing.

Since the offer refers to a non-KFW house, that’s okay. I also don’t read about an uninsulated roof just because there’s no insulation between the rafters; it will be a cold roof, because uninsulated roofs are not allowed. If you have a basement, you don’t need rafter insulation, in my opinion.
Those who want it lush then take the full insulation package for over 10,000€ ;)
Even though I don’t have a KfW 40 house, I still have relatively low heating consumption… despite the here mentioned “very simple” standard and as a 70s house (now it would however be a heat pump…)

I had a contact who wants to build this year also with “my” construction company – he also has additional upgrades of about 180,000€!!! (The bungalow itself was offered for about 235k or so). However, 80k of that was for a masonry garage and so on. I don’t remember the exact breakdown now, but the individual items were not that far off from “my” positions back then after 9 years.

At the moment I have the problem that those who are building now and are represented here talk a lot of nonsense. The “comfort standard” that the banker defines as upscale (I just came from Dr. Klein) is badmouthed here. Also, in another thread a 4.5-meter-wide carport for one car plus passage is criticized… an energy saving regulation house works. A KfW-55 does as well, a 100 does too.

What’s left for you now?
I would have the construction service descriptions checked by a professional or scrutinize everything.

Personally, I would leave out the comparatively cheap :cool: basement, invest the saved money into more living comfort on 2 levels. I would stay with KFW70, but invest in a good heating system.
As you say: you save on heating money for the next decades, because there’s no difference in consumption between double and triple glazing!
You want to build in a time that does not make it easy for you. But that’s the way of the world. You have to adapt. It won’t get better.

Metal windows in the basement area with single glazing? Who still installs that today?

Someone who wants to be sure to have a convincing argument against the surcharge for Efficiency House 55 ;-)

Is such a low standard even permitted according to the Building Energy Act?

The Energy Saving Ordinance / Building Energy Act doesn’t require a basement at all. You just have to exclude it from the thermal envelope.

Since the offer refers to a non-KfW house, that is ok. I also don’t read anything about an uninsulated roof just because there is no insulation between the rafters, but it will be a cold roof, since uninsulated roofs are not allowed.

We might be missing the context here since the house hasn’t been introduced yet. But I would be surprised if the thermal envelope is between the upper floor and the attic and now the attic is being insulated as an upgrade. That doesn’t really make sense.

Double glazing in living rooms is not “very basic standard” just because some think that triple-glazed windows including KfW-40 are the ultimate. Double glazing has always proven itself and has some advantages over triple glazing.

I would have loved to have double-glazed windows in the new house, but I didn’t dare to ask for them, not even here in the forum. The story of our new house is actually one of those “didn’t dare” stories. ;-)

I also don’t read about an uninsulated roof just because there is no insulation between the rafters; rather, it will be a cold roof, since uninsulated roofs are not allowed.

Our house also has a cold roof, and the future attic conversion is "excluded" as well. That is fine with us. My intention was, after having lived for a long time with sheds, a garage, a huge basement, an attic, a rented garage with a cellar, and a garden house, to get rid of all that including their contents. :)

I don’t remember the exact breakdown now, but the individual items were not so far off from “my” positions back then, even after 9 years.

I’m happy for the new builders, an encouraging piece of information. :)

... an Energy Saving Ordinance house works. A KfW-55 as well, a 100 as well.

But 100s are no longer allowed, right? I thought the Building Energy Act is the minimum?