The architect is wrong with the estimates. And now?

the disadvantages should be well known. Often it is thought that the architect is obliged to lowball prices. This is not the case.

Building with an architect is not inherently more expensive just because an architect is involved. That is a myth. The entire process is different, the clients have to make and take responsibility for more decisions. This is not for people with a "full coverage consumer protection" mentality. (The OP is explicitly not addressed here) The term you often use for architects is disrespectful and worn out.

If the shell construction, which is actually very predictable in cost, is already 30% more expensive, the worst is probably yet to come.

I suspect it is about the price deviation between the initial cost estimate of the architect (Leistungsphase 1/2) and the concrete offers for the implementation.

To me, it sounded as if the shell construction is standing and ended up being significantly more expensive. But it could also mean something else.

The estimated costs are sometimes significantly exceeded. Unfortunately, mostly with the shell construction. That will be at least 1.3 times as expensive as assumed.

We are a bit disappointed because we already suspect that we will have to save again at the latest with the kitchen and tiles, or then in the garden.

To me, this sounds as if the offers for the shell construction have just come in or are about to be awarded. They are just estimated costs after all. These are based on rough quantity surveys and experience values. But based on the past nonetheless. Unfortunately, we had to learn/experience that too. For example, with us, the shell construction became significantly more expensive; all other trades were within budget; only interior finishing/flooring became more expensive again. However, the architect assumed too simple a standard even though we had communicated something else. (Vinyl instead of parquet, standard tiles etc.).

An old tip for everyone I could therefore say is that communication, very clearly, is one of the most important things. And yes, if you build with an architect, you should still reckon with a buffer during the cost estimation phase. It rarely works differently. When you build with an architect, you often build a house like that has never been built before. Whereas prefabricated or general contractor houses have often been built many times with small deviations. There, it is better known what is needed in detail. With an architect-designed house, it can happen that the structural engineer wants a bit more steel in the ceiling because the open-plan ground floor is actually a bit "over-spanned." The general contractor has optimized their standard floor plans in that regard.

And consider carefully whether you want to make up for that again with the kitchen and tiles; the leverage is usually much lower there and usually more the points where people tend to upgrade... because tiles in 80x80 (compared to the calculated 30x60) are just "cool stuff" :cool:

The shell construction is the only trade that can really be calculated easily. And also secured with offers. Everything else automatically incurs additional costs, very often due to unplanned encouragement...