What should be considered in a construction service description?

Hello,


How about starting with a proper initial consultation? As far as I know, you can get very good first information at the consumer centers and also energy agencies after making an appointment. Then, in my opinion, you would already be a step further. Reading here on the HBF will surely also help you move forward!

Furthermore, the overall impression always counts. If you have a bad gut feeling with a provider - stay away from them; no matter how tempting the price is. If another advisor takes the time to answer your questions extensively, points out items that would exceed your budget, sometimes advises against something, explains the incidental construction costs (approx. EUR 35,000) etc... you should go deeper.

No provider - not even the bargain hunters - can offer you "bad" deals; they are all bound by the valid Energy Saving Ordinance. The difference lies in the details - here only 100 mm insulation where 240 mm might be recommended, there a careless planning => bathroom is located above the living room and therefore the waste pipes have to be routed through the living room etc.

I already wrote this elsewhere today: if the price of the offer per sqm/living space is below €1,500.00, you can assume that the Energy Saving Ordinance is fulfilled at the lowest limit, the equipment must also be in the lowest price category; in the end, you will have to spend significantly more money.

Reacting offended won't get you anywhere; on the contrary, it often leads to you not receiving answers to your questions. So keep reading here on the HBF, arrange a consultation appointment with one or both of the institutions mentioned above, and then you keep going. Although this won’t make you an expert overnight, it will strengthen your self-confidence in the house-building project!

Kind regards

Fancy another practical example?

We wanted a fireplace.
It can’t be that hard, just a chimney has to go into the house.

So that the chimney sweep can get to the chimney, he naturally has to go over the floor through the roof.
Therefore, a retractable attic ladder has to be installed in the ceiling of the 2nd floor, a bottom chord reinforcement so you can walk up there, and a covering on the upper floor ceiling. Since we wanted to use the floor anyway, these extra costs were already planned.

Besides the still needed roof access hatch and the grated platforms on the roof to stand on, we now also need a ladder.
Our chimney is too far from the roof ridge due to the floor plans in the basement and upper floor and therefore has to be about 1.20 m tall.
Since only 1 m is reasonable for the chimney sweep, he now needs a ladder on the chimney.

So far, the house seller has planned everything.

Our construction supervisor now pointed out that we also need an air supply for the chimney.
This can be done either via a chimney with an air supply channel or via a separate KG pipe under the floor slab.
Of course, you can connect this nicely with a channel with a grate on the outside, or just let it stick out ugly next to the floor slab.

Without a construction supervisor, you would never think of all that.

By the way, all this costs about €7000 without the stove.
(To be fair, part of it was already planned.)

...However, I would like to briefly clarify that my answer was neither meant to be offensive nor unfriendly - sorry if it came across that way to you.

Well, however, I didn’t know which of the items I had to add and which not! The entire construction project has a sum of €316,000 for a KfW 70 DH with 110sqm. But only €160,000 are planned for the building works, and with that, I then fall below the figure you specified.

My gut feeling is positive, but the many negative experiences of people building houses do somewhat deter me.