Why building a house almost always costs more than calculated

So I understand Steven very well. We are building in a neighborhood where there are quite expensive houses and the whole neighborhood probably arouses desires. Not to mention the many expensive cars. We spend about 17,000 EUR on security (windows, doors, alarm) and that feels quite good. Even between the garage and the residential building there is an "appropriate" door.

I would like to refer once again to my point 7 from the list in the initial thread: please don’t feel guilty if you haven’t secured your family with an armored door and roof/wall reinforcements. You overhear a conversation on the subway, in the next office, or read in a forum where someone (unconsciously) suggests to the silent listener that one is acting irresponsibly if one doesn’t upgrade. There is no compulsion to act – proportionality is not given at all in a single-family home of an average citizen to protect oneself from others to that extent. Anyone who wants to inform themselves here in the forum about burglary protection, please enter "Einbruchschutz" at the top right in the search – it is always worth reading these discussions

I think the core of this statement is: "Everyone should carry out their security measures according to their personal need for security. One can certainly seek advice, but one should not feel guilty if others (with different security needs) see it differently." If a burglary occurs, the victims are likely to reconsider their security concept and upgrade accordingly.

Btw. – even the best security concept is useless if you don’t adhere to it yourself. I’m currently seeing this with us as well. At the moment, we ventilate longer in the mornings and evenings because, especially in the main bathroom on the ground floor (from my point of view), the humidity after showering/bathing is too high for too long. During this time, we stay on a different floor of the house. Thus, we are counteracting our own security concept because the windows stand open unattended during this time.

Even between garage and house comes a "corresponding" door

That also makes sense since the garage is probably an "easier target for burglary" than the house itself. So one would try to get into the house through the garage.

Yvonne, you have written a very nice list of the existing/arising problems.
It will surely be a good help for some people before building a house.
I wish I had read it earlier.
We also underestimated the earthworks, and our small buffer for the outdoor area was used up for that.
Similarly, with the terrace and the carport, I thought we would do them step by step.
You could have set the loan higher, and it would already be finished.
Now you have to work everything out first since the house is standing, and you have to earn something again first.

From the "petty cash" after construction, expensive missing items (paving work, carport, etc.) can only be covered if the budget is properly surplus plus earned. With a calculated 500 euros surplus per month before construction, you will not get by with that. Even genuinely saving 1000€/month AFTER construction requires several months of saving until the carport/driveway. However, further costs such as the hedge and the garden in general will then still arise. The lawn mower and other tools may also still need to be purchased...

Whether we manage to build within the planned budget will be seen in the summer. Everything is still okay, even partly cheaper than planned, not by much, but 10 times 250 also makes 2500,-
Professionally, I have already responsibly supervised several construction projects; you learn quite a bit about costs and how they can spiral. My accumulated experience says: Plan precisely and concretely, changes later always hit hard. Be disciplined. If you know you want gray instead of white windows, plan them in right away. Don’t be brand fixated. Ask the contractor about Polish windows and doors, about other possibilities to save with B brands. Then make decisions whether you want that, and stand by them. Never forget the ancillary costs and the outdoor facilities, the kitchen, the floors. Yes, it’s simple, but not zero. Set realistic figures that can actually be met. Important is that a path, a terrace is a must; a driveway can be gravelled, but not unpaved at all. The fence can wait, but an outdoor light cannot, etc. The biggest trap is your own mind, the desire to upgrade yourself, to want it chic. Do you want a granite slab in the kitchen? Then honestly plan it right away. High gloss granite Alno studio and 5 thousand in the plan doesn’t work. Plan in detail. Each trade gets its own budget. That way you notice where you have a surplus, where there is a deficit, whether things are getting out of control. There are additional costs, especially in earthworks and connections, these cannot be escaped. But others you cause yourself by careless nodding. Yvonne mentioned bathrooms in particular. Also in public construction, it is mostly gimmicks that hit hard. Anyone who has been responsible for building a daycare center knows that there is a 300% difference in toilet doors between a luxury partition x and the one from Poland y, which is also okay. But they also know that you get top-quality kitchens at a fair price, only they are then matte white without a granite slab. Last price 9900 with commercial dishwasher and stove for large kitchens. And holding costs does not mean being stingy. It means planning realistically. If I want and can spend 325 instead of 275, fine. But it’s not fine to plan 275 and end up at 325 and then have a problem.

Hello everyone,

I am new here and searched the search function for a long time for a suitable topic, but found nothing. Therefore, I think it is not wrong to post this in this thread.

I have the following question:

I am currently building with Weberhaus and am basically satisfied so far. I am aware that there can always be some issues. Also, the topic of incidental building costs was clear to me from the beginning and was directly communicated by Weberhaus during the consultation.

However, there is one thing that really annoys me:

The contract was signed at the beginning of April 2017. The land has meanwhile been purchased (also April 2017), all the ancillary land costs have been paid, the building permit has been approved. 85% of the architectural services have been paid (which Weberhaus by the way reimburses after completion) – and two weeks ago we were at the equipment consultation at the factory.

Then came a shock!
Due to new legal fire protection regulations, for all builders who complete their houses after 2017, new switches (!) must be installed in the fuse boxes in the house.
Please note, it is only about the switches (!! so those little things there), not about a completely new fuse box.
An additional charge of €3,000 is due for this!!! I heard about this for the first time at the equipment consultation.
Anyone who has already had this appointment knows that when planning a house, you set a budget for the different areas in the house right at the beginning and carefully allocate the money you borrow from the bank.
It happens that you sometimes go a little over budget here and there, but then you have to save somewhere else, which is logical.
When I asked since when this has been known, the equipment consultant told me May 2017.

Now I wonder why we were not informed about this by our salesperson, or at the latest by the project manager!?

My wife and I first let off steam about our frustration at Weberhaus.
We were then told blah blah our Weberhaus customers only have to pay around €2,000 for this...
Great, still a lot of money for basically nothing.
I would expect Weberhaus to come towards me here. Of course, Weberhaus can do nothing if the legal situation changes, but then I want:

- first, as a builder to be INFORMED IMMEDIATELY as soon as the matter is fixed and
- second, more than just: "oh we will give you a few euros off"...

For example, they could have issued us an equipment voucher so that we pay the extra cost at least at Weberhaus or buy more there than planned, but as it is, it is a bit too lax for me.

Are there other builders here who are also currently in the construction phase and have experience with these switches in the fuse box!?
If yes, were you informed early enough?

Regards,
Tobi