Checklist · before you fall in loveSix things to check,
before you choose
The most common mistakes when choosing a design aren't bad taste, just skipped checks: plot, budget, floor area, the future. The order is not random – from the things that rule a design out, to the ones that only raise its cost.
01 · CHECK
Order: the plot first
It's the plot that sets the design's limits: its dimensions, shape and the provisions of the zoning plan or the development conditions. An MPZP can impose building lines, building height, the number of stories, even the roof pitch and color. A design chosen before the plot often ends up in the bin – it turns out the dream barn with a flat roof is simply forbidden in this area. The reverse order costs only the time for one check.
An MPZP can impose the pitch, even the roof color
02 · CHECK
A budget with a buffer, not with dreams
Material and labor prices are rising, so raise the first number that came to mind right away – and record expenses in a spreadsheet from day one. You'll spot the real costs of a specific design in build journals and in groups of investors building the same house. And you can gather preliminary quotes before you sign anything: studios publish cost estimates and material lists for ready-made designs, and contractors answer requests for quotes for free.
You'll gather contractor quotes before deciding – for free
03 · CHECK
Count the floor area from the rooms
Too big a house is a double penalty: you pay once for every needless meter when building, then every month on heating and every week on cleaning – and unused rooms end up as dust storage. Too small takes its revenge years later: there's no room for an office, for a guest, for a third child. Instead of starting from the number of meters, list the rooms you really need, and only from that list will the floor area emerge.
For every m² you pay once when building and every month on heating
04 · CHECK
A layout for the next 20 years
A house is an investment for decades, and needs change: remote work, another child, caring for parents. Look for flexible layouts – a room that's an office today and a ground-floor bedroom in ten years; a reserve of connection points; an attic that can be adapted as spare floor area without an extension. In our catalog, for example, MAB031 has a 27 m² attic for exactly this scenario.
An adaptable attic (e.g. 27 m² in MAB031) = a reserve without an extension
05 · CHECK
The building technology is a choice too
Masonry: full freedom to make changes and to build in stages, but it takes the longest and depends on the weather. Timber frame: fast and light, but wood needs maintenance and protection. Concrete prefabrication: the walls are made in the factory regardless of the weather, and assembling the structure on the plot takes days, not months – in return, the decisions are made before production, because finished elements aren't reworked on site. Choose the technology together with the design, not after it.
Prefab elements: structure assembly in days, not months
06 · CHECK
Changes after the permit have a threshold
A brilliant idea after getting the permit? The Building Law (art. 36a) splits changes into insignificant – noted by the designer and the site manager – and significant, which require a new permit decision or a fresh notification. The limits are numerical: footprint above 5%, height, length or width above 2%, any change to the number of stories. So think the layout and the form through to the end before you file the application.
>5% of the footprint or >2% of a dimension = a new permit
