Finding Ytong

Finding a builder/supplier.

This was not a simple matter. We did some small changes to our existing apartment and a lot of the interior finishing work. We had started looking for a building company before our summer vacation last year. Between then and now our Levion was born. Yes, we did take a break for several months from our search. Considering the status of Kevin's current employer in 2009 we thought we should investigate the possibilities of doing more of the work ourselves.

We invested a great deal of time and effort in finding Ytong so with this page we are hoping to help those of you that will be investigating building options here in the Stuttgart area of Germany. As interest to our Canadian friends and families there will be some comparisons also mentioned. Our dealings with the following listed companies are only subjective from our point of view. The ratings given are Kevin's point of view and may be totally different from what you will experience with these companies. Naturally, my opinions are based largely on the sales person from these companies so whether or not we can evaluate the companies from these findings is another question. My rating system has 5 levels; Excellent, Good, Neutral, Bad,and "LNTAI" (Lets Not Talk About It).

Before we get into the ratings here is a list of some of the interesting things I have found out in our search:

1. The cost of building here is roughly 50% more than in Canada, when we are talking strictly about the costs related to the house itself.
2. As we started our search we wanted to receive quotes for a house with the main floor finished and the other floors left for us to finish. For several companies giving a quote with this option was not possible. Strange at a time when we hear the building sector is also suffering somewhat.
3. Houses are made here as Pre-fab, frame, and block predominately. The opinions as to which building type is best are as different as the building types themselves.

Company	Rating	Contact	Telephone	Remarks
Fertighaus Weiss	Excellent	Romeo Allmendinger	0791 492084	Made a super effort, very knowledgeable
SNG	Excellent	S. Specht	n/a	Good price, good info., easy to talk with
Ytong Bausatzhaus	Excellent	Jürgen Burkhardt	0800 888 666 79	super value, very knowledgeable, helpful
AS Immobilien	Good	Andreas Schreiber	n/a	Unterensingen was just to costly
Classic Massivhaus GmbH	Neutral	Daniel Haller	n/a	He tried to find a lot
Haas Haus	Neutral	Do not remember	n/a	First quote very high
Kahl & Reich	Neutral	Hans Ulrich Kahl	n/a	Diverse information
Kampa	Neutral	Sandra Kleinmann	n/a	Financing is also their thing. How are they doing now?
Kastell Gmbh	Neutral	Jürgen Kuhn	n/a	We did not wait for quote, small turnover
Schwörer	Neutral	Do not remember	n/a	Not so flexible, custom costs more
Weber	Neutral	Do not remember	n/a	Seven level active house
Ihr Traumhaus	Bad	Roland Laube	n/a	Definitely not the company for us!
Town And Country	Bad	General	n/a	Sales person had little experience, perhaps nervous
Weno Masivhaus	Bad	Sylvia Savda	n/a	Several meetings, no cost breakdown
ibachBAU	LNTAI	Andreas Roud	n/a	Definitely not the company for us!
Huth Haus	LNTAI	Michael Trost	n/a	Definitely not the company for us!

We would like to thank all of those that have spent so many hours with us. We all make decisions continuously in our lives almost every minute. Our decision about who to build with came down to value and which company was best set up to allow us to save money with our own efforts. As well, in order to do this we need to work closely with our builder/supplier. We are confident we have made our decision well.

With these pages we will be able to give you a good view of the offering from Ytong Do-it-Yourself House.

Namaste,

The Toughs

Decision Made

March 6, 2009

Jürgen Burkhardt

We rated three companies as excellent. That rating is only possible if I was able to easily talk with our contact. Talking to Jürgen was easy from the first minute. Within a short time we have switched to the personal level of speaking in German. Yes, there is a two level system of communication in the German language that is sometimes hard for me to get used to. The system allows for a greater level of respect to be given but I find this sometimes cold and stiff. Those of you that know me know I am very open and friendly to all. We believe we have found the same qualities in Jürgen.

Don't let this go to your head, Jogi, we have a lot ahead of us.

Heidrun signs Contract

Making the decision was not an easy one. We had lots of quotes with many differences in building materials to consider. At the end it was not easy to make comparisons. Every supplier had his/her positive points about the type of construction and materials. After signing the contract we had a sweet desert treat and a liquor with Jürgen. It was relieving to have our contract signed.

Kevin signs Contract

It will not be a Canadian's dream house but it will be a very good compromise. Yes, here in Germany lots are small and very expensive. We have decided to build larger than the average house here so the Treefeller won't feel jammed in anymore.

As some of you may notice the Treefeller has not yet acclimatized to the German climate. Hold on we are in the apartment! Still running around with not enough clothes on! Some things will never change. Yes, we are comfortable with our decision and Jogi.