Turnkey, ready for technology or ready to expand – what does that mean?

The differences between the different expansion levels for prefabricated houses

When building a house, what does turnkey, technically ready or ready to expand mean?

The expansion stage of the prefabricated house (ready to finish, ready for technology or turnkey) determines the three factors that are most important to you: cost, time and effort. Of course, it is also crucial to know in advance what you can expect from your designer for the price you pay, in order to avoid lengthy legal disputes afterwards.

Is there even a binding definition of when a house is turnkey, ready for technology or ready for expansion?

Unfortunately, the answer is no. These are not protected terms, so that each construction company interprets for itself what it means by “ready to use”, “ready for technology” and “ready for expansion” or chooses its own designations for certain packages. You should therefore always inquire about the actual scope of services. Unfortunately, this makes it very difficult for consumers to compare different offers. In addition, some providers use the legal uncertainty in a targeted manner to make final prices look cheaper by additionally charging for certain services that are already included in the supposedly higher price of other providers. In our client advice, we therefore always pay very close attention to these individual services when we obtain and compare offers for our clients.
However, some basic types can be described, among which “ready to use”, “ready for technology” and “ready for expansion” are among the most common expansion stages.

What does “turnkey” house mean?

If you are building a turnkey house, the provider will take care of the entire interior work in addition to the shell construction, so that you can move into the house immediately.

However, there are gradations of “turnkey” houses:

• The “ready-to-paint house”: painting work is still pending.
• The “house ready to be wallpapered”: painting and wallpapering are still pending.
• The “bathroom complete house”: Includes all the building services and already installed bathrooms.
• Floor coverings may have to be laid and interior doors installed.

What does “technology-ready” house mean?

If you opt for a house that is ready for technology, then the building shell is completely erected and the building services (usually including the heating system) are provided. You have to carry out a lot of important work on the interior design yourself. This includes, among other things, the assembly of the sanitary facilities and the laying of tiles. Ambitious do-it-yourselfers can do most of this work themselves. A little manual skill and, above all, time should be available.

What does “ready to build” house mean?

If you decide to build a house, then you will find a house that is only finished in the shell. The rest is your job. The shell is the “outer shell” of a building, which means in case of doubt only the foundation, outer walls and load-bearing walls as well as the roof are finished. This variant is only recommended for professionals, because some work must be carried out professionally. Improperly installed windows can lead to considerable structural damage and botched electronics can even cause fires. In addition, there is no insurance if such work was carried out unprofessionally on your own.

For particularly eager builders, there is also the “kit house”. Here only the parts and materials are delivered to you and you build the entire house yourself.

The conclusion

Which personal contributions are financially worthwhile depends on various factors. On the one hand, of course, individually depending on your manual skills, your time resources and your ability to pay.
On the other hand, the savings potential for individual construction steps depends on the respective trades. Do you want to know how exactly the choice of the respective expansion stage affects the total price of your prefabricated house, your work and time expenditure, the support and safety of your construction project as well as the customization options of your own home? You can find out all this in our article Saving construction costs by choosing the right expansion stage .

Autorin Sarah Völkl

Sarah Völkl hat Architektur studiert und ist seit Jahren das Gesicht von a better place. Mit ihren Videos ist sie bei YouTube vielen Personen schon länger bekannt. Sarah teilt Ihr Wissen jetzt auch bei den Bautipps von Almondia.