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Building work and maintenance in Stichtse Vecht and De Ronde Venen

Building in Maarssen and along the Vecht

A fixed price, one team, and you know every week where you stand.

An extension, a loft conversion or taking out a load-bearing wall is the most expensive decision most people make in their house. So this site does not tell you who we are; it tells you how it runs. Nine steps, four payment instalments, and on paper in advance what happens when something goes against us.

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An extension on a house along the Vecht. Generated image: it shows what this kind of work looks like, not that this particular job was carried out.

What is fixed before you sign

Three commitments. None of them is about how good we are; all three can be checked at the moment it matters.

  • A quotation within five working days

    After the survey at your house you have a quotation with a fixed price within five working days. If we are not going to make that, you hear so on day four, with a new date.

  • A fixed price for the agreed work

    What the quotation says, stands. If the work changes, that is meerwerk, and it goes in writing with a price attached before it is carried out. Never afterwards, never verbally.

  • One point of contact from start to handover

    From the first day on site you have one site manager you can call directly on working days. The same person walks the handover through with you.

Three jobs, with the money in plain sight

This is what a job of this size looks like: what the work involves, which budget bracket it falls into, how long it takes and what goes against you along the way. These are descriptions of the type of work in this area, not completed projects with an address attached. As soon as there is finished work with our own photographs, that will stand here instead.

Image of this type of work to follow

Full width rear extension

Terraced house in Maarssenbroek

Budget bracket
€ 50,000 to € 70,000
Time on site
10 weeks on site, 4 weeks of preparation

An extension four metres deep across the full width of the rear wall, with sliding doors, underfloor heating and an opening through to the existing kitchen. Founded on strip footings, because the sand layer here lies close to the surface.

What went against usThe wall between kitchen and living room turned out to be load-bearing while the neighbouring house in the same street had a non load-bearing one, so a structural calculation and a steel beam had to be added after all.

Image of this type of work to follow

Extension and bathroom along the Vecht

House in the ribbon development near Breukelen

Budget bracket
€ 80,000 to € 110,000
Time on site
16 weeks on site, 14 weeks of preparation and permit

A rear extension inside a protected village area (beschermd dorpsgezicht), leaving the view from the street untouched, plus a complete bathroom on the first floor and repointing of the side elevation in lime mortar.

What went against usNo crane could stand on the plot, so every load went to the back over a walkway and the brickwork took two weeks longer than it would on a plot with normal access.

Image of this type of work to follow

Loft conversion on peat

House in Mijdrecht

Budget bracket
€ 60,000 to € 85,000
Time on site
8 weeks on site, 12 weeks of preparation and permit

A full extra storey with two bedrooms and a bathroom, including a fixed staircase in place of a loft ladder, and a check of the existing pile foundation against the added load.

What went against usThe fixed staircase took a good two square metres off the first floor, so the layout of the existing bedrooms had to be reworked and the design needed an extra round.

Read all three jobs in full

From the first phone call to handover

Nine steps. Each one states who is there, how long it takes and what you pay at that moment. On the steps where money actually changes hands, the amount is set in the heading face under "What you pay" and the step number is filled in. Handover is called oplevering in Dutch, and it is the step your contract will refer to.

  1. Step 1: Phone call

    You call, or leave a callback request. We ask about the type of work, the year the house was built, the place and roughly what you have in mind. By the end of that call you know whether this is work we take on and whether your budget and your plan meet. If they do not, we say so there and then.

    Who is there
    You and the work planner
    How long
    15 minutes, within one working day
    What you pay
    Nothing

  2. Step 2: Survey at your house

    We come round, measure up, look in the crawl space (kruipruimte) and the loft, and assess the foundation, the structure and the connections to the existing house. For a loft conversion or a structural opening we establish whether a structural engineer (constructeur) is needed. You hear on the spot which price range is realistic.

    Who is there
    You and the site manager
    How long
    45 to 90 minutes, within two weeks
    What you pay
    Nothing

  3. Step 3: Quotation with a fixed price

    You receive a quotation (offerte) with a fixed price for the work as described, a list of what is explicitly not included, and provisional sums (stelposten) for items you choose yourself. No figure in it is an estimate: what the quotation says stands, as long as the work does not change.

    Who is there
    We supply it, you read it
    How long
    Within five working days of the survey
    What you pay
    Nothing

  4. Step 4: Design, calculation and permit

    Only where the work requires it. Drawings, a structural calculation, and the permit application (omgevingsvergunning, the Dutch building permit) with the municipality of Stichtse Vecht or De Ronde Venen. If the permit is refused, the project stops and you pay for this phase only, at an amount stated on the quotation in advance.

    Who is there
    Draughtsman, structural engineer and the municipality
    How long
    4 to 12 weeks, depending on the procedure
    What you pay
    The cost of this phase, named separately on the quotation

  5. Step 5: Planning and start date

    The start date is fixed in writing, with a week by week plan and the days on which it will be loud or dusty. Materials with long lead times are ordered in this phase, so the job does not come to a halt halfway through waiting for a window frame.

    Who is there
    You and the work planner
    How long
    1 to 2 weeks
    What you pay
    Nothing

  6. Step 6: Work starts on site

    Day one: fencing, floor protection, a place to unload, and demolition. From this day there is one site manager who is your point of contact and whom you can call directly on working days.

    Who is there
    The site manager and the crew
    How long
    Day 1
    What you pay
    First instalment: 30 per cent

  7. Step 7: Shell complete

    Foundation, structure, brickwork, roof and window frames are in place and the work is wind and watertight. This is the moment you can stand in the new space for the first time, and the last moment changes are possible without demolition.

    Who is there
    The site manager walks it through with you
    How long
    Depends on the job, usually after 3 to 6 weeks
    What you pay
    Second instalment: 30 per cent

  8. Step 8: Services and fit-out

    Electrics, water, heating and ventilation are installed and tested. Then plastering, floors, tiling and painting. This phase is quiet but long; it is the phase in which people get impatient and in which the weekly plan matters most.

    Who is there
    Installer, plasterer and fit-out crew
    How long
    2 to 5 weeks
    What you pay
    Third instalment: 30 per cent

  9. Step 9: Handover and snagging list

    We walk the work through together and write down everything you see, however small. In Dutch this step is the oplevering and the list is the opleverlijst. That list is cleared within fifteen working days. Only once every point on it is signed off does the last instalment fall due.

    Who is there
    You and the site manager
    How long
    1 to 2 hours, points cleared within 15 working days
    What you pay
    Final instalment: 10 per cent, after the snagging list is cleared

The payment schedule

Nothing is paid in advance before work starts.

Each block in the bar is as wide as its share of the contract sum (aanneemsom). The pale block on the right is the final 10 per cent: it only falls due after handover (oplevering), once every point on the snagging list has been dealt with.

Payment schedule in four instalments, with the share of the contract sum and the moment of payment
InstalmentShareWhen
First instalment30%The day work starts on site
Second instalment30%Shell complete, the work is wind and watertight
Third instalment30%Services tested and fit-out complete
Final instalment10%After handover, once every snagging point is cleared
Together100%

The cost of drawings, the structural calculation and the permit sits outside these four instalments and is named separately on the quotation, so you can see what you would be out of pocket if a permit is unexpectedly refused. The total being paid in instalments is the contract sum, called the aanneemsom in your contract.

The method and the payment schedule on their own page

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The conversation nobody has up front

Variation work, called meerwerk: how it arises and how it is recorded

Meerwerk is the Dutch word for work added to a contract after it is signed, and it is the reason building projects have a bad name here. Not because it exists, but because it usually only becomes visible on the final invoice. Below is where it comes from, how it runs with us, and what is explicitly never counted as meerwerk.

You change something
A different layout, an extra socket, a more expensive tile. This is the only category of meerwerk you control, and the only one that can be avoided up front by closing off the choices at the design stage.
Something comes to light
An old chimney flue inside the wall that has to go, rot in the joists under a bathroom floor, or a foundation that turns out to be something other than the drawing says. In this area, this is the category most meerwerk comes out of.
The municipality or the engineer sets a requirement
A heavier steel beam, extra fire-resisting finishing, an adjustment to get the permit through. We include whatever is known in advance in the quotation, but a requirement that only appears at assessment cannot be priced beforehand.

How it runs

  1. Work on that element stops the moment something comes to light.
  2. You receive a price within two working days, with the effect on the planning stated.
  3. It is only carried out after your written approval.
  4. The amount is added to the next instalment, not to a separate invoice afterwards.

What is never meerwerk

  • An arithmetic error in our own quotation.
  • Extra hours because our planning was wrong or a crew turned up late.
  • Removal of building waste and leaving the work area clean.
  • Protecting existing floors, stairs and window frames.
  • Repairing damage we caused during the work.
  • A second visit from the structural engineer if the first calculation was wrong.

Every amount you pay, you have seen on paper beforehand. After handover no invoice arrives that you did not already know about.

Roughly what it costs

Price ranges for this area, so you can see whether your plan and your budget meet before anyone comes round. Each line states what explains the difference between the bottom and the top of the range.

Indicative prices per type of work, with unit, range and the reason for the spread
WorkRangeWhat explains the spread
Extension, single storeyper m² of floor area, shell through to finished€ 2.000 to € 3.200Foundation on strip footings or on piles, how much glass goes into the rear wall, and the level of floor, ceiling and services.
Loft conversion, full storeyper project, terraced house€ 45.000 to € 85.000Whether the party walls run down to the foundation, whether a fixed staircase has to be added, and the thickness of the insulation against the headroom you want.
Dormer to the reareach, around 3 metres wide€ 8.000 to € 15.000Width and window layout, whether roof purlins have to be interrupted, and whether the roof boarding and insulation are renewed at the same time.
Opening in a load-bearing wallper opening, 3 to 4 metres€ 4.000 to € 9.000The span and therefore the weight of the steel beam, how easily it can be brought in, and how much plastering and painting follows.
Complete bathroomper bathroom of 5 to 8 m², excluding tiles and sanitary ware€ 12.000 to € 25.000Moving waste pipes, the condition of the existing floor, and whether the ventilation has to be replaced.
Kitchen, building work onlyper kitchen, excluding the kitchen units themselves€ 4.000 to € 10.000Whether a wall has to go, how far water and waste are moved, and whether an extraction duct to the outside is installed.
Repointing brickworkper elevation of a terraced house€ 3.500 to € 7.000Height and therefore scaffolding, raking out by grinder or by hand, and whether a lime mortar is required inside a protected village area.
Rot repair in a window frameper affected spot€ 250 to € 900How far the rot has gone and whether the profile can still be repaired or the section has to be replaced.

All amounts include Dutch VAT (btw) and apply to houses in this area. They exist so you can judge whether your plan and your budget meet; they do not replace a quotation. After the survey at your house you receive a fixed price for the work as described.

Which work it turns out to be

Extensions

Extra room at the back or the side of the house, at a fixed price before the first brick is laid.

Read on

Loft conversions and dormers

A storey added or a dormer let in, without the structure below becoming a problem.

Read on

Openings in load-bearing walls

A wall out, a steel beam in, and a calculation that stands behind it.

Read on

Bathrooms and kitchens

A complete wet room, with one party responsible for the pipework and the floor as well.

Read on

Maintenance of the house

Pointing, window frames, rot, gutters and painting, surveyed and planned instead of postponed.

Read on

What goes wrong, and how it is then arranged

On a job that runs for months, something goes wrong. The question is not whether, but what happens then. Below are the answers to the five questions that are really about that.

Who do you call during the build?
The site manager for your project, directly on his mobile, on working days between 07:00 and 18:00. Not a general number, and not an email address where the answer takes two days.
What if something is damaged during the work?
Damage we cause, we repair, and that is not meerwerk. At the start we record the existing condition of floors, window frames and adjoining rooms in photographs, so that afterwards there is no argument about what was already there.
What if the work overruns?
You hear as soon as we know, with a new date, and not at the end of the original planning. The weekly plan goes out to you every Friday, including in the weeks when nothing unusual happens.
How long after handover can you still come back?
For twelve months after handover (oplevering) you can call about the work carried out and we come and look. That is a commitment on top of your statutory rights under Dutch law, and it is written into the order confirmation.
What happens to the snagging points?
Everything you point out at handover goes on a single list and that list is cleared within fifteen working days. You pay the last ten per cent of the contract sum only once every point is signed off.

Where we work

Eight places in two municipalities. That is deliberately a small area: on a job that runs for months, travel time costs you every day, and the ground varies enough within this area to say something useful about each place. Along the Vecht there is sand and clay near the surface; in De Ronde Venen there is peat, and that difference decides the foundation of every extension.

Common questions

Do you work to a fixed price, or on a cost-plus basis?

To a fixed price for the work as described. The quotation (offerte) states what is included and, just as importantly, what is explicitly not. Only items you choose yourself, such as tiles or sanitary ware, are listed as a provisional sum (stelpost) and settled afterwards at cost, with no mark-up.

Do I have to speak Dutch to work with you?

No. The conversations, the weekly planning and the site contact can all be in English. The quotation, the contract and the payment schedule are drawn up in Dutch, because that is the language in which they are legally binding here, and we go through them with you line by line before you sign anything.

How quickly can work start?

Maintenance usually within a few weeks. For an extension, a loft conversion or a structural opening the preparation sets the pace: drawings, a structural calculation by an engineer (constructeur) and the permit take four to twelve weeks together, and only then is a start date fixed. If you want to build in September, you start calling in spring.

Why are there no names or photographs of staff on this site?

Because a face makes a promise about who will turn up that cannot always be kept. Instead this site sets out the whole process: which steps there are, who is present at each one, how long each takes and when you pay which share. Those are commitments that can be kept.

Which places do you work in?

Maarssen, Maarssenbroek, Breukelen, Loenen aan de Vecht, Mijdrecht, Vinkeveen, Wilnis and Abcoude. That is deliberately a limited area: on a job that runs for months, travel time costs you every day, and knowing the local ground and the municipal rules saves weeks in the preparation.

Can you review a drawing or a quotation I already have?

Yes. Send the drawing or the quotation by WhatsApp or email and we will go through it in the first call. It costs you nothing and it usually surfaces straight away the two or three items where most of the uncertainty sits.

The first conversation takes fifteen minutes

Calling is quickest. If now is not convenient, leave a callback request with a time slot. In that call you will hear whether this is work we take on and whether your plan and your budget meet. If they do not, we say so straight away rather than coming round first.

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Ask us to call you back

Six questions. With these answers we can tell you in the first call whether your plan fits your budget, instead of finding that out after a visit.

The year the house was built, roughly what you have in mind, whether a drawing already exists.

Your details are used only to contact you about this request. How long we keep them is set out in the privacy statement, linked at the bottom of every page.

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