[michieldotv]

> What is it that would make it so expensive?

I know €200K sounds like a lot, but if you strip out unavoidable costs such as VAT, architect's fees, misc hidden fees, what you are left with is a whole lot less.

Let's say they account for 20% of your project cost, that leaves you with 160.000 EUR to buy materials and pay craftsmen.

> Good thing around here really old houses have 200mm insulation and newer ones have 300+ required by the code. Regulation also bans fossil heating or direct electric for any new construction or major rebuild.

Where is that?

Laissez faire was the norm until the 90s here. Urban planning, zoning, and building codes might have theoretically existed before, but enforcement was nonexistent. Energy efficiency regulations are newer still.

As a result, insulation in most homes from before 1990 is severely lacking (if not entirely absent).

> At the same time I’ll tear out the floors and radiators (replacing the floor anyway) and replace with heated floors. This costs at least another €20k but isn’t really necessary - that’s just a luxury when changing the floors anyway.

So, to give you an example: I'll also install heated floors since they are the most suitable heat delivery system for heat pumps and so the most future proof, but first I'll have to excavate 55 cm so I can fill it back up with insulation mostly so as not to lose all of the heat to the bare soil.