Building contractor or tender yourself

I find it very brave every time when someone who is not a professional dares to take on such a task.

I myself am of the opinion that I wouldn’t manage it (I leave for work around 06:45 and don’t get back until after 19:30 – when should I negotiate then?). In addition, I would be afraid that

1. I calculate the timing of the individual trades incorrectly (in the sequence) or too short or too long,
2. I forget some service,
3. the offers I receive are incomplete or not professionally correct (DIN specifications to be observed),
4. I get taken advantage of price-wise due to my inexperience.

I am not a professional and already often feel overwhelmed in the current planning phase when the question arises: What would be better?
I am often also told that I have not so bad (acquired) knowledge (also thanks to the forum :cool – just yesterday again at the police security consultation).

I think that besides the possible savings potential, two important points should be decisive here (and a prerequisite):
a) One has the necessary time for the negotiations and to work one’s way far enough into the respective topics.
b) One has the necessary expertise (or someone with corresponding knowledge in reserve) so as not to be left out in the cold.

I unfortunately lack both points.

Hello,

We also build with complete individual trade contracts and I can confirm the savings in our case.

This is because you - from my point of view - also awarded the most cost-intensive trade yourself. BUT - you accompanied it professionally, have done so, or are still doing so. An amateur "out there alone" is bound to fail; no more and no less is what I always write. A certain level of understanding of the new construction and its requirements, as well as plenty of time – besides the job – is also important.

The effort and stress, however, should not be underestimated! We have almost finished the shell now and it was a very stressful time, despite professional support.

That is the next topic. And I am – honestly – curious what you will write... if you even make it public, when in the end a total sum is on paper; both in time spent and monetary terms.

From my observation, overall it is currently not getting cheaper to do everything with individual contracts. But what also applies is that the quality is usually higher than an offer from a general contractor/main contractor. And it carries for years the feeling of having participated yourself and responsibly in the new construction.

Rhenish regards

Hello,


The reason is that you - from my point of view - also awarded the most cost-intensive trade yourself. BUT - you managed it professionally, or are still doing so. An amateur and "all alone" is bound to fail; no more and no less I always write. A certain amount of understanding for the topic of new construction and its requirements as well as a lot of time - alongside the job - is also important.


That is the next topic. And I am - honestly - curious about what you will write... if you even make it public, when in the end a total sum is on paper; both in terms of time spent and monetary.

From my observation, it is currently not getting cheaper overall to do everything by individual contracts. But what also applies equally is that the equipment is usually of higher quality than an offer from a general contractor/general builder. And it carries for years the feeling of having participated in the new construction yourself and responsibly

Rhenish greetings

That's true, without professional help (and a wife who checks the construction site at least once a day besides everything else) we couldn't afford it either.
By the way, the total sum is already almost fixed, since we had awarded 80% of the trades including all special requests at the beginning of the construction. Maybe a few more euros will be added (but not tens of thousands), but we ALREADY KNOW that it is significantly cheaper for us. All general contractors had all requests and tenders (including cost-intensive items such as geothermal energy, IT cabling, spotlights, only floor-to-ceiling windows, controlled residential ventilation + heat recovery, etc.) but could not keep up price-wise (or we would have had to scale back our wishes).
I better say nothing about the stress factor so that other families are not discouraged

BUT: This approach is not for laymen or families who have little time. I cannot emphasize that enough.