Complete renovation of a 60s house - is KFW85 possible?

Electric work for €10,000 is really hard for me to imagine – we did everything ourselves except for the acceptance and the delivery of the new cabinet and will end up at around €13,000. Keep in mind this is for a small half-house with about 110 sqm of living space and absolute standard. So no KNX or anything like that, some network sockets, yes, but that’s about it. I would at least plan for €17,500 there. A lot of little things also add up.

Garage door with everything included for €2,000 could also become very tight.

Stair renovation for €2,000 I consider almost impossible unless you really do everything yourselves and cover it with laminate or something similar – but then you will certainly spend 2-3 weeks on it if you want it to look really nice and even then €2,000 is surely the absolute minimum. For comparison: We are having 14 steps and a landing including risers and 2 exit steps newly covered and end up at around €4,000 – that doesn’t include the renovation of the stringers, the railing, and the handrail, we are doing those ourselves, otherwise it would soon be unaffordable.

Have you included the interior and exterior windowsills? Then in my opinion, the amount is also set too low.

€300 for a room door, yes, doable, but then presumably without installation and also no real quality …

And so on.

So let’s put it this way: I think your breakdown is great and you really put a lot of thought into it. That’s very good. But the amounts seem to me partly really tight and planned with a lot or almost exclusive own effort.

I did it like this: I planned all amounts once with a quote from craftsmen and then realistically thought about: What own contribution can I make and what do I save as a result? Then you have one column "Budget without own contribution" and one column "Budget with own contribution." That makes the calculation even more transparent and realistic. For me, that all would be way too tight, even with the cushion planned, I would put in at least €20,000. Regarding the own contributions, for me personally that would be too much "wishful thinking." After 10 months of gut renovation, I know that this is actually hardly possible.

And again: Yes, even if you are skilled at handiwork and yes, even if you (for now) have enough helpers - do not underestimate the factor TIME. It will be brutal, just as you are planning.

I am grateful to you for hints and your experiences and do not want to appear resistant to advice, but I will still try to explain my thoughts.

Has "simple" electrical work really become that expensive for you? A few weeks ago I talked to an electrician on the construction site, and that's how we came to the estimated €10,000 for materials. I will do the installation myself (mechatronics technician) and possibly also a friend (industrial electrician).

To explain the other points:
- The garage door is not urgent; I will wait until I can grab a used door or a display model within the budget. Therefore, I expect to manage.
- I once configured the doors in online shops, hence the estimated €300 based on the prices quoted there. Simple white lacquered doors without frills are sufficient for us, which for example are already offered by [Türenheld] for about €100 each, so I expect to find something usable for €300.
- I plan to lay the steps myself at some point when everything else in the house is done. It will cost me a lot of time, but the material costs for vinyl or wood should remain manageable.

The suggestion with craftsmen’s offers is certainly good, but I find it difficult to request offers for trades that also cost processing time when I internally know that I will probably buy online later with a 90% probability.
Moreover, when I see what total prices including assembly and material surcharges are being asked for by tradesmen, it is all the harder for me to justify the additional cost compared to doing it myself. Of course, everyone has to earn their money and the prices are probably necessary, but I do not see myself ready to pay them if I believe I can do it myself. In addition, many companies have a shortage of skilled workers anyway, so it would only be acceptable for me to commission fixed-price offers because then I do not care whether the employee on site has 1 or 10 years in the profession and I pay the skilled worker wage. And whether you get fixed-price offers in a renovation where no one yet knows 100% exactly what to expect is something I dare to doubt.

Has the "simple" electrical work really become that expensive for you? I talked to an electrician at the construction site a few weeks ago, and we arrived at an estimated €10k for the materials. I’m doing the installation myself (mechatronics technician) and maybe a friend (industrial electrician).

Are you assembling the new cabinet yourself, wiring everything, and also certifying the electrical work yourself? Yes, the simple electrical work, so everything new with additional sockets, network outlets, and a few Homematic components for about €600.

The issue with interior doors is a thing in old buildings. What are your rough construction dimensions? Does everything fit, or do you need custom sizes? Or do the frames and door leaves need to be shortened? White lacquered doors are not really suitable for a household with small children... That really proves the saying, "buy cheap, buy twice." Installation in old buildings is not easy for a layperson either.

I mean, I tip my hat if you really manage to do all that yourself and I don’t want to change your mind, why should I. I just lack the belief, though. Still wish you maximum success :)

I have just revisited the topic of interior doors and actually didn’t look closely enough at the prices online in my estimate. I overlooked that the low prices are only for the door leaves without the frame. Now I understand why you think €300 might be a bit tight. Although there are also complete sets under €200, you probably just have to be careful with the quality.

Currently, we are still waiting for the preliminary check regarding the eligibility of the NRW.Bank loan. Hopefully, once this is done early next week, we will get to finalizing the financing. Until then, we can still adjust the budget or the reserve.

Uhh yeah. I bought my white lacquer doors from Türenheld for 290 EUR, complete set. For the guest WC and HAR 250 EUR. Then there were 14 EUR for a can of frame foam, done. Why that should not be suitable for small children... our 1-year-old happily bangs on them every day. With her hands, not her head... If you want to live with washable rubber furniture until the kids are 35, go ahead. We also have 2 all-glass doors in the living room and kitchen, which helicopter parents would probably classify as attempted child murder...

So your calculation is somewhat accurate.

But the rest doesn’t fit. You would be the extremely rare exception who moves onto a construction site with 2 small children and is still happily married after 5 years. It will hit you so hard that you can’t even imagine it today.

My oldest just started school, my wife is going back to work, the little one just started daycare, I’m handling the settling-in period, on parental leave and still hardly manage more than 2 or 3 hours of work in the house daily...

You want to do that 2 or 3 years alongside full-time jobs. No way.