Construction costs are currently skyrocketing

Well, I can’t just leave it at that. Maybe for one or the other. But the walls I moved, thereby more or less creating a new (larger) utility room, was no problem at all with my general contractor. It didn’t even cost anything extra, which some might not be able to imagine. Another general contractor would have been possible too, but with additional costs.

Then you were lucky with your general contractor.
I know two cases where a general contractor charged more than 1k for shifting an 11cm wall by 25cm... new plans, new electrical plan, new underfloor heating plan...

.. well, if all these plans were actually already worked out, then a 25 cm 'shift' is quite something.

The theory only makes sense if you have never told the seller (general contractor/architect) what the budget is. Just because you ask for aluminum windows doesn't mean you have the money for them. Those who ask about costs rarely have an unlimited budget.

Not necessarily. Here we would also be talking about kitchens. You walk into a kitchen studio and are immediately asked about your budget. Let's say 20k. The seller wants to make as much profit as possible and offers you a kitchen that is "less valuable" because he knows you want to spend the 20k anyway.

Not necessarily. Here we are also talking about kitchens. You walk into a kitchen studio and are immediately asked about your budget. Let’s say 20k. The salesperson wants to make as much profit as possible and offers you a kitchen that is "less valuable" because they know you want to spend the 20k anyway.

Nonsense. That’s not how it works, at least not in reputable kitchen studios. In the end, IT software calculates the price and then the salesperson decides how much discount to give. Usually 30%. If you negotiate well, it’s 40%. But that 10% difference is just a few thousand euros.

Not necessarily. Here we would also be dealing with kitchens. You enter a kitchen studio and are immediately asked about your budget. Let's say 20k. The salesperson wants to make as much profit as possible and offers you a kitchen that is "less valuable" because they know you want to spend the 20k anyway.

How does the salesperson know that I want to spend more anyway? Pretty stupid tactic, because I would then go somewhere else where the kitchens look less shitty and are still within budget.

If my architect hasn’t figured out after 3 months that “we can’t get more credit” and still “offers” us the aluminum windows more expensively than necessary, he doesn’t seem to be the brightest candle on the cake either.

- Electrical installation - 15k
- Interior plaster - lime + fine plaster - 20k (we will do the painting ourselves)
- Exterior plaster - approx. 20k
- Photovoltaic system 12.2 kWp - 16k

Those are already very low prices. Some of them were no longer realistic even in 2015. What are you supposed to get for 15k for an electrical installation?

Are you building the house somewhere in the middle of nowhere in the East, where the fox says goodnight to the hare? Or sockets from the Polish market?