Construction costs are currently skyrocketing

Piece by piece as a self-performed job you are also not really allowed to mention here in the forum. Our plan is to move into the granny flat to save travel time in the future, while it seems for the majority of house buyers, not house builders!!!, it is already a nightmare at move-in that the floor layer has to come again to redo the silicone on the skirting boards. Unfortunately, the raw material prices and scarcity are also causing great difficulties for the house builder. Currently, I am considering whether it is feasible to order material as early as possible and where it can be temporarily stored otherwise.

From a building physics perspective, it is not possible to build a solid house within 3 months. It simply can't be done. And everyone complains about mold in the hermetically sealed huts.

And when I see how construction is done and especially at what price, it makes me sick. But very often it results from the fact that people have no idea about anything.

Sure, you can no longer compare the working world to that of 40 years ago. Nor the FRG or the GDR.

The problem is rather laziness. No one wants to mix concrete, carry stones, or dig a construction pit anymore. But I can't just throw €60 an hour or more at an electrician so that he can chase grooves into the Poroton blocks for me. In the end, a temporary Eastern European worker will do it anyway. So I can do that myself.

The question always remains: Do I bust my ass for 2 years or pay the bank for 30 years.

As an economist, when I think about the topic, I recall the first lecture in Business Administration 1 and the so-called opportunity costs. The difference between: I pay the craftsman and I work myself on the construction site (valued at the hourly wage of one's actual profession). For me, it wouldn't be worthwhile because a) I would need at least twice as much time and b) my hourly wage would be much higher than if I had to pay the craftsman. Non-monetary costs such as stress, less time for family, and less performance at my main job aside.

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As an economist, when I think about this topic, I think of the first lecture in Business Administration 1 and the so-called opportunity costs. The difference between: I pay the craftsman and I work myself on the construction site (valued at the hourly wage of the actual profession). For me, it wouldn't be worthwhile because a) I would need at least twice as much time and b) my hourly wage would be much higher than if I had to pay the craftsman. Non-monetary costs like stress, less time for the family, and less performance in the main job aside.

That's exactly what I wanted to write just now.

Simply put: is it worth it for me to work 4 hours on my construction site or instead do 2 overtime hours at work for the same money?

Purely monetary consideration, which looks different for everyone.
But I also like to do a few things myself (outdoor facilities, walls, floors), because I simply enjoy it, it is a nice change from the office job, and I get to "know" the house better.

You then assume that within your contract you also have paid overtime. This is not the case for many. At most, you can "take time off in lieu." Which again means you are at the same amount of working time on your own construction site. Alternatively, earn additional income freelance/self-employed. Here it also depends on what you can offer and whether acquisition costs are not initially higher than expected earnings, etc. pp...

We had booked the "FreizeitPlus" package with our general contractor and hardly did anything ourselves, not even the floors. Of course, the remaining debt and installment are somewhat higher now, but that balances out over the years and we had a very stress-free construction process, and now everything is straight and neatly done. When I hear from friends and colleagues who struggle until just before midnight and have to get up at 6:00 a.m. to go back to work, the weekend is gone anyway, that would not have been an option for me at all. And first find a reliable team of helpers with enough experience and time; most people are already fully occupied with family, job, and house up to the limit and actually don’t feel like doing something like that. The strain on the partnership should not be underestimated either, otherwise, it ends like this: house finished, marriage too. I am therefore absolutely glad that we made this decision.

But the question actually doesn't really arise, does it? I think anyone who could would rather have it done than do it themselves. Sometimes, though, you have no other choice. Surely many here would then say, "Better not build at all!", but maybe only to others because they themselves are not in that situation.