Good morning everyone,
regarding the monthly expenses, I think in the first step everyone has to decide for themselves (as many have written, keep a household book) and then add up together. I do think that I have now found a good current value for us and know that a maximum of 800€ would be possible.
Here is briefly my experience on the topic of own contributions:
Fortunately, we built turnkey.
I only contributed own work in the areas of computer networking, painting, and flooring work.
During the construction, my wife and I had parental leave (although never at the same time), so we always had the little one with us.
Fortunately, my wife could clarify a lot with the craftsmen/site manager/CEO during the day because of the parental leave.
When I drove by the construction site in the evenings, no worker was there anymore.
If I didn't spend the evening at the construction site or the hardware store, we usually discussed construction processes, ideas, offers, etc., until about 11 pm or did a lot of research on the internet. Saturdays were usually the only chance to visit the furniture store, the sanitary distributor, or the tile dealer. However, this was regularly interrupted because the little one needed his bottle or jar. Sundays were often construction days. However, on Sundays, one always had to see what could be done without making too much noise.
On Saturdays, craftsmen were regularly on site, and our tiler was sometimes also there on Sundays, so effective work was only possible to a limited extent, especially if one didn't want to walk over freshly laid tiles.
For us, the time during which you could really effectively do your own work was relatively short. The parents do not live around the corner, and the helping hand from my darling was not always available due to child care duties.
Yes, these are probably always the old thoughts from earlier times. Stone on stone, and you have to build the house yourself to realize yourself or something like that. I have to admit that I myself come from construction/industry and worked as a laborer for 10 years before continuing my education. So I probably still think or have this inside me that you can do a lot of own work when building a house stone by stone. Hm..
Also regarding the interior work, like electrical, plastering, tiling, etc., you might think you could do a lot yourself, but nowadays I'm not so sure it's really the case. By now, many companies also insure themselves and often do not allow any own work anymore with the background that something might not be right afterward, etc.
Take electrical installations as an example. In the past, it was still common to do everything yourself and then an energy company came and inspected the whole thing. Today, no one signs off unless it's demonstrably installed by a professional. For example, I have two electricians in the family, so it wouldn't be a problem to actually do it yourself, but is it still possible? Also, regarding bricklaying stone by stone. As you or you already said, you always need people around you or helpers you can rely on. If I think about building a garage, that would be no problem due to a good friend of mine who is a master bricklayer, but whether it can all be implemented so easily (also timewise) is another question. If they are not there or cannot come for time reasons, you are stuck. A master bricklayer and his helper do not help much then. Further, I recently had the topic with my friend who is a heating engineer and does gas/water/sewage. Laying floor pipes in the rooms—I thought one could also do that together or alone. He said they had many cases in the past where pipes were damaged during installation and caused nothing but problems. Moreover, you should be able to do it yourself; the company then has it confirmed in writing, excluding any possible claims for damages, etc., etc.
Regarding the time aspect, it is probably as you said. You never know how it will run... On good days, I work from 6 am to 4 pm, but sometimes also until 6 or 7 pm depending on the workload. It is never certain when you get to the construction site whether work is finished or what can still be done. The main times are probably really paternity leave if everything goes as planned, vacation days, or the weekend.
Did you build turnkey solid or did you decide for a "prefabricated house"? There are also differences in prefabricated houses; that's why in quotation marks.
on the topic of own contributions:
A positive point in the case of is that he and his helpers are professionals. The work goes significantly faster than with us "hobby craftsmen". The biggest problem here would be that the helpers, when needed, must have the time and willingness so as not to obstruct the following paid craftsmen.
As he writes, he otherwise has no time pressure (although I can imagine that the interest accrued over time will sooner or later create pressure). This helps enormously. Especially if the helpers cannot do what they want.
We - as hobby craftsmen - needed a staggering 5 weeks to do the painting work with three people (with my mother 4). We were supported for 4 days by my brother-in-law + sister. He comes from construction and did various plastering work in the hall, staircases, and bathrooms. I had calculated 3 weeks - for which I also took vacation. After that, the "painting helpers" were alone - I only worked on weekends. I never would have imagined how much time painting the entire house would take.
I can only fully agree with you. Although the people are or would be professionals and a very good friend has a roofing and interior construction company, this will be exactly the problem. What can you do yourself or with support? Are the people there, do they have time and are they willing, can you rely on them when you need them, etc., etc. As you wrote, support can also really take longer because, of course, you cannot get as much done in the same time as a skilled worker.
On the internet, values of 5-10% of the construction sum circulate for own work, and one should calculate with a factor of 2-2.5. In other words, you need longer than a professional worker.
Regarding the time and interest that accrues if you do not use the loan, usually around 12-14 months as I have read, this is also a topic again. For example, with KFW, the loan, if available, is paid out all at once, not in portions like some pure bank loans.
As I wrote above, it is still hard for me to say (because it is ultimately about money) that I let everything be done and then move in finished. First, I probably could not afford it, and second, I still think that every minute invested by oneself on the construction site saves money again.
Yesterday we attended the lecture "Energy-efficient Building," where wood construction methods were also discussed, which are more efficient in insulation with smaller width compared to the stone-on-stone variant. When I asked what kind of own contributions can be made or savings could be achieved with this construction method, this could not be answered. Also logical, as the working time here is counted in the factory hall and not at the construction site. The advantage is still that the house is up with the shell in about 3-4 days depending on size and you can do a lot of the interior work yourself. Hm.. It is not easy.
What I am actually not a fan of is cladding the entire house with drywall panels. Maybe it is because in renovations you often get stress cracks at the joints. New construction might look different again. But that is another topic.
