Estimation of construction time for the new build of a semi-detached house

Hello everyone,

We are currently building a semi-detached house. The earthworks started on 15.05 by the excavation contractor, and the foundation slab is already completed. The masonry bricks are on the property, and the masonry work will begin on Tuesday (so you have an idea of how fast or slow our construction company works).

I would like an estimate of how long the entire construction period will take, as we will carry out some work ourselves and need to schedule everything carefully. What is a realistic construction time for us?

The house is being built alone (the neighboring plot has not yet been sold) and has a living area of approximately 115 sqm. It is a one-and-a-half-story house with a roof. We are foregoing a basement.

We will do the floor coverings for the living room etc. ourselves ([Küche, Bad und Diele werden vom Bauunternehmen gefliest]), the painting work ([das Haus wird verputzt übergeben]), and the insulation of the partition wall ([die bei uns momentan wie eine Außenwand aussieht]).

Thank you in advance for your help

Depends on how well your builder is organized, how available his craftsmen are, and whether any spontaneous delivery problems occur. All your own work comes after the handover of the house anyway. You should get a plan from the site manager for that. But don’t rely on it too much ;) Anything from 6 months to over a year is possible

Based on experience, it goes very fast at the beginning (earthworks, foundation slab, erecting the shell). The roof usually goes quickly too, if the company does it themselves or the subcontractor has time directly / if they are well organized. After that, many things are often done by subcontractors (electrical, plumbing). Again, it depends on how well this is organized. In between, there will be forced breaks when the house needs to dry. (Plaster, screed). Realistically 7-12 months, unless there are delays because something is not deliverable. No one can really tell you for sure. ;)

I would like an estimate of how long the entire construction period will take, as we are carrying out some work ourselves and need to schedule everything carefully. What is a realistic construction time for us?

42, plus or minus (approximately). It cannot be stated much more precisely due to the sparse information. From your perspective, we may know too few details, but ultimately we know the essentials about the house.

The house will be built alone (the neighboring plot has not yet been sold) and has a living area of about 115 sqm. It is a one-and-a-half-story house with a roof. We are foregoing a basement. We will do the flooring ourselves for the living room, etc. (kitchen, bathroom, and hallway will be tiled by the construction company), the painting work (the house will be handed over plastered), and the insulation of the partition wall (which currently looks like an exterior wall to us).

Accordingly, it is probably supposed to be a "shell plus" house, that is, a weather-tight shell plus tiling (and plumbing?). Without plans, it cannot be seen from the crystal ball alone how much corner premium the masons have on their sheet, and so on. Find a construction supervisor who is also an architect and can create a construction schedule, otherwise you will get into trouble with the pedal boat.

We had received a plan from the general contractor showing the start and end dates of all trades. That was mostly accurate. We moved in 5 months after construction began. However, that was also a condition for us before signing the contract; we had agreed on a maximum construction period of 6 months in the contract.

What is a realistic construction time for us?

I don't know about you, I don't even know your bricks or whether many projections and recesses are planned. We started at about the same time of year, but had a longer shell construction period due to different roof slopes and parapet heights. I would say that the rough construction could be finished by the winter holidays. That would be realistic.