House building for nerds - experiences wanted!

We consciously decided against doing the work ourselves because we are both very busy professionally and we were aware (and this is something you should definitely be aware of) that doing the work ourselves takes far more time than if a skilled craftsman does it.

Still, sometimes we are at our limit, because there are nonetheless dozens of decisions to be made and things to discuss with craftsmen (just alone if you don’t want a standard bathroom setup). We would have liked to be involved; we did do a few things ourselves (painted the wood for the ceiling, helped lay insulation, and most of all: made sure there was enough supply of drinks and sweets). After the plan was finished, we actually thought it was done – but far from it! I shudder thinking about the sessions with our electrician, where we had to decide exactly where each switch for which lighting should go and which lamps should be switched together or not, etc. You can’t imagine how much time THAT alone takes. There are always countless little things that have to be continuously discussed and decided. And we awarded a general contractor. Not a classic general contractor who chases me around a sample exhibition, but one who works with local or his own craftsmen and with whom we then decide how we want things. So we go to the door studio he works with to select the doors. We look at tiles and discuss with the tiler, etc. We have invested quite a bit in beautiful lighting and that alone involves a planning effort we hadn’t accounted for at all beforehand, etc.

With this general contractor we have maximum flexibility and yet in the end one who gives us a warranty. But we have learned one thing: maximum flexibility also means maximum time expenditure for decisions. You should not underestimate that!

It is ideal for us this way – we are always involved in decisions, our needs are always taken into account – but beyond that, doing the work ourselves? We wouldn’t manage. I’m glad someone is overseeing it, putting their head on the line if something doesn’t work out and someone I can hold liable if necessary (which hopefully won’t happen). Even just the construction management? I wouldn’t trust myself to do that – these people didn’t study or train for nothing. It is presumptuous to think that just because you’re a skillful DIY craftsman you can do it.

Think that through carefully – realistically estimate the time you can invest. If a practiced craftsman estimates an amount of hours x for the work, then assume you will need double or triple that time (and you get no warranty).

I am a perfectionist too (ask my husband, who will roll his eyes and confirm this) EXACTLY for that reason I found someone who can do it. I would have botched it – even though I always approach everything very meticulously, I lack practice in most trades and have no training for any of them (well, we’ve all painted at some point – but a professional painter is still faster than me). I want a perfect house and therefore I leave it to the people who know how to do it. I just keep checking whether they carry it out the way I want (Our installer said to me: you guys are different – otherwise we drive people crazy, but you manage us! – that was after a never-ending odyssey regarding bathroom fixtures *g*). I stay on top of it and am persistently on top of it so that our ideas are implemented the way we want. But I’m very glad that I can leave the execution to professionals myself.

It was similar for us too. No way it’s just 2 days through the showroom and done. A lot was decided directly with the craftsman. Small general contractors can work so flexibly that they combine the advantages of general contracting and individual contracting (I don’t want to choose from only 5 tiles).

Don’t underestimate own work. The "crap" around the outside also takes time and has to be done on the side.

In our village there are 2 houses. Individual contracting + own work. They started building in spring 2017 and one hopes to move in this year, the other thinks next year. For 5 months nothing happened at all, because the window installer didn’t come and so on. We’ve also been waiting for over a year for the roof on the old basement. You become a stalker to get anything done at all.

one thing we have learned: maximum flexibility also means maximum time investment for decisions. Should not be underestimated!

I am also a perfectionist (ask my husband, he will confirm with an eye roll) EXACTLY for that reason I looked for someone who can do that too.

Oh yes! My words!! For me, individuality means drawing from the full range. In this respect, we traveled all over northern Germany regarding tiles and kitchens and looked, took notes, compared, to later visit the shortlist again to get the optimum for the optimal price. That one eventually became weary under the motto “I can’t anymore, now I don’t care about anything” shows that even just traveling around and choosing became time-consuming and annoying at some point. For example, we painted the drywall boards ourselves upstairs. Here and there, some putty blemishes were discovered against the light, so three full days were initially spent getting these smooth. Perfectionism does not make you happy if you have to take care of it yourself oops:

Do you have children? Do you want children by then? Forget about doing it yourself.....I can't even set up a garden shed in a somewhat normal time because the child wants to "help" everywhere.

You are asking in the wrong place. Ask this question to your friends and family.

With the statements here, I also should not have built or completely without own contribution. In the end, it was more own contribution than planned.

Reality for us: When work was pending, friends & family put their own things aside to be able to help.

The question of reliability is important and we cannot answer it for you here.

Also immensely important is the choice of the specialist companies. It also helped us a lot that we knew or quickly got to know the companies. I have at least the mobile numbers of the bosses of all trades, sometimes also those of the employees assigned to the construction. This helped us several times to find very short-term solutions in case of problems. We were even able to borrow the necessary machines for the own contribution free of charge.

The mentioned time factor is really not to be underestimated, however. It takes longer than the professional and you sometimes have to be flexible work-wise in order to meet deadlines so that other trades are not delayed. If I did not have such great colleagues who can take over representation at very short notice, not everything would have run as smoothly as it has so far.

For me, the architect only drew the plan. I selected and commissioned all the craftsmen companies myself. My father, a retired bricklayer, helped on the construction site daily or provided labor, and occasionally my uncle (a retired painter) was there as well. I exclusively hired craftsmen from the region and it really worked out well for me. For some trades, I obtained various quotes myself; for others, I chose the company my father had good experiences with or craftsmen you personally know in the countryside. Not one of them let me down. My reason for this was truly to save money and simply the hope that by individually commissioning regional craftsmen whom you personally know, I would be less likely to fall victim to shoddy workmanship. Both worked out. I started with the foundation slab in March 2017, and I moved in in January 2018.