House construction costs, how were they for you?

Then I'll also chime in with my (subjective) experiences


Did you make the doors out of papier-mâché?
The (6) doors are mid-priced and of good quality from the hardware store. Even the acquaintance who installed them said they were good!

We were luckily not burdened with double rent since we could live at my parents' place during the construction period


Yes, it requires a lot of knowledge and skills to build a house on your own. But if you have someone to show you how it’s done, you can learn it all, even if you’ve never done many of the tasks before!! At least that was the case with me!
Of course, you need some prior experience in crafts. For example, working with a cordless screwdriver, sawing, tools,...
And you have to trust yourself!

We did almost the entire shell construction ourselves in EL and that is also the part where you can save the most. And the thermal insulation is also in place/adequately done. What we notice especially now in winter, despite slight subzero temperatures, it stays warm in the house even when you don’t heat much!
With the individual trades afterwards, usually you can’t do much yourself anymore. For example, sanitary / heating etc.


“Some only have the first row of masonry done at the shell construction and then stick the rest themselves. No expert knowledge needed.”
That’s exactly how we did it. Shown what to pay attention to, then we built the whole house ourselves with 1-2 helpers from the family masonry ourselves.
And that’s how we did it with the other tasks as well. Trained => did it ourselves!!
That really helps you grow tremendously!
And you learn a lot for life!!! I don’t want to miss that now!
Thanks for your comments that you find it good that DIY projects are described here too... You don’t always have to make everything done!! But of course you need a lot of time and nerves / patience. Which not everyone naturally has available.


I wouldn’t describe myself as “abnormal,” more like not always conforming to the “norm.” Just because I invested a lot of time INSTEAD OF MONEY (like most) into our house, that’s not negative but rather positive!! As many have told me.


Fuel expenses were around 1000€. And yes, they are also included in the cost statement.
The 300€ for tools fits. Since I could borrow a lot from my father / brother-in-law during the construction time.


I didn’t explicitly record my/our working hours for the EL. Only the hours of everyone involved in the construction, including the companies. Because I wanted to know how much time such a house needs to “grow.” And that number became very large and is still growing (I wouldn’t have thought that beforehand).
You say: “The house itself therefore (also because of DIY) had no high value and was sold very cheaply.”
I wouldn’t generalize that because I have heard/read so many reports where especially paid craftsmen / companies did a lot of botching, since it’s not THEIR house but just their job which they (not always satisfactorily) perform. Unfortunately, I had to experience that in smaller cases with us, too. Whoever does it themselves wants it well to perfectly done even if it takes longer.

We have always lived frugally and modestly in life and thus could save something for the house. Even though we always earned little and unfortunately I was even unemployed for a while. But that’s beside the point.

Satisfaction always also has to do with modesty. Sure, bigger, more beautiful, more pompous is always possible (in house planning/construction). But DOES IT ALWAYS HAVE TO BE THAT WAY??!!

I didn’t get an extra construction vehicle (like many self-builders do). If you take reasonable care of your car, you can use it for that (even a “small” Golf. I installed a trailer hitch myself before the construction. Just the about 100€ cost of the hitch). And without a trailer, nothing works!! (I could borrow that from my father)

Also, all “small stuff invoices”/every € was carefully recorded every time.
All costs were noted. Even the fuel! (No accusations please!!)
I would recommend this to keep an overview of the finances!


“These mono stones are way too expensive (except maybe aerated concrete)”
We used 36.5cm Ytong aerated concrete and that was the right decision! Easy to lay by yourself (even if you haven’t done it before), good insulation effect (you can do without the glued-on polystyrene), very good indoor climate (compared to other systems),...

So, now you have lots to discuss again. I’m curious

explicitly noted. Only the hours of all those working on the construction site

But the BG invoice is still missing from your list ;)

I always find it funny and amusing how some people are proud of their many DIY efforts and the great savings. I am proud that I could afford to have to do as little as possible myself and move relatively comfortably into the finished house after just under 10 months!

Yes, everyone can and may be proud (but not conceited/arrogant) of what he/she has created!! Anyone can HAVE a house BUILT (if they have the necessary money).
I probably would have done the same if I had around 400,000 lying around…
But this way I have learned a lot for life and skills that cannot be acquired with money!!
But I am happy for you that you can now live in your beautiful house. Congratulations!

Yes and no. If you stay with your parents, you are in a special situation. I couldn’t do it for that reason alone, because even my generous in-laws’ house would be far too small for 4 additional people... sure, if our kitchen arrives a few weeks late, that’s manageable. But not for the many months of construction time of a self-built house...

Craftsmen occasionally botch work, yes. But if you have so many acquaintances who are building professionals, you can control (or have controlled) that well. Worse than botched work by craftsmen is botched work done by yourself, because the layperson isn’t even aware that they are botching it...

And as I said... the time. You don’t learn a profession for 3 years just because a layperson can do it just as quickly and well after 2 hours of instruction. At the start of my apprenticeship, it took us half an hour to properly install a Schuko plug; at the end of the apprenticeship, it took less than 5 minutes and it looked much better, too...

And on the subject of "pride in self-performed work." Of course you can be proud of that, no question. But the statement "Anyone can have that done if they have the money," I find disparaging. Because you usually only have the money because you deliver corresponding performance in your job... I work in field sales, often away from home for weeks. Am I not allowed to be proud to earn the money for someone else to build something for me?

Am I not allowed to be proud of earning the money so that someone can build something for me?

Of course you are allowed to. I myself was in the AD for years and know what kind of drudgery that is. I don't think he meant it that way either. I believe anyone who can afford their own home/EW can be proud of it with a clear conscience!

For our part, we simply had no choice. We had the choice between doing a lot ourselves or not building at all.

that is also the part where you can save the most.

I would partly disagree there. Compared to the other work on the house, the shell construction goes the fastest (least paid working time) and you can hardly save on the materials either. The shell construction costs about 1/3 of the house and you need the materials anyway. For us, that was the item where we would have saved very little. Not to mention the lack of warranty. Therefore, we left the base slab, shell construction, roof truss, and roofer in one hand. We did the ETICS and exterior plaster ourselves again.

With the individual trades afterwards, there is usually not much more you can do.

Electricity, drywall, roof insulation, laying floors, laying underfloor heating pipes, plastering, wallpapering, painting, installing sanitary equipment, installing the tub, windows from Poland and assembling in EL, tiling. You can also lay screed yourself if you are not completely unskilled. And so on... So I see a lot of potential for doing it yourself :)

We took 36.5 cm ytong aerated concrete and that was the right decision!

Due to the low weight, it is also easy to work with. Unfortunately, it is very sound-permeable because of that, which was the reason for us to install something different. We took 24 cm calcium silicate brick with 18 cm 0032 ETICS.

Craftsmen sometimes botch work, yes. But if you have so many acquaintances who are building professionals, you can control (or have controlled) that well. Worse than botched work by craftsmen is botched work by personal effort because the layman is not even aware that they are botching...

Craftsmen have to earn money with their work and often work according to the 80/20 rule, which is understandable. It takes me longer but I usually achieve the 80%. And if you have some talent, you also achieve better results. But yes, there are corners in our house where I walk past and know: I messed that up. But that gives you a feeling in the house of "I did that."

Would I do it again if I could afford to move in finished: nope!

Because you usually only have the money because you deliver corresponding performance in your job...

That is a rumor that high earners like to hear. But it's nonsense. I work in healthcare, deliver corresponding performance and am still paid significantly less than average. You only have the money because society is also unfairly distributed and values and norms in society dictate the wage. High earners like to forget that they are part of a society that makes this possible and creates correspondingly rewarded jobs. It is certainly not fair or performance-based or "self-earned." The same person with the same qualities would certainly appear quite differently in the African or Patagonian wilderness. "Corresponding performance" cannot be separated from the context.