House construction costs, how were they for you?

Yes, even so-called "professionals" make mistakes that they should NEVER MAKE. Because they are professionals!!
The thing with the wrong labeling on fuses can also backfire big time!! Good that you discovered it!

And the thing with the water is really serious. What would you have to do to seal it / get it dry?

And then not even owning up properly to the damage they caused. That just won't do.



"1. Money => while I am working on the construction site, I can't earn money elsewhere"
For me, the calculation was like this: I am in the low-wage sector, so I prefer to work ON my construction site FOR MYSELF instead of paying the craftsmen 5-6 times as much per hour, which I would have "earned" during that time.

"2. (Free) time => while I am working on the construction site, I can't play with my child or do nice things with my wife"
True! But you have to be willing to make certain sacrifices. And it’s not a matter of years, but "only" a few months.
Besides, I have often taken my son to the construction site (when no "dangerous" work was taking place). That way, he could SEE and experience what it means to work on a house. And he even took on some lighter tasks at 7 years old and was of course proud to help his dad with the house building!! ❤️

"3. Health": it can of course become a strain/overload, no doubt!! You have to be aware of that!

How much did you borrow for a "only" 800€ installment, if I may ask?



"Incorrectly installed insulation, sealing, uneven screed," etc.:
I would leave that to the professional! If you are not 100% familiar with the topic!
"no straight walls, window and door openings don't fit, cables pulled all over the place":
I/we did that ourselves and everything fit perfectly. No major problems or anything similar!
The door installer (professional) even said that he had rarely seen such straight walls and exact door dimensions.

"Hopefully you stay in the forum. There are always some who do a lot of work themselves. Of course, most (still) are general contractors, but more and more are suffering from the rising costs."
What exactly do you mean by that? Staying in the forum (I am new to the forum scene, so I ask)
And what does "(still) GC..." mean?

We only discovered the incorrect labeling of the fuse because my husband thankfully double-checked the current flow on the cables as a precaution before starting work. The electricians swapped the 2 stove connections (we have 2, one in the kitchen and one in the basement for a basement kitchen). We have discovered more errors over the years.
Regarding the water, we opened the ceiling to dry it out, the tiler removed the damaged tiles and after the wall had dried, reinstalled new ones, a few weeks without a shower, a really great thing^^. We ended up bearing the costs for the tiler and the materials for rebuilding the ceiling ourselves.
We occasionally had the children with us at the construction site and took turns otherwise. One was building, the other watched the children. I was often at the construction site again in the evenings until it got dark, when the children had been asleep for a long time (they were quite small back then).
Currently, I am looking for craftsmen for the renovation of the ground floor, which will be extensive (new screed, complete interior plaster, kitchen out, living room out, hallway out, etc.) and I am already getting little fits again because you simply can’t find any. No one calls back, no one writes back, no one answers the phone, let alone comes by or sends a quote. I can already see that we’ll do the fun part ourselves as well. Then with dry screed for time reasons. In this case, we actually want to hire craftsmen so it goes faster because we live in the house. Just building a stove and installing solar thermal systems is way beyond our capabilities. Hopefully, we still find some.

Electricity mislabeled (e.g. also the stove connection, but not so important, the electrician doesn't die, but the customer who thinks he turned off the fuse for the stove^^),

We also had such a great specimen of an electrician. My son painfully found out when he wanted to change two sockets.

We have a friendly electrician who could have done it as well. But we thought he wouldn’t manage it alone in time. At that company, what was estimated as 2 weeks turned into 5 months (they still weren’t finished after we moved in), so we could have spared ourselves the hassle. The friend would certainly have done it more conscientiously! And for 1/3 of the price. Local German master craftsman company, that guarantees absolutely nothing :cool:.

@Everyone
Is there already a CONSTRUCTIVE thread where people exchange ideas about:
Where everyone writes tips / suggestions for prospective builders or those who are considering it?
I think many would be interested..
(if it already exists, please provide a link. Thanks)

You mean on the topic of DIY or renovation? I don't think so. Most here build new and have most things done by others. We are more of an exception here.

You mean about DIY or renovation? I don’t think so. Most people here build new and have most of it done. We are more like exceptions here.

Relax in both directions, since both have to do with doing work yourself.
There is nothing against having it built if you have the necessary money saved up.
But (as already mentioned here) having the house built in the future will cost more and more money (not to mention the rising interest rates), and as a result fewer and fewer will be able to afford it.