How to build a massive single-family house most cheaply?

What is above eye level (and certainly above head level) is not really needed. Do you want to get a ladder to grab a packet of noodles – or even get hit by cans? (...)

However, you also have to take it easy sometimes. I wouldn’t want to do without the upper cabinets and tall cabinets in the kitchen because even if they are up to 220 cm high or hung that high... you just store stuff up there that you only need once in a blue moon. The space that is freed up at eye level in the drawers is filled with supplies. This swap isn’t that hard to understand, is it?

We are currently in the crucial phase before the start of construction and trying to do a lot ourselves. This involves coordinating earthworks, all house connections in the correct order, independently calculating the heating system, electrical work including KNX, and so on and so forth. We have the advantage that my husband understands the trades of electrical, sanitary, and heating, and therefore with some help, he figures everything out himself and is capable of doing it. (...)

To be honest, I have my doubts. If the man is not a civil engineer by training and has not worked in the field for at least a few years, it is completely impossible to acquire, understand, and especially recognize the pitfalls of all these calculations... It would be like a civil engineer telling me he could just casually learn my role as a programmer and commissioning engineer (electrical engineer) in special plant engineering in a few months. Other than loud laughter, there would be no other reaction...

It might work out if he is lucky, no problems occur, all trades do perfect work, and nobody intentionally or unintentionally botches things... But if someone botches things who is a professional... sometimes even a civil site manager with 20 years of experience doesn’t see it... and your husband... definitely not.

PS: And then be responsible for everything yourself... don’t you have an expert? As laymen? Honestly, what are you thinking? Don’t do it!

Although you have to take it easy sometimes. I wouldn’t want to do without the upper cabinets and tall cabinets in the kitchen, because even if they are up to 220cm tall or hung that high... you just store stuff up there that you only need once in a blue moon. The space that this frees up in the drawers at eye level is then filled with supplies. This swap isn’t that hard to understand, right?

Thank you, that’s how I thought too! Of course, with 5 people we always have quite a bit of supplies at home, but we’re not hoarders and currently all supplies fit into one large drawer and one small (!) wall cabinet... there would be significantly more space available in the house, so I’m not worried about that… additionally, one must say that the tall cabinets of course also compensate for the lack of a cellar...

Exclusive property (and real estate transfer tax etc)

With the budget, it should definitely be possible to build something nice for a family of five. Including additional construction costs and outdoor facilities. With the latter, a lot can also be done by oneself once living in the house. However, one should not underestimate how much that wears you down over the months ... there is always something and especially the supposed little things eat up time. Tall cabinets in the kitchen are great. The catch is that normal compartments are only accessible from the front. With pull-outs, you make much better use of the compartments because you can also reach the things at the back. For the strategic beer reserve and the like, there is usually always a corner to be found in the utility room.

And here you can only guess again, better to go one step down with the kitchen manufacturer and take everything, really everything as a pull-out/drawer... instead of going completely with hinged doors at the premium manufacturer because you were overwhelmed by the price. The "oh" from the neighbors when you tell them the kitchen is from Nolte or Schüller only happens once. The trouble with the hinged doors lasts a lifetime.

By the way, you don't have to fully exhaust the budget already in the planning phase; it is advisable to have at least 10, preferably 20% of the construction sum in reserve. Many things come up that you wouldn't even remotely think of when you're standing on the empty plot already dreaming about where the swing for the kids will go later. It would be a shame if the swing doesn't come after all because of money problems.

And here you can only guess again, better to step down one number with the kitchen manufacturer and take everything, really everything as a pull-out/drawer... instead of going completely with hinged doors from the premium manufacturer because you were overwhelmed by the price. The "oh" from the neighbors when you say the kitchen is from Nolte or Schüller you only get once. The trouble with hinged doors you have for a lifetime.

By the way, you don't have to exhaust the budget completely in the planning phase; it is advisable to have at least 10, better 20% of the construction cost in reserve. Many things come up that you wouldn't even remotely think of when standing on the empty field already dreaming where the swing for the children will later go. It would be a shame if the swing doesn't come in the end because of lack of money.

That's true. We built a 256m2 two-family house with a 56m2 double garage in solid construction very cheaply during Corona.

Here are my tips on how we built high quality for about 1800€/m2. 0. One year before the start of construction, assemble your A team. You have to find the right workers, at least two per trade. Then you have a substitute if someone drops out.

1. Build with a local construction company with a good reputation, no prefabricated houses. You want to use the plot optimally and for that you have to study the building regulations and get the maximum out of it with architects. For heating and water, hire a planner separately and forward the plans to the construction company. Floor plan design in a cheap way is something you can learn yourself and you then only have to decide how it fits the family. Botched building services cost thousands of euros annually for heating because, for example, pipes that are too thin were used and the heat pump constantly cycles or you are sold a lot of unnecessary mixers.

2. Have earthworks, base slab, masonry, roof, tinsmith and windows done by local companies. For the roof, you can arrange to prime and paint the rafters yourself. For drainage, you can buy the pipes yourself and prepare pipes as well as house connections with an excavator driver.

3. As soon as the roof is up, you should start building the attic right away. Applies to a gable roof. Installing the attic in DIY as tongue and groove flooring is easy and significantly higher quality than OSB or other glued stuff that off-gasses. When the attic is done, you can also install a photovoltaic system yourself and you should also arrange this directly with the electrician and submit the applications before the start and ordering the materials. Our 10kW photovoltaic system cost about 7000€. Afterwards, installing insulation between rafters yourself is arguably the nastiest work but you save a lot. I installed 320m2 of stone wool and another about 80m2 of Knauf under-rafter insulation. I ordered the stone wool cheaply on pallets at the OBI building material hall and stored it in the garage. I ordered the vapor barrier foil Intello Plus as well as sealing tapes at Baunativ.

4. You can have electricians and sanitary professionals work if you want. I ordered all sanitary materials myself according to the planner’s list at the specialist trade and had it installed according to plan. I ordered my heat pump from rjtec and commissioned/programmed it myself.

5. You can also prepare screed yourself, such as taping the bitumen membrane and installing insulation. The screed layer supplies the material. Here, also make sure to use PIR against the ground and in the upper floor use insulation with better impact sound reduction.

6. For plastering work, the be-all and end-all is to find a cheap local building material dealer who then orders the silo for you as well as all materials like bonding bridge, mesh, plaster beads, APU strips, top plaster and paint. You save a lot there.

7. The same applies to tiles. But tiling should be done by a professional, it is far too time-consuming for beginners, you can at most assist by pre-brushing the tiles.

8. Kitchen: hire an independent planner and order cabinets and possibly appliances through them. Assemble yourself.

9. Outdoor facilities. Here you should take your time with planning and also see what you want to do yourself and what not.

Bonus tip: live near the construction site and have an apartment cellar to store materials and tools. House first, then children. With small children you can't do DIY because you don't have the time.