Interior finishing by self-work (electrical installation) feasible?

Hello everyone,

we have purchased a plot of land and intend to build a single-family house with a gable roof and 2 mansard gables with a general contractor.

A brief introduction about myself:
I am an electrical engineer, trained as an electrician before my studies, and work as a project manager in large projects for the construction of substations (with construction share).

We have received the first offers from the GCs and now intend the following:

Self-award:
Interior plaster
Laying tiles
Bathroom expansion (bathtub etc.)
Stairs

Own contribution:
Electrical installation
Installing interior doors

We have chosen the above trades because we see only minimal interfaces with the trades to be executed by the GC. The idea is to carry out the electrical installation "at ease" according to our own wishes and then have the interior plaster carried out by a specialist company in self-award. Subsequently, have the tiles laid and the bathrooms expanded (there are family contacts to the specialist trade here).

What do you think of this approach and what risks do you see (apart from the issue of warranty)? Where do you see interface problems?

Have you also removed the stairs in such a constellation?

For the electrical installation, you definitely need a master electrician for the meter replacement application and the acceptance. Otherwise, your plan works. Possibly install empty conduits in the floor before the screed layer if cables are supposed to run there. Should it go towards smart home? If yes, which system do you have in mind? One more personal question: For which company do you work [emoji4]

So electrical installation in peace could be exciting, if empty conduits are supposed to go into the ceiling, whatever must be done. If you can/want to put everything on the raw floor, that should work, but even then you have the dependency on the screed and plasterer. Interior plaster usually comes before the screed, right? So for us, electricians, HVAC, and plumbing are partly there at the same time, which is very practical because they can then talk to each other and find solutions. But that doesn’t mean that doing the electrical installation alone wouldn’t work. From what I remember, some have already done it here. You can definitely save a lot of money. Given your conditions, I would really treat yourself to a bus system, preferably KNX, since you almost only pay the delta in materials. Man, how much money I could save there... [emoji6]

Good morning!

Our shell builder wanted (and got) the piping on the filigree ceiling to be done "immediately." Twice he managed to get the filigree ceiling done before the weekend; the last ceiling, into which thankfully not so much had to go, arrived on a Tuesday at noon and we were ready from early afternoon.

It has already been mentioned that the screed usually comes after the plaster. However, the underfloor heating must be installed between the plaster and the screed. Also, you could ruin any schedule of your general contractor if electrical installation in the finished shell and plastering keep getting postponed further and further.

Therefore, I do not see "few" interfaces with a general contractor, but explicitly through electrical installation and plaster even two important milestones that depend on you.

Then there remain the following questions:
- who installs the other floors? If by the general contractor (which I don't believe), that also depends on the screed
- which staircase do you want? Building heights have to be well planned and it must also be clarified whether/ by whom there is a construction staircase
- is there even a general contractor who lets so much work out? (we only had conversations with one, where windows and doors would have been okay, probably not more)

--> Have you ever considered subcontracting?
--> possibly also with an extended shell construction (earthworks/ possibly basement/ shell construction/ roof including roofing from a single source)

Electrical work nice and easy ... I think nothing about that is easy. If you want to install in the ceiling, you have to pull your pipes after the formwork and before pouring, or after the precast element and before pouring the pipes. But even if you install on the floor and drill through the ceiling, everyone else is waiting for you. Screed insulation, underfloor heating, screed cannot be done before you are finished, and the plasterer won't come if you haven't finished setting the boxes. Coordination during installation must at least be done with water and ventilation, if present and running under the screed. So dawdling is not an option if you don't want the whole project to be delayed.

The electrical work is really very tightly scheduled with many general contractors. That means more or less on the day itself the cables have to go into the ceiling and then you have to deliver. Does your [GU] take the risk if you don't deliver?