Is a house for a total volume of 400k still possible at all?

Our quite extensive own contribution included: - Construction management (the architect was only involved in performance phases 1-4, that is until building approval, support during construction by an expert) - Electrical (chasing, flush-mounted boxes, cables, smart distribution cabinets, electrician inspected and connected the system to the grid) - Sanitary (water, wastewater, pre-wall elements, final assembly of bathroom ceramics) - Drywall (ready for tiler, i.e. substructure and paneling) - Installation of underfloor heating (insulation, studded plates, pipes) - Painting work - Floor coverings - Interior doors - Construction of wastewater inspection shaft - Insulation between rafters, installation of climate membrane - Countless small stuff and things I have forgotten or repressed... But I must also admit that this scope would have been difficult without Corona (short-time work, leave of absence). At the same time, it was also especially necessary (unplanned loss of income). So, you can build a full single-family house for <= 400 k. At least it worked for us. But this is certainly not the standard procedure. Regards, Jupp

What is left then? :eek: Hats off to anyone who manages to do all that properly from a technical standpoint. What was the plan without Corona? I mean, it couldn't be better. Depending on the length of short-time work, up to 90% short-time allowance and the gained time also invested more than sensibly in house construction. You actually should have calculated much higher, right?

What is left then? :eek: Hats off to anyone who can manage all that professionally and cleanly. What was the plan without Corona? I mean, it can't get any better. Depending on the duration of short-time work, up to 90% short-time allowance, and the gained time then invested even more meaningfully in the house construction. You must have actually calculated much higher, right?

Don't worry, there is still enough left, especially with a new build :D. We have done most of the things mentioned as well, but with a renovation of an old building. That is real hard work and drains a lot of nerves and time. But it definitely saves a lot of money and the advantage is: you can do it yourself later or if the opportunity arises again. We are currently plastering a room again and rebuilding the floor structure, we removed a windowsill and installed a new one, the window we already replaced ourselves four years ago. That's a really great feeling :cool:. With a new build, however, the time is more pressing and usually you have to do the whole house at once, all at the same time, in coordination with the craftsmen. In the end, that's a whole different level and needs to be well thought out.

Hello Jupp,

that really sounds interesting. I would like to learn more about it if possible, but I still can’t receive private messages. Are there any other contact options?

Thanks and best regards

True, from how many posts can you send a PM? We can exchange here first, maybe other participants will benefit from it as well ;) I’ll try to post a rough cost breakdown of our new build soon.

What’s left over then? :eek: Hats off to whoever can manage all that professionally and cleanly.
What was the plan without Corona? I mean, it doesn’t get any better than this. Depending on the duration of short-time work, up to 90% short-time allowance and then investing the gained time even more sensibly in the house construction. You should have actually calculated much higher, right?

The plan without Corona looked very similar, just definitely with more night and weekend shifts plus additional helpers. Probably the completion date would have been pushed weeks/months back. Everything has its pros and cons. Since my employer did not top up the short-time allowance, we had to do without roughly 10k net income. That could have come in handy.

Don’t worry, there’s still enough left, especially with a new build :D. We did most of the things listed too, but on a renovation of an old building. That’s really hard work and drains a lot of nerves and time. But definitely saves a lot of money and the advantage is: you can do it yourself later or if the opportunity arises again.
We’re currently re-plastering a room and rebuilding the floor, removed a window sill and installed a new one, and replaced the window ourselves 4 years ago already. That’s a really great feeling :cool:. With a new build, however, you generally have more time pressure and usually have to do the whole house at once, in coordination with the craftsmen. That’s a whole different ball game and requires careful consideration.

I can only agree with you. Knowing what you have created for yourself and your family makes you proud. At the same time, you gain a lot of knowledge/experience and come to know your property inside and out later on. That’s worth its weight in gold for the further life cycle of the property, especially if you don’t want to rely on craftsmen.

But the point about nerves and time should definitely not be underestimated!! I don’t have a comparison with a build via general contractor/trading company and can only report from my personal experience. Such a project can really take a toll, and it’s not surprising to me that families/marriages/partnerships break up over it. When construction started, child 1 was 1 1/2 years old, and shortly before completion child 2 arrived. From today’s perspective, maybe some things could have been given more time :rolleyes:

Regards, Jupp

I just had this discussion with a colleague. I told him that a 140-150sqm house today, including the plot, is usually no longer feasible for 450k. (apart from Vorpommern or Brandenburg)

it is very much possible. But of course it’s then not a "I let everything be done and just move in" house build.

400k excl. plot is possible. Probably not without own work (EL). We built last year. 167sqm and were well under 400k (also well below 350k) without the plot.

Our own work (EL)
- cheaper draftsman and structural engineer for drafting and building application
- each trade selected and commissioned individually
- construction management done by ourselves with support from family
- electrical work as own work
- plumbing in the family
- interior finishing as own work (vapor barrier, insulation, drywall, floors, painting, etc.)
- windows ordered and installed as own work
- façade insulated and plastered as own work
- media shafts excavated as own work

So basically similar to how did it. It only worked because of Corona, which really played into our hands. Stress was factor 1, health was factor 2... my joints are still healing because of the unusual strain :(

It certainly is possible. But of course, then it’s not a "I let everything be done and just move in" house construction.

400k excl. land is possible. Probably not without DIY. We built last year. 167 sqm and were well under 400k (also well under 350k) without land.

Our DIY:
- affordable draftsman and structural engineer for drawings and building application
- each trade selected and commissioned individually
- construction management done by ourselves with family support
- electrical work DIY
- plumbing in the family
- interior work DIY (vapor barrier, insulation, drywall, floors, painting, etc.)
- windows ordered and installed DIY
- facade insulated and plastered DIY
- media shafts dug out DIY

Respect for that. I find it impressive. But in my opinion, it’s not the standard. Very few are so skilled in craftsmanship or have the right craftsmen in their families. Are the material cards for the DIY already included in the price?

Furthermore, you write without land. That means including the land, in most regions you are again above 450k, which makes my statement true again.

Here is the rough breakdown of the costs for our project:



[TH]Position[/TH]

[TH]Actual Costs[/TH]

Authority and Notary (building permit, permit amendment, land partition, ...)	3,600 EUR
Structural Engineering and Thermal Insulation Certificate	4,900 EUR
Architect Phase 1-4	9,400 EUR
Surveyor (for new construction and land partition)	5,800 EUR
House Connection Costs (water, electricity, telecom - wastewater was free)	6,000 EUR
Civil Engineering (excavation, disposal, backfilling of construction area, including demolition of old buildings)	24,000 EUR
Shell Construction (basement made of waterproof concrete, filigree walls, walls made of 17.5 or 11.5 lime sand brick, internal concrete stairs, 180 mm chimney for wood stove)	132,500 EUR
Scaffolding	1,800 EUR
Roof Structure	7,500 EUR
Roof Covering (main roof with concrete roof tiles, garage EPDM flat roof, no roof windows)	19,200 EUR
Insulation Between Rafters (18 cm 032 compression felt, material only as EL)	2,500 EUR
Sanitary Installation (material only as EL)	8,000 EUR
Heating (air-water heat pump Stiebel Eltron WPL-A 07 230 HK Premium, 230 sqm underfloor heating, only laying of underfloor heating as EL)	22,000 EUR (Bafa subsidy already deducted!)
Electrical Installation (Homematic Wired, complete as EL with approval by electrician)	15,500 EUR
Windows (plastic with triple glazing Ug 0.6, aluminum shutters)	28,000 EUR
Front Door (aluminum)	3,400 EUR
Interior Plaster (gypsum plaster Q3)	8,600 EUR
Facade (18 cm ETICS, gable walls with facing bricks for the appearance)	36,500 EUR
Screed (240 sqm fiber-reinforced cement screed)	5,300 EUR
Tiles Bathroom and Guest WC (by craftsmen including waterproofing and tiles)	4,700 EUR
Floor Coverings (click vinyl or carpet, material only as EL)	4,500 EUR
Interior Doors (material only as EL)	3,000 EUR
Paint (material only as EL)	1,500 EUR
Cladding of Interior Stairs in Natural Stone (3x15 steps)	10,000 EUR
Miscellaneous	5,000 EUR
TOTAL	373,500 EUR

What is still missing here are e.g. outdoor facilities, attic conversion (approx. 100 sqm sloping roof) and a wood stove. I think we will come quite close to the 400,000 limit.

I hope the breakdown helps a bit, although of course these are only "our" costs and generalizations are difficult.

Best regards, Jupp