Own work - floor coverings, painting, tiling, what else?

The issue with time remains. Those who stay home for it mathematically make almost no real gain, unless they are a real professional in the field. Especially with houses from construction companies, where the individual trades are calculated with very little margin, this hardly pays off. In construction, €1000 is nothing and just evaporates. Anyone who makes such a big fuss over €1000 should rather not build.

PS: Own services must be reported to the BG and cost a flat rate of 1-2€? (don’t remember exactly) per hour for insurance purposes. The builders themselves are exempt.

You can save a lot of money on the outdoor area if you lay the driveway yourself and set up the carport yourself! The advantage here: there is usually no great time pressure and you live quite close to the construction site. However, laying stones is not easy. The parts are quite heavy (and many!!!!!!). But you can definitely set up a carport with some craft skills.

the issue with time remains anyway. Whoever stays at home for it makes virtually no real gain mathematically, unless they are a true professional in the field.

I can't quite understand the passage - of course you have to stay at home to deliver a service. How else should that work?

Without our EL, we would never have been able to build the standard for that price...

If you stay at home, you either a) have vacation or b) are at home unpaid. If you work at home, you cannot say, I'm here anyway, it doesn't cost anything. You must also account for your working hours with wages. Because what you do on the house is not leisure time, you could just as well work overtime in the office and pay the craftsmen for the "extra money."

This nonsensical calculation... as if everyone a) gets paid for their overtime and b) can pay for even one hour of a craftsman from the net income and c) there must also be work available for overtime.

For whatever reason one should offset their OWN hours – then what is the point of personal contribution? It costs me nothing, I do it for my family and myself... and anyway for a very limited period.

This nonsensical calculation... as if a) everyone gets paid for their overtime and b) can pay for even one hour of a craftsman from their net income and c) there also has to be work for the overtime.

No matter why someone should offset their OWN hours - then what is the point of self-performed work? It costs me nothing, I do it for my family and myself... and that anyway for a very limited period.

I fully agree. The self-performed work is done during the time when one might otherwise just be lying on the sofa or doing leisure activities.

Only if one takes unpaid leave must one calculate – but even then it can work out. Depending on the hourly rate of the saved craftsmen & the skills of the [Bauherren].