Possible savings in self-performed structural work

I think there's all kinds of romance going through people's heads. Like the motto, stacking a few stones is something any fool can do. Or the naive calculation that the friends' work only costs as much as the meatloaf sandwiches. If friendship isn't a one-way street, that also costs me my work on their house.

There are actually only two kinds of work in construction: poorly paid (which then isn’t worth taking time off from one’s better-paid job), and elaborate (which then doesn’t have much potential for beginners).

If you really want to save on the shell construction, you don’t do it with manual labor, but with brainwork: leaving out bay windows, projections, and recesses.

Beim Verblendmauerwerk habe ich 2/3 Lohnkosten 1/3 Material.

That’s not really beginner-friendly.

erüste auf- und abgebaut usw.

Scaffolding as the client - with what kind of liability insurance?

Actually, it is quite simple:

If you earn more than an additional craftsman, you should rather work in your company. If you earn less, you help on the construction site.

There are basically only two types of work in construction: low-paid (which then isn’t worth taking time off from your better-paying job), and elaborate (which then doesn’t have much potential for beginners).

Not everyone really has more money in their account monthly than a craftsman.

Regardless, the prefabricated shell house is still thriving. Even though the shell construction is not really the main issue there.

No matter how much effort you put in; you should just be aware of the consequences beforehand.

For many, the actual amount of money flowing is decisive; aside from any romanticism.

(Unnecessary to mention that in the 2 years before and after my parents’ house construction, the topic of "going on vacation" was a foreign word.)

I also find it too romanticized as it is portrayed. I also always find it astonishing that friends and family are involved in building a house. Of course, you help each other as a family, but you don't necessarily have 50 cousins and not all family members live in the same place. Friends also have their own lives, and I wouldn't want them to take 5 weeks off for my house, because if someone comes once every two weeks for one day, it only helps a little and delays the project. If you enjoy it yourself, then no question, but there can be no talk of great savings. We also asked our shell construction company (during negotiations) if the price could go down if we helped out, but it was so little that it didn't make any sense.

With children, I would immediately say goodbye to a lot of personal effort. I laid the floors myself upstairs, fortunately our offspring only came after moving in... since then I have hardly managed anything... all the fiddly work has been left undone. Now it’s no better... you can’t leave anything lying around... screws, boards, tools... everything is somehow interesting for children... but super annoying for the builder.

It's astonishing how friends and family are involved in building the house.

That is based on reciprocity.

We also asked our shell construction company (during negotiations) if the price would be lower if we helped out, but the difference was so small that it didn’t make sense

There are simply companies that do not include something like that in their business model; then a supposedly unattractive offer is made. But I wouldn’t draw conclusions about others from that.

but a big saving is impossible to talk about

Of course. If free time is more important to you. But monetarily, significantly less money changes hands.

I work in IT. Helping with renovations or expansions is sometimes a really good change of pace. When you’ve sanded 100 sqm of parquet, you can be proud of yourself. And I help others often enough. It’s just the right thing to do.