Resthof renovation - on a budget

Why actually "on a budget". I don't think that really came across in my original post. Or rather, I simply wrote it incorrectly.

We have 340,000 EUR plus ongoing expenses.

They are divided as follows:
200,000 EUR for our share of the land/house including all incidentals
140,000 EUR for the modernization in the attic and the renovation on the ground floor

Of that, we have already spent a good 35,000 EUR.

Still missing on the upper floor:
Raising the ceiling of the ground floor (approx. 20 m²) because it is too low in the kitchen area (here all the ceilings are amusingly and wildly different heights [...]), installing lightweight walls to create two children's rooms upstairs or initially just one, the remaining part will initially be a gallery/library

On the ground floor:
everything is still missing, except for the gutting. Ahem. It was living space, but the floor slab is too thin and not sealed against rising damp, there is no horizontal barrier in the area of the outer wall. The interior insulation was done like this: two rows of bricks, silo foil (!) and then aerated concrete. Ouch. So new interior insulation as well. New windows are also needed on the ground floor.
The floor plan will remain relatively the same. Only one or two new interior walls are needed and the staircase will be moved to the other side of the load-bearing wall. Water connections are virtually already where we need them in the right dimensions. We are doing the electrical work anew.

What remains untouched: the roof is in good shape, as is the roof insulation, the gas heating from 2005, the hot water tank is adequately sized and additionally a solar system helps to heat the water. The windows on the upper floor are also currently sufficient (double glazing, partly wood, partly plastic). The upper floor is already inhabited by us (an open living-dining area with kitchen, bedroom, office, two full bathrooms, two storage rooms)

The most expensive items ranked are: 1. new windows, 2. bathroom renovation, and 3. kitchen together with the floor slab.
At least the bathroom is finished and the kitchen is also paid for.

Actually, something to run away from and I’m sure some people already see us on "The Bargain Houses", followed by Peter Zwegat sitting on our sofa. I can well understand that line of thinking. But we are optimistic about pulling off the project – we know what the floor slab, insulation, and new windows will cost us. Good friends of ours have already gone through a similar project with 110,000 EUR for the complete conversion/expansion and significantly more space. But with few changes to the actual floor plan itself. There was even enough money left over for a new terrace.
Here too, however, the people were practically on the construction site every day and important trades were represented in the family (master carpenter, electrician, plumber). And it really takes a lot of strength and time. No one should underestimate that. When I had, alongside the house project and my 39-hour job, a rather intensive training course going on, I was really worn out around exam time. We want to be finished by December 2021. Then we’ll see if we were daydreamers.

Edit: a few more pictures of the shower.

It does not sound like a dreamer. Sure, money is not unlimited like for almost everyone. However, you are not dealing here with a six-figure gap between wish and budget. You are also aware that the "little" personal contribution cannot be done in just a few weekends. Looking forward to more pictures.

Exciting project - but I will never understand how someone can painstakingly tear out a wooden floor just to replace it with plastic ops:

Wouldn't sanding and staining it to match have been better???

Thank you very much for the encouraging words. However, I can well understand if someone sees it differently. I have to admit, in some (weak) moments I myself have thought that we are a bit naive

Yes, actually I can only agree with you. No normal person would do that. But unfortunately, I can't stand against my inner Monk, who simply preferred the look of long planks much more than the small-scale strip parquet. Also for cost and time-saving reasons, that would make much more sense. Well.

Currently, there is unfortunately nothing very exciting to report. We have newly laid the lawn outside, which resembles a crater landscape. A friend who works in consulting for farmers got us the lawn she recommended from the wholesale and reassured us that if we do not want an English lawn, we do not have to completely remove the old turf beforehand. We had soil delivered and my cousin distributed it with the—quote— "smallest excavator we have" and partially already leveled it. Due to two already somewhat larger apple trees, unfortunately, he couldn't reach everywhere. So we shoveled and raked a lot. Then we worked in soil activator, sowed the lawn and rolled it, and soon the lawn fertilizer will follow.

And we have taken away a lot of trash and still have to – unbelievable how much tree debris accumulates. It’s certainly not ecologically valuable. Soon we will then start with the probably most important project: the foundation slab. Here we are accompanied by an architect and a structural engineer, whom we pay on an hourly basis. The structure proceeds as shown in the picture, which can be roughly seen

1. Geotextile on the ground, along the foundation of the walls, and folded up on top
2. Foam glass gravel between, compacted, denser towards the top
3. Protective foil
4. Concrete slab with reinforcement (mesh, round steel)
5. Insulation

Due to the structural engineering, we have to work in sections. In total 5 sections, the previous section should be dry and stable enough before the next one. Which drags the whole thing out quite a bit and doesn’t exactly reduce the rental cost of the mini excavator. But well, so be it.

Have a nice evening

Oh, in case it causes confusion: My cousin just removed the root of an old arborvitae there, did not distribute any soil

Great project :)
Would you like to report if there is any news?

Yes, in two to three weeks there will gladly be a new, somewhat more extensive post. The fact is that we are currently somewhat behind schedule and therefore don't have that much new to report. But maybe that is actually the important core message: things often turn out differently than planned :D

We have now decided to hire a company for the excavation and pouring of the foundation slab. This will actually not cost us much more (hopefully!) than if we had always rented and transported the necessary construction machinery (excavator etc.) ourselves. Unfortunately, the start date from the company’s side has been significantly delayed (about 1.5 months), allegedly due to COVID cases, and it took us about a month to find someone who is interested in constructing the foundation slab in around 8 (previously planned 5) sections. At the moment, no one is really eager to take that on. We have mostly removed the concrete ourselves, laid geotextile and filled and compacted with glass gravel. After the next section is finished, we will relocate the old staircase. Then I will post some pictures and talk about 1-2 things in detail. :)

Basically, we hope to stay on schedule overall. Since a child has also been announced, the plan is to have the foundation slab, interior insulation, and masonry work completed by mid-June, as well as the new windows installed. Ideally, the electrical work downstairs will also be done by then. We’ll see how it develops.