Shell house and awarding of the remaining trades

Dear forum,

my wife and I – both absolute newcomers to construction – plan to build our dream house. We are still at the very beginning of the project and therefore do not yet have a plot of land.

We recently had a first, very positive conversation with our preferred house provider. We want to build a half-timbered house in the Cologne/Bonn area. However, the provider is located in Lower Saxony. He told us that he would not build houses turnkey at a greater distance (in our case), but rather as a shell construction, and that the remaining trades (electrics, plumbing, screed/floors, painting) would be subcontracted locally, since he simply cannot be on site (for supervision and coordination etc.) due to the distance, which also sounds reasonable.
Now, I basically see the opportunity to subcontract the trades "myself" as a chance to save costs, since I can decide which company gets the contract. My question to you is: As a layperson, you cannot possibly handle the tendering and especially the supervision of the works yourself; that has to be done by a professional, right? How do I approach this? Is a "general contractor" what you need at this point? I imagine it like this: that I hire someone who takes care of the tendering and supervision of the remaining trades for me. How do I find someone like that? Or is there another approach?

I look forward to all support and tips.

Best regards from the Rhineland!

For these planning and monitoring services, the architect is traditionally engaged. He also represents your interests in enforcing quality standards and warranty claims in case of construction defects / building damages. He officially accepts the construction work as defect-free (formal acceptance), also checks the construction work quantitatively (measurement, billing) and reviews the company invoices. Unlike the general contractor / main contractor or companies hired independently by you, an independent control is provided here.

Important - besides a sound work and detailed planning - is the tendering of the construction work in so-called bill of quantities. This is also a task that requires expertise and a special tendering software with which the bill of quantities is created. Based on uniform bills of quantities, comparable craftsman offers can then be obtained.

At your request, the architect can also pre-plan and coordinate owner-provided work, both technically and organizationally. Time and cost management are further important areas covered by a professional construction planner.

I assume that your desired timber-framed house consists of a presented, external timber frame "for the look" and an internal solid construction for the structural and energetic building body. The provider’s system should be carefully examined in detail (scope of work description, component structures, physical verifications of sound, moisture and thermal protection) since this construction principle is quite demanding and must be carefully thought out to remain free of damage permanently.

From my experience with "real" = old timber framing, timber frame renovations and occasionally also with new timber-framed houses in construction consultations, I am familiar with some critical points that should be checked with today’s providers.

Where would you ideally like to build? Is your primary concern the timber frame appearance or the "wood house" construction principle? The latter is nowadays realized in a contemporary way as timber frame, wood panel or wood skeleton construction, with prefabrication, short construction times and a dry construction site.