The Old Suffering - Turnkey/Individual Contract

I agree with Yvonne. Besides, most things are clarified BEFORE signing the contract. We have also settled additional costs arising from later change requests with the craftsmen. Just like you do with individual contracts... I think you make the mistake of always comparing with the rather "worse" GCs/CMs.

And anyone who, as a layperson, handles the individual contracting and supervises the execution themselves is, in case of doubt, just as much left in the lurch as someone building with a GC/CM without their own expertise at hand.

No klblb, what you are describing is construction without own construction supervision.

Just the argument that I constantly have to read that the general contractors push their craftsmen to an immeasurable extent. Architects don't do that with their tendering? The architects who really tender everything to several craftsmen push the price just as much as a general contractor who tenders to several. In reality, most architects (at least here it is like this) have their favorite craftsmen. The tendering goes to the same 1-2 craftsmen all the time. It's no different with the small general contractors either.

The answer from exemplifies what the general contractor/main contractor uses to keep their clients on their toes: with literally "superficial things." The things that really matter for the longevity and functionality of the house they prefer to handle among themselves. But I prefer to discuss with my architect and the craftsmen topics like:
- Details of the window lintels to avoid thermal bridges
- Thickness of the "black" insulation in the base area
- Exact installation of the underlay membrane on the rafters and how and where it interfaces with the insulation. Here it is decided whether your roof will last forever or rot away in 5 years.
- Installation technique of the roof sealing (glued, nailed, welded or a specific combination of all), type of roof sealing, details of the plumbing work in the roof area
- Ventilation of our 3° shed roof (which is still incorrectly listed in the standards, but there have been insights in recent years that will eventually flow into the standards)

I could write two more pages and still wouldn't be finished.
You have influence over all this during the construction phase or in preliminary talks before, and you can positively affect it if you build with a clever architect and individual contracting.

The general contractor/main contractor just builds as always and the expert looks over it afterwards. Many things can no longer be changed then, or only with a big dispute.

I don’t believe you that you and other builders argue extensively with the architect. Unless you are/they are in the construction industry yourselves.

I rather think you confuse "asking questions" with "discussing." We also asked plenty of questions... but to the craftsman. Yes, it’s true: of course we only chose the general contractor so we could conveniently order from a catalog. Irony off: we also informed ourselves beforehand how he builds. But only to a limited extent, because we trusted. It wouldn’t have been any different with the architect. And we didn’t question how and if thermal bridges develop. The architect doesn’t have control over that either, since the craftsmen build according to today’s state of the art, as we all hope.
Your architect ultimately also has his favorites in construction methods. That means: an architect can also guide you in your discussion toward a certain type of building. And whether the craftsmen actually build as planned in the tender at some point is also questionable.
But I do not want to badmouth the architect – I just want to clarify that it depends on yourself what you make of it, how you proceed, and there are actually very, very many parallels between general contractors and architects.

By the way, it is the "superficial things" here – as you say – that are praised in the discussion: "you can afford more in the fittings" – that’s what it’s called. Most people don’t care about the sealing slurry (only afterwards, when it’s missing )

Regards, Yvonne

P.S. My general contractor charges something like 47 € for the socket... our electrician (from the general contractor) took something like 20 from us (26 €?). I know others charge more, but you can clarify that beforehand before you sign.

At least, the above was my experience with the craftsmen I spoke to.
Electricians, plumbers, and tilers have been working with our general contractor for years.
With these contracts, they generally achieved a basic workload, but without making any profit from it.
Since they were sure that most of the homeowners would not stick to the standard, they made their profits there.
Advantage for the entrepreneur: he can save costs for sales and advertising, but in return, he puts himself in a dangerous dependence on the general contractor.
And mind you, we were not in the cheap segment.

With the architect, the tendered contract must be profitable for the craftsman. If the craftsman does not submit cost-covering offers, he will not exist in the long run.

It may be that subs receive more follow-up orders from a low-cost general contractor than from a high-priced one, and therefore the calculation for the sub looks completely different. This could explain the effect of "cheap standard house" and "high surcharges for additional services."

You don’t have to believe me, it is simply like that. I have no desire to convince anyone here, but also no desire to be told by you how an architect supposedly builds.
It is simply in the nature of the matter that with individual contracts with an architect you have much more influence than with any other approach (general contractor/contractor/developer/etc.)

Your statement

And we have not questioned how and whether thermal bridges arise. The architect does not have that under control anyway, since the craftsmen build according to the current state of the art, that is what we all hope.

indicates that you have little knowledge of an architect’s work.
An architect is indeed responsible, for example, that no thermal bridges arise. Only he has the overall view that the individual trades cannot have. He defines how, for example, rafters, insulation, windows, various membranes, vapor barriers, roof waterproofing are executed at critical points. He defines what the trades have to carry out and in which order.

And if you think that the craftsmen build according to the current state of the art, you are very, very gullible. There may be exceptions, but regarding further education and knowledge of the new rules of technology, standards, and guidelines, craftsmen are generally not role models. But they can very well make you believe that they know what they are doing.