Traveling during the construction phase?

I think very few people can afford such a luxury.

That is probably true. I have factored in the loss of income.

But when (in which construction phase) does the well-being of the craftsmen begin?

As soon as craftsmen are on site, it is good to take care of them. If the craftsmen like coming to the construction site and do not have to fear mistakes, they work significantly better and hide less improvised solutions. Control is one thing, motivation is another. As a layperson, you don't really have control, but you can manage motivation.

As long as the excavator is doing the earthworks and the civil engineering is tinkering around, do I really have to be on site?

If you have a very simple plot, that is not too big of an issue – the foundation slab and pipe installation are, as already mentioned here, of crucial importance. I think skipping a vacation trip is not a significant investment in your own building project. Of course, everyone will see that differently.

We will also travel immediately after the civil engineering phase and hopefully be back (in 2 weeks) when the actual shell construction really begins...

Unfortunately, everything has been delayed on our end, so the construction now falls during our planned vacation.

However, the shell builder will most likely only "set up the crane," "miss the layout framework and maybe the first steps of the basement shell construction – if at all :D

It was also important to us that we don't miss a single step of it – but I think that's up to everyone individually, and nobody can really answer that question for you.

We also have parents nearby who check in from time to time – plus full trust in our construction manager, so I think it’s okay to take 1-2 weeks off for vacation.

What I find crazy and definitely do not aim for:
You keep hearing that some people stop working earlier, get up earlier, and put in a lot of effort at home to bring construction workers food/drinks almost every day? I think that's completely over the top... Sure, "once in a while" bringing a non-alcoholic beer or pretzels/trucks is fine... But I definitely do not constantly provide for the construction workers? For what reason? None of my clients provide for me at the office either :D – just wanted to mention that...
It sounds like some people don't even take vacation except for THAT purpose

But I certainly don’t constantly provide food for the construction workers? For what reason? None of my clients here in the office provide me with food either :D - Just wanted to point that out...

If you reduce your presence to the topic of catering, I agree with you. Appreciation feels good – and placing enough water, occasionally some fruit, or ordering pizza when a milestone is reached is only one means. Showing interest, saying thank you, giving praise (and there are plenty of opportunities for that), giving criticism immediately and constructively – that is important for a good result. What that has to do with your job and why you think you shouldn’t treat other people better, or according to your standards, than you are treated in your job is beyond me. If you make this comparison at all – how much better would many things go at work if more appreciation was shown? Who feels comfortable working only for money? Do purpose and appreciation perhaps not play a role in your job?

If you reduce your presence to the topic of catering, I agree with you. Appreciation feels good – and placing enough water, occasionally some fruit, or ordering pizza when finishing an intermediate step is just one means. Showing interest, saying thank you, giving praise (and there are plenty of opportunities for that), giving criticism directly and constructively – that is important for a good result. What this has to do with your job and why you think you shouldn't treat other people better, or by your standards, than you yourself are treated at work is beyond me. If you make this comparison – how much better would many things at work run if there was more appreciation? Who feels comfortable working only for money? Do meaning and appreciation play no role in your job?

Then you definitely misunderstood me. I will definitely visit the construction site every day, talk to the workers, and express praise/criticism – show interest and so on... That is one of the most important things in the job and unfortunately happens far too little, as you have already mentioned! I just wanted to say that it is not necessary to enter the construction site every day with a cake and spoil the construction workers that much – no idea where this idea often comes from nowadays in this industry? At least in our area, this is never demanded or anything like that – praise/thanks etc. and occasionally bringing a few small things is completely fine. But I also saw it with a neighbor who supplied the construction workers every morning with fresh pretzels (probably that’s why he didn’t go on vacation :D) – in my opinion, that just doesn’t have to be :D – sure, whoever wants to: go for it – but I don’t know any “job field” where that is standard practice. PS: Yes, of course I only referred to catering! I wrote it that way! So this has nothing to do with praise/criticism/meaningfulness and appreciation...

Here on the forum you probably won’t get a representative opinion on the topic. Mainly those who are very interested in the topic of house building hang out here and have also informed themselves about the individual trades in their own house construction to detect errors early.

Yes, only the OP belongs to that group :D

At least in our area this is never demanded or anything like that – praise/thanks etc. and occasionally bringing a few small things is completely fine.

No one is talking about an expectation either.

The period would be from the end of July to mid-August. Possible construction start might be at the end of June.

The earthworks are supposed to start in week 25 and then the foundation slab will follow. The masons are scheduled for week 33 at our place. By then we will already be back.

Yes, you have to decide how you rate the house construction or the progress.
I sent a colleague over for the first excavator round because I wasn’t there.
The first masonry work on the foundation slab, formwork, etc. was already interesting. Yes, and then the foundation slab curing… no one else does that. Then the first row.
Well, I was excited every time our concrete or the bricks were delivered. CornerstoneEuro is also buried… only one capsule we don’t have.

I think the foundation slab is enormously underestimated.

I think so too.

Personally, I learned a lot. Especially the foreman during the earth and concrete work explained a lot to me. Of course, not everything runs perfectly and mistakes happen. Neither I, nor my husband, nor the construction manager, nor the foreman noticed that a terrace foundation on the slope was missing.

Same with us. He offered to still be able to change this and that, e.g. parapet or passage, because he was more familiar with the conservative building method.

Totally interesting to read how things run at construction sites elsewhere. Here in the city, I think by now you would be looked at strangely if you showed up on the construction site with provisions and especially twice a day (!), that is not expected at all. We usually went once a week, mostly on weekends, and took our time to look around, less out of supervision and more because we were totally curious about how it was progressing. During the shell construction, we were on site only once with an appointment with our site manager to discuss something, the workers briefly said a friendly hello and then just kept working, so I think our daily presence would have really annoyed them. Personally, I also don’t like it when someone constantly looks over my shoulder while I’m working, so we kept it that way with the workers and it worked well for us. So from our experience: owners are rather unnecessary for the workers during the shell construction phase, later on, when it comes to laying tiles and floors, questions about electricity or painting, it’s certainly different and you become more present and actually "needed". Since your site manager also told you that you can definitely go, I would definitely recommend it to you, you can clearly tell that you are really in need of a vacation and let’s be honest, after Corona, we all are and just want to get away, and for a child, building a house is also much less exciting and after the last months such a vacation is a great thing for you as a family. No shell construction in the world is done in 2 weeks, so just go away relaxed during that time, let your company know that you are reachable for invoices and questions via email and phone and if you even have an expert who can go to the site during that time, nothing can go wrong anymore.