Wall costs: Does it make sense to calculate yourself? And what does stone recycling cost?

Hello,
in my private preliminary construction planning, I calculated a few exterior wall variants today regarding U-value and costs. Now I’m interested in your opinion:
- Does doing something like this (for a layman who forages for prices on the internet) even make sense? Or are the found internet values so inaccurate that I might as well have flipped a coin?
- Is another alternative, recycling existing bricks, a sensible (cost) option? How can I estimate the time/costs (for preparing the bricks that occur anyway during demolition)? Are there any experience values?
In advance: Yes, I will consult an architect. And yes, I will consult a construction company. I just don’t want to go completely uninformed into these conversations.

The dreamed house should fit into an existing four-sided brick courtyard complex. For this purpose, an existing open shed (in the middle of the picture) will be demolished and rebuilt on this spot. Bricks arise during the demolition (the shed still extends further to the left). The new building should at least have the "brick look" of the rest of the courtyard complex on the courtyard side. For this, I see three options: clinker bricks, brick slips, brick recycling.
In my private calculations, the following results emerged (clearly, it’s currently only about orders of magnitude):

Length	19.2	m	Window ratio	0.2
Height	6.3	m	Area	97	m²
Material	Thickness	λ	R	U	Material	Labor	Costs	Costs
	mm				€/m²	€/m²	€/m²	€
Cement plaster	10	1.4	0.007		1	15	16	1552
Poroton T16	240	0.16	1.5		58.85	60	118.85	11528
Rock wool	180	0.04	4.5		20	20	40	3880
Clinker (antique)	115	0.96	0.12		60	45	105	10185
Variant 1	545		6.297	0.159			279.85	27145
Cement plaster	10	1.4	0.007		1	15	16	1552
Poroton U8	365	0.08	4.563		176	87	263	25511
Clinker (antique)	115	0.96	0.12		60	45	105	10185
Variant 2	490		4.86	0.206			384	37248
Cement plaster	10	1.4	0.007		1	15	16	1552
Poroton U8	365	0.08	4.563		176	87	263	25511
Brick slips (antique)	20	0.96	0.021		40	40	80	7760
Variant 3	395		4.761	0.21			359	34823

From this I draw the following conclusions:

[*]Insulation (with rock wool) is significantly cheaper than a thicker (Poroton) brick (too bad, I would have liked to have a monolithic wall structure)
[*]Brick slips are only slightly cheaper than clinker bricks (that’s nice)
[*]For around €6,000 in clinker brick costs, one can spend some time preparing the (existing) old bricks; and then they look exactly like the rest of the bricks in the courtyard.

Is this basically correct or have I spent a few pointless hours (ok, I also enjoyed calculating the U-values ;-)?

Karl

- Does something like this (for a layman who is scavenging for prices on the internet) even make sense?

No

Or are the internet values found so inaccurate that I could have just rolled dice?

Yes

- Is another alternative, recycling existing stones, a sensible (cost) option?

Who processes the stones so that they can be reused? Only worthwhile in EL.

Insulating (with rock wool) is significantly cheaper than a thicker (Poroton) brick (too bad, I would have liked to have a monolithic wall structure)

Brick buildings are the most expensive variants. It’s not due to the material but the share of labor costs.

Does something like this (for a layperson who is browsing prices on the internet) even make sense?

No

insert existing four-sided brick farm complex.

Maybe you explain what that is.

First of all: Yes, I will consult an architect. And yes, I will consult a contracting company. I just don’t want to go into these conversations completely clueless.

This should actually stand as a foreword in the poetry album of all those wishing to build: No one has to go to their architect already acting too clever. Few things are more dangerous than showing up halfway knowledgeable and possibly even using technical terms correctly by pure chance in front of the professionals. Then they think you already know, stop explaining, and suddenly you’re talking past each other (and in the worst case, you only realize it when the wall is in the wrong place, but the ceiling is already on). Being a layperson is no disgrace. Going to the architect without a half-finished plan is not the same as being ragged and unkempt! But now to your specific question today: I want to go so far as to say, "Boy, you’re going to get me killed yet," but you keep amazing me, and I unfortunately have to keep placing the little bottle of heart drops within reach. Next, you’ll probably find half a dozen dough mixers somewhere cheap and want to know whether mortar could be mixed with them too. Your jet drive is all well and good, but for being taken seriously by the building folks, maybe you’d better start at the flight level of sports machines rather than trying to reach eye level with the engineers by reading up. I must admit, I’m at a loss whether the rubble women back then received only a heavy labor food card or also a few Reichsmark pennies per hour. Certainly, I can tell you that nowadays you can only pave your yard and garden paths with solid bricks; you will no longer use them for exterior walls (and due to their format, only very limitedly for non-load-bearing interior walls). And unfortunately, I’m quite sure you still haven’t understood enough from my brick contribution. By the way, I advise you to check my doubts as to whether you’re even allowed to do what you want here: Namely, apparently to put a residential building in place of a presumably borderline tractor shelter. What building law framework conditions are you actually dealing with here? — It seems to me you are naively assuming an alleged existing use right for the development of the relevant plot and are overlooking the different treatment of living and storage rooms in boundary development (?)

Thank you for responding to the post, even though my questions were obviously somewhere between naive and absurd. Regarding your follow-up questions and comments:
: "Who processes the stones so they can be reused?"
That would not be done as a DIY project, but paid by the hour. But it seems it’s not an option anymore anyway.
: The "four-sided brick farmstead" is a former farm that is built on all four sides (residential house, barn, shelter, stables), and in its construction little half-timbering and much brick was used (around 1900).
: "Few things are more dangerous than showing up among the experts half-knowledgeable and possibly using technical terms correctly only by pure chance."
This statement surprised me a lot. You did briefly justify it, but what would be the consequence? Either I complete full site manager training and know exactly what it’s about, or I don’t deal with my building project at all and just let the architect or site manager do their thing? I could continue writing, but this post is not the right place for that, and I don’t want to bore you. But if you feel like it, let me know.
"And unfortunately I’m pretty sure you still haven’t understood enough from my clinker post."
Do you mean the post "Clinker: thin brick or facing brick"? I don’t find anything about used stones there. But in the search here ("for clinker/11ant") I find your tip "For laypeople building for the first time (and only once), guides who are themselves in this situation are also the ‘most useful’ advisors. So look for construction blogs on the internet." Isn’t that exactly what I’m doing? Which "clinker post" did you mean exactly?
"...whether you are even allowed to do whatever you want here:" Correct point. So far I have spoken with two local architects who both said it’s not a problem. But of course I have to clarify (have clarified) this with the building authorities.

I don’t intend to confront the architect or site manager "on equal terms" (and so far I think I am managing pretty well to make clear how little I know). Asking for your understanding,
Karl

but what would be the consequence?

Not wanting to show up with less than a quarter-full battery of specialized knowledge among the experts. The architect is on your side – he explains to you what he is talking about. With the builder it is different; one rarely, and not entirely undeservedly, suspects a certain amount of cunning, well, at least “attributes” it ;-)

but this post is not the right place for that, and I don’t want to bore you either. But if you feel like it, let me know.

In your thread every aspect of your topic is “properly” addressed, and you don’t bore me. I’ve just learned by now that I’d better fasten my seatbelt before your questions ;-) By the way, I already invited you to take advantage of the fact that you now know the way to email me.

Do you mean the post “Klinker: Riemchen oder Verblender”, I can’t find anything about used stones there.

Yes, that’s the one I meant, and I’d be happy to dedicate a follow-up on used stones to you in the next few weeks. You wrote in several places, among others

Riemchen are only slightly cheaper than Klinker

apparently to distinguish Riemchen from Klinker; it would be more correct to say from Verblender, as they themselves are also Klinker.