What cost you the most nerves during the house construction?

I think this thread could be helpful as a trigger warning for new builders or maybe to relieve them by realizing that it was quite relaxed for themselves:

Interestingly, the first sentence we usually hear after telling someone that we are building a house is "Good luck with that"; whether from the notary, loan advisor, colleagues, acquaintances, relatives, or friends. Was it similar for you ... and to get to the question of this thread "What cost you the most nerves?" My answer was often that we are not building ourselves, we are having it built, to which the reply almost always was "I thought the same once."

For us, so far it has been the task to arrange construction water and electricity on the property. (Yes, also the search for the land, since we always had about 500 km one way to the desired building region, but that was balanced out by the fun involved. Also the price increase of about 15%. I would have to look up the exact figure again.)

I was also most nervous with the utilities, since you have the least counterarguments with them. And electricity + gas was important for the further course.

Similarly annoying was the short-term change due to delivery bottlenecks from suppliers (in connection with Corona...). For us, e.g. bricks, tiles, paving stones.

oh yes... and something you can only smile wearily about afterwards... "That one" neighbor who called the police multiple times because we were working on the construction site at times that didn’t suit her. That really cost us nerves.

Dealing with GÜ and some of his craftsmen. Sometimes no answer was better than finally getting one... The supply shortages for sure. They still annoy me especially now. I still haven’t received all the tiles that were actually supposed to be here by mid-January. Let me tell you: order 20-30% more tiles, not just 10%. And if you want to be absolutely sure, don’t order anything that can only be ordered online (at least at Obi), no guarantee you’ll actually get it in a timely manner. With tile deliveries, something is almost always broken.

So far, the construction has gone really smoothly with us (about 4 weeks before moving in) and we haven't had any significant problems.

But this is certainly also due to the fact that we gave everything for the construction, tried everything to coordinate perfectly together with the general contractor, and we read extensively about every topic, thus acquiring broad knowledge BEFORE the start of construction. Also, due to our young age, no children, and proximity to the construction site, we certainly have the opportunity to invest a lot here.

Because of this, the issue of energy providers / internet etc. was also not a problem.

Currently, however, nerves are being extremely stretched since our house is in the final stages. Communication with the last trades (painting work which is partly done by ourselves but partially with plasterer, tilers, kitchen installation, staircase installation, final electrical assembly, etc...) Everything is now crowded on the site within 3-4 weeks, and everything should be done perfectly and neatly.

This requires a lot of planning from us apart from the general contractor, as otherwise it would never work within this timeframe.

Stress therefore:

- final planning 4 weeks before moving in
- planning/organizing the move from the apartment in parallel and already packing everything etc.
- putting pressure on oneself to move in on time and as quickly as possible

With 3 years distance from the construction phase, it was a beautiful and creative time. The worries with the companies can be smiled at in hindsight, everything was resolved. PS: We will never go through that again

But it certainly also has to do with the fact that we gave everything for the construction, tried everything to coordinate perfectly together with the general contractor, and we read extensively about every topic, thus acquiring broad knowledge BEFORE the start of construction.

Really? No one else does that here. (scnr) The problem is: ballroom dancing always involves two people. And if one doesn't dance along or dances to a different tune, you step on each other's feet. Even if it doesn't hurt sometimes, it's always annoying. You also just got lucky with your general contractor, I’m happy for you, but you can't assume that preparation and reading up will always make it work. On the contrary, with the wrong partner it even runs smoother if you know nothing and just dumbly nod along to everything they suggest. Stress always happens when one messes up and you notice it.