Hello,
we have now been in the house for 14 months, fortunately we have nothing that really annoys us, but next time I would at least reconsider a few things.
Architect of the general contractor
In our case, he was such a fool that you really had to drag him. He just wanted a simple house that wouldn’t give him any work. Actually, the guy was a complete failure. Since I had a complete design of the house, which we ultimately built exactly as planned, it wasn’t really a problem for us. In hindsight, however, I probably would have liked to give some money to a “real” architect to have him take a look. Maybe he would have had a few clever ideas.
Also, because he didn’t include the carport on the building application documents, he caused us quite a problem later on. Make sure that absolutely everything is included in the building application plans, NEVER rely on statements like “we’ll do that later, we’ll submit it afterward,” etc. Due to extreme time pressure (we definitely wanted to submit the building application in 2015 to avoid building under the tightened EnEV regulations), I agreed to it. And sure enough, six months later the building authority suddenly wanted the carport somewhere completely different and no one could recall any oral agreements (see below).
Soundproofing:
In retrospect, I would probably build the wall structure out of calcium silicate brick instead of clay brick. Much more important, however, would probably be sound-absorbing window panes. We have triple glazing, but it still feels like quite a lot of sound comes through the windows. (Especially when the neighbor’s bratty kids are playing apocalypse in the garden... They are really hardcore, even the shell builders standing next to the running stone saw during construction complained about their noise level...)
So RC2 windows, not just the RC2N, would definitely have been good.
Fixed windows:
We have quite a few windows and terrace doors in the living room, some of them double-winged. Actually, two doors at opposite ends of the room would have been completely sufficient. The rest could have been made fixed. Also, a window in the kitchen could easily have been fixed.
Roller shutters in the hallway
The “architect” (see above) cut out the roller shutters in the hallway without asking, and I was an idiot and never questioned it. It was, of course, the biggest nonsense. Luckily, we were able to correct that later quite inexpensively and well with indoor blinds.
Dealing with the building authority
Even if they all seem nice and friendly at first (everything went extremely smoothly and quickly for us), _never_ rely on any oral commitments. With hindsight, I would only accept dates in writing from them. We relied on statements from the building authority for the positioning of the carport that we could easily move it to a corner of the plot, even if it would exceed two meters beyond the building line. (Quote: “Since you still have two other parking spaces in the location provided for in the building code, the third parking space is considered unnecessary and can be built somewhere like a garden shed.”) The position was coordinated with all neighbors and would have been optimal for all parties. But six months later, they suddenly denied these statements and insisted on the site plan. The fact that other neighbors had also placed their carports in the corner (interestingly completely illegally, without building permits or anything…) counted for nothing, nor did the fact that all neighbors preferred our planned position. Now I have to put the carport right in front of our direct neighbor’s garden and shade half of his garden...
Also very interesting was the building authority’s statement: “Now that you have asked again, if you had simply built it, no one would have noticed. No one can be forced to dismantle for such minor things...“
Parquet – floating installation or glued down
At first, we installed the parquet floating ourselves. After a major water damage, it had to be completely replaced upstairs. We then had it glued down. And that is really nicer in terms of floor and walking feel. Although it was absolutely worth it that it was _not_ glued down because of the water damage and could be removed easily, glued parquet is really better!
Own work during construction and moving-in phase
You very easily underestimate the workload and overestimate what you can actually do in terms of time. In our case, we also have two small children, one of them born only last year after moving in and a hardcore crying baby for the first four months. And _no_ grandparents nearby who could just take the kids on weekends or relieve my wife during the week. In such a constellation you hardly get anything done. Our to-do list in the house is still getting longer rather than shorter; it will easily be Christmas this year before it’s all done!
I was so glad that friends talked us out of wanting to do the painting work ourselves based on their own experience! They needed a total of 32 working days (8 weeks, every weekend with two people) and saved only about 1500-2000 euros. It doesn’t make sense! And due to the children, it really wouldn’t have been possible for us anyway.
In general, people probably tend to overestimate the savings potential through own work. A good craftsman (okay, they’re rare and hard to find…) will simply be at least 2-3 times faster in his trade than I am as a layman. Then the hourly wage quickly becomes relative.
Parquet and laminate:
Laying it yourself worked well though and saved quite a bit of money. Still, I would probably have it done next time.
Interior doors:
We took the interior doors out of the general contractor’s contract and, overall, for a bit more money than the refund for the doors, got doors that were 2.10 m instead of 2 m (the GC would have wanted a 150 euro surcharge per door just for that) and, above all, about 3 classes higher quality than the GC standard.
Ventilation system:
I had it designed and then installed it myself. So it cost about 9,500 euros instead of the 20-25,000 euros quoted. Labor took about a good week.
Bathroom cabinets and toilets
I had them removed from the general contractor’s contract and got them myself at Hornbach (with a best-price guarantee, unbeatable price!). Saved roughly 2-3,000 euros for 2 days of work.
Garden landscaping
We pretty much neglected that during our planning phase due to lack of time and only really took care of it after moving in. So we were basically without a garden for the whole first year. That’s really tough with small children…
However, we then had almost everything done at once, even though I would have liked to build wooden terraces myself, for example. Today I’m really glad it’s finished and that we can look forward to a summer in the garden instead of having another construction site.
General – thorough planning phase vs. “just do it”
You also see people here in the forum who apparently plan their house over 1-2 years. People, get it done, you can also plan yourself to death! Once you move in, it really doesn’t matter if a window is 10 cm further to the right or left or whether the tiles in the utility room really match the color of the washing machine’s control knob. In the end, lifetime is much more valuable! That also applies to the decision “do it yourself” vs. “have it done.” Doing some things yourself is fun, can save a lot of money, and in my opinion just belongs to it. But in the end, it’s about getting done and as quickly as possible!
Best regards,
Andreas