ᐅ Contracting Trades Individually vs. Using a Solid House Builder

If this is realistic in your area. In Berlin, we have already had enough challenges with the few jobs we have directly contracted ourselves. Landscaping, earthworks, sewer work, concrete work, fencing, electrician, expert assessor – getting any of these professionals to respond to an email, speak like an adult on the phone, or even provide a quote is unbelievable. I still feel like my head is going to explode about this once a week. If we couldn’t rely on the general contractor’s sales network, we would be lost.

Actually, for a more or less standard house, it doesn’t matter much whether you choose an architect or a general contractor. What is more important is that you have trust in your contracting partner, and that they understand the type of house you want.

What good is an architect and individual subcontracting if the subcontractors are not reliable?

We were about to sign a contract but switched to a completely different provider because we lost trust in the original one.

Now we are working with a local general contractor who employs their own staff and collaborates with companies from the area.

They have been working together smoothly for years.

XAMMAX2 schrieb:

How much do you really save if you manage the house construction yourself and contract the trades separately?

Above all, you gain the experience that it's not a smart approach. Yes, you can save on the nominal bid amount. But you can also easily end up spending more than you save because preparing tenders is not as straightforward as many think.

XAMMAX2 schrieb:

The plan would be to have the house designed (design drawings, etc.) and then start some kind of tender process. For example, 3 inquiries to a civil engineering company, 3 inquiries to companies for the roof structure, and so on.

If you want to take it literally and build the "first house for an enemy," then go ahead. Without detailed planning, you risk spending a lot of money on site supervision hours.

Hire an architect who will produce detailed plans and manage the construction, and allow them to include general contractors in the tender process. Unless you (and your land and your zoning plan) are very straightforward, then you might also ask several general contractors which building proposals they already have fully planned.

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XAMMAX2 schrieb:

The plan was to have the house design created (input plan, etc.) and then to start a kind of tender process. For example, sending 3 requests to a civil engineering company, 3 requests to companies that do the roof structure, etc.

Oh dear, this approach is a recipe for disaster. I’m only renovating this way and would definitely never do it like this again. It creates so much chaos on the construction site that there are constant delays. I only see the details during the building process. That’s too late.

@11ant put it well: You need detailed plans and someone who knows those details in advance and understands what to pay attention to. Only an architect can do that. Otherwise, the companies you select will just do whatever is easiest for them. Whether it makes sense or not doesn’t matter. In the end, only after facts have been set, you realize everything doesn’t fit together or essential elements are missing.

Another example: When the roof and upper floor were finally done in my house, the topic of wastewater ventilation was mentioned but somehow forgotten by everyone. Only when it was almost too late did they have to improvise quickly—naturally, after the insulation was already installed, etc. None of the tradespeople (plumbers, roofers, drywall installers) came up with a workable solution; they just wanted to install piping somewhere and cap it off.

Tassimat schrieb:

Oh dear, approaching it that way is a recipe for disaster. I only renovate like this and would never do it again. It creates such chaos on the construction site that it constantly causes delays. I only see the details during the building process. That’s too late.

But then it’s more about your organizational skills. We did it the same way and didn’t have a single day of delay. On the contrary, I sometimes worked late into the night because some people showed up almost too early.