ᐅ Do-it-yourself work – what tasks did you take on, and would you do them again?

Oh, and we also installed the network cables ourselves.

SirSydom schrieb:
Even with an annual gross salary of €70,000 for 35 hours per week, the net wage is only about €24.50/hour.

I would like that too, but isn’t 45 hours per week more typical? If I calculate with 220 working days at 9 hours each: with €70,000 gross per year, I get about €35/hour gross.

SirSydom schrieb:
Also, not everyone has the option to simply work more hours to earn more money...

That’s true, especially for “high earners.” But additional office work might eventually lead to a “career” (measurable?).

The savings from doing the work yourself roughly correspond to the craftsperson’s labor cost plus VAT, minus expenses for tools and possibly higher material costs (due to lack of discounts). Additionally, there is the effect that expenses are spread over many weeks, whereas the professional company might issue the full invoice after three days of work (depending on the situation).

In industries covered by collective agreements, such as IG Metall Bavaria, a 35-hour workweek is often standard.
I calculated using 222 working days at 7 hours each, totaling 1776 hours. A gross income of €70,000 equals about €43,000 net, which results in €24.50 per hour (€43,000 / 1776 hours).

Earning €70,000 gross under the IG Metall agreement usually requires being a long-serving engineer or manager.

The average German earns around €40,000 gross, which is €24,500 net. Calculated over 222 days at 8 hours each, that's roughly €14 per hour (€24,500 / (222*8 hours)).

You also have to consider that one hour with a skilled craftsman during house construction is more valuable than my hour as a layperson (hopefully!?)

If it takes me twice as long, the actual "hourly rate" for the work ends up being the same.

- Install all flooring (glue down parquet + lay tiles)
- Tile bathrooms
- Complete final plumbing installations in bathrooms
- Tile stairs
- Complete exterior landscaping (including 75 m² (807 sq ft) wooden terrace) except paving work
- Priming + painting
- Construction management

Nothing, and I’m glad—free time is more important to me than saving money.
And as an amateur, you’ll never be better than a good craftsman.
Best regards