Dear forum members,
My wife and I are planning to fulfill our dream of owning a home. We already have a building plot, and we would not need to take out a very large loan (around 50,000 to 80,000) – the rest of the funds are available. Until now, we intended to build using a turnkey solution, since we are both inexperienced with construction and typically work until 6 p.m. every day.
However, my father-in-law, who built his own house 35 years ago, has now gotten involved. He believes everything is too expensive and suggests we should manage the build ourselves. Specifically, he wants us to have the plans drawn up and then handle everything independently, even buying the bricks ourselves and coordinating the work with the subcontractors. He thinks we could save a lot of money this way and might not need a loan at all.
My wife and I are not enthusiastic about this idea at all, as we do not feel confident managing a self-build and would prefer to handle everything through a construction company with a single point of contact—except perhaps for the interior flooring and painting work.
As mentioned, my father-in-law built 35 years ago and apparently did it that way because he knew many people who helped him, but those people are no longer available today. In my opinion, building a house 35 years ago cannot be compared to doing so nowadays, but it is difficult to convince him of this.
We wanted to involve him in the building process because we inherited the plot from him. Please help us find appropriate arguments against managing the build ourselves, or share your thoughts on self-building when you lack expertise in this area. He says we should just read a book about it and then we’ll know how to do it. But what risks are involved, and can you really save that much money? I have already read many reports where people ended up losing money and having major issues with contractors, sometimes even ending up in court.
My wife and I are planning to fulfill our dream of owning a home. We already have a building plot, and we would not need to take out a very large loan (around 50,000 to 80,000) – the rest of the funds are available. Until now, we intended to build using a turnkey solution, since we are both inexperienced with construction and typically work until 6 p.m. every day.
However, my father-in-law, who built his own house 35 years ago, has now gotten involved. He believes everything is too expensive and suggests we should manage the build ourselves. Specifically, he wants us to have the plans drawn up and then handle everything independently, even buying the bricks ourselves and coordinating the work with the subcontractors. He thinks we could save a lot of money this way and might not need a loan at all.
My wife and I are not enthusiastic about this idea at all, as we do not feel confident managing a self-build and would prefer to handle everything through a construction company with a single point of contact—except perhaps for the interior flooring and painting work.
As mentioned, my father-in-law built 35 years ago and apparently did it that way because he knew many people who helped him, but those people are no longer available today. In my opinion, building a house 35 years ago cannot be compared to doing so nowadays, but it is difficult to convince him of this.
We wanted to involve him in the building process because we inherited the plot from him. Please help us find appropriate arguments against managing the build ourselves, or share your thoughts on self-building when you lack expertise in this area. He says we should just read a book about it and then we’ll know how to do it. But what risks are involved, and can you really save that much money? I have already read many reports where people ended up losing money and having major issues with contractors, sometimes even ending up in court.
C
Chris29.216 Aug 2015 20:43Hi,
I’m not an expert myself, but just your statement: no time and especially no knowledge already calls for a professional building contractor.
Alternatively, you could tender and assign individual trades yourselves, but doing everything without expertise... I would avoid that. For me, my private life and free time are too valuable.
And a €80,000 (approximately $85,000) loan for a single-family house is quite a bargain.
Regards
I’m not an expert myself, but just your statement: no time and especially no knowledge already calls for a professional building contractor.
Alternatively, you could tender and assign individual trades yourselves, but doing everything without expertise... I would avoid that. For me, my private life and free time are too valuable.
And a €80,000 (approximately $85,000) loan for a single-family house is quite a bargain.
Regards
You will need three times as long, end up tired, worn out, and exhausted, and neglect your work. If the house is still not finished after a year, dissatisfaction will start, along with mutual blame, which can even lead to separation.
Ask dear Dad how, in his opinion, you are supposed to achieve KfW 70 or 55 standards, and whether he can install the vapor barrier so that the house passes the blower door test. Since he probably doesn’t know the answers anyway (I assume this based on Dad’s naivety), remind him that it’s no longer 1980.
That he wants to help and have a say is one thing. But imposing his will on the younger generation, interfering, and being out of touch with reality is something else entirely. Therefore, you should politely but firmly make it clear that you are mature and capable enough to have the professionals carry out the construction, but you can still involve him in certain tasks: for example, let him document the house with photographs, set up the outdoor grill, or supervise the construction from time to time.
Best of luck,
Yvonne
Ask dear Dad how, in his opinion, you are supposed to achieve KfW 70 or 55 standards, and whether he can install the vapor barrier so that the house passes the blower door test. Since he probably doesn’t know the answers anyway (I assume this based on Dad’s naivety), remind him that it’s no longer 1980.
That he wants to help and have a say is one thing. But imposing his will on the younger generation, interfering, and being out of touch with reality is something else entirely. Therefore, you should politely but firmly make it clear that you are mature and capable enough to have the professionals carry out the construction, but you can still involve him in certain tasks: for example, let him document the house with photographs, set up the outdoor grill, or supervise the construction from time to time.
Best of luck,
Yvonne
B
Bauexperte16 Aug 2015 22:54MrDuncan schrieb:
My father-in-law (who built his own house 35 years ago) has now gotten involved and says everything is way too expensive. He suggests we should build the house ourselves—in his exact words: he wants us to have the plan drawn up and then handle everything ourselves, even buying the bricks ourselves and assigning the work directly to contractors, and so on. He believes we could save a lot this way and wouldn’t need a loan. Is he by any chance also contributing financially to the construction project?
Regards, Bauexperte
H
HilfeHilfe17 Aug 2015 08:43MrDuncan schrieb:
He means that we could save a lot of money this way and wouldn’t need a loan.
My wife and I are not enthusiastic about this at all because we don’t feel confident managing the construction ourselves under any circumstances, and we preferred to handle everything through a construction company with a single point of contact—except maybe for the flooring and interior painting work. Hmm, so that means you would be all in one: purchaser of materials and services, construction supervisor, and inspector.
If problems arise, you wouldn’t call in a lawyer or an external expert but would handle it yourselves?
I think you might be approaching this quite naively. Especially since different trades need to work together smoothly. Building plans and schedules must be followed.
If you or your dad feel confident about it.
I also don’t think your volume for bricks, etc., is enough to get a real “bargain.”
We are managing the build ourselves, meaning we subcontract the trades but contribute as much of our own labor as possible. However, everything is done with expert advice from skilled craftsmen. Both of us are quite handy, especially my husband.
I also think your father-in-law assumes construction still happens like it did in the past, when people really knew how to lay bricks themselves, and so on. Personally, I wouldn’t do that at all in your situation. If you already feel uncomfortable doing it yourselves, it won’t be beneficial.
You would probably save money, but it would take much longer, and as mentioned above, the work might not be done perfectly—or there could even be major issues with waterproofing and similar aspects, which would be very frustrating in the end.
I also think your father-in-law assumes construction still happens like it did in the past, when people really knew how to lay bricks themselves, and so on. Personally, I wouldn’t do that at all in your situation. If you already feel uncomfortable doing it yourselves, it won’t be beneficial.
You would probably save money, but it would take much longer, and as mentioned above, the work might not be done perfectly—or there could even be major issues with waterproofing and similar aspects, which would be very frustrating in the end.
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