ᐅ Construction Supervision – Is Full Support Available for 5 Days?

Hello,

we are planning to build a new house soon. Since I travel a lot and my wife unfortunately does not have much knowledge about house construction, we would need support for our building project so that someone is always present on-site. We are planning a prefabricated house that should be completed in 5 days (although realistically it will probably take 6-7 days). Therefore, the costs for full-day construction supervision should not be too high.

What is most important to me is the shell construction – that is, the foundation slab, basement walls, regular walls, roof, and the installation of electrical wiring and water pipes. The rest can be considered less critical.

I wanted to ask if this type of service is even offered and what costs I should realistically expect?

Thanks in advance for your answers

Hello ompre,

Without knowing which supplier or construction method will be used for your house, it is usually the case with prefabricated houses that the stated construction time of about 5 days applies from the foundation slab or basement stage—excluding interior finishing. For a solid masonry basement, a period of 3 to 4 weeks is generally to be expected. In principle, full construction supervision is also possible, but the construction location is very important when calculating costs.

However, I recommend checking exactly which level of completion is contractually guaranteed within those 5 days. Often, service areas are excluded with prefabricated houses (such as groundwork/drainage, basement, painting, tiling, and flooring), and sometimes even building services (heating, ventilation, sanitary) and electrical work.

It might be more sensible to request construction supervision for specific stages, for example:
- Drainage and underground utilities
- Basement, especially waterproofing, protection of waterproofing, and backfilling of the excavation
etc. Based on experience, critical points usually involve tasks that interface between trades or are quickly concealed (such as screed/floor installation, vapor barrier connections in the roof area, etc.). Supervision during the installation of wall panels alone—common in many prefabricated houses—is not necessarily the best approach. Otherwise, you end up paying the construction supervisor mainly to "watch" the assembly. The costs for construction supervision are more effectively used for consulting with a construction supervisor before signing a contract with a prefab house supplier and for construction-stage-oriented monitoring during the build.

I realize I haven’t directly answered the main question: What does 5 days of construction supervision cost? Hopefully, my response is still helpful.

Thanks for the reply. Our idea was also to link the construction supervision to the services. But I’m not sure how the coordination works exactly. I’m worried that the general contractor might pour the foundation slab before the inspector has had a chance to check the reinforcement, which is why we want full supervision.

Regards, ompre12

I would recommend arranging for inspections at each stage of work completion. That way, the general contractor (GC) cannot proceed before you (or the inspector) have given approval. The GC can then provide you with a detailed schedule indicating who needs to be on site and when.

Regarding costs: For a masonry house, we also requested construction supervision from several inspectors or civil engineers. Prices vary significantly, so it’s worth getting a few quotes. Often, a flat-rate package is offered—for example, 5 site visits including documentation or similar—while any additional services are billed hourly. Sometimes travel and office work are charged separately; other times they are included.

Hourly rates here (Saxony) ranged between 60 - 100 EUR/hour plus VAT. This can help you estimate the effort involved. Flat-rate packages are usually more cost-effective.