Hello everyone,
My husband and I will probably be assigned a plot of land by the end of June at the latest.
We are planning a solid construction. Everything will be done by professionals. Floors and walls will be like a financial burden. Now we have the opportunity for my husband to take another 2 months of parental leave and focus intensively on the house construction. However, the latest possible time would be during our child’s 13th and 14th month of life, which would be February and March 2017. Taking parental leave earlier might not be worthwhile (during the shell construction phase/drying time!?).
So, here is the actual question: Is it useful to be at home during this time? I am looking for a rough timeline to understand if it is worth giving up the income. Our idea was: 2 months of focused attention = saving construction time/reducing double workload.
Is it realistic to start the shell construction in October if the plot is assigned at the end of June 2016? We have already had some preliminary discussions. When would the shell construction likely be finished including the drying phase, and what is likely to happen in February and March?
I know this is quite difficult to answer, but you can probably assess it better than we can based on your experience.
Additional question: How realistic or naive is this plan?
End of June 2016 – plot assigned
Beginning of October 2016 – start of shell construction
End of November – start of drying phase
March – start of interior work
My husband and I will probably be assigned a plot of land by the end of June at the latest.
We are planning a solid construction. Everything will be done by professionals. Floors and walls will be like a financial burden. Now we have the opportunity for my husband to take another 2 months of parental leave and focus intensively on the house construction. However, the latest possible time would be during our child’s 13th and 14th month of life, which would be February and March 2017. Taking parental leave earlier might not be worthwhile (during the shell construction phase/drying time!?).
So, here is the actual question: Is it useful to be at home during this time? I am looking for a rough timeline to understand if it is worth giving up the income. Our idea was: 2 months of focused attention = saving construction time/reducing double workload.
Is it realistic to start the shell construction in October if the plot is assigned at the end of June 2016? We have already had some preliminary discussions. When would the shell construction likely be finished including the drying phase, and what is likely to happen in February and March?
I know this is quite difficult to answer, but you can probably assess it better than we can based on your experience.
Additional question: How realistic or naive is this plan?
End of June 2016 – plot assigned
Beginning of October 2016 – start of shell construction
End of November – start of drying phase
March – start of interior work
Sascha aus H23 May 2016 12:01For us, the development of the plot / building site by the city alone takes 4 months.
here is how it went for us:
- 19.04.2015 signed general contractor agreement with the GC (including financing exit clause in case of rejection by the savings bank)
- 28.04.2015 received financing approval from the bank with the GC’s documents
- 08.05.2015 notarization appointment for the land purchase
- 02-06.2015 declaration of transfer of ownership + full payment of the land from own equity (so according to the purchase contract we were "initially" the owners – allowed to start)
- 04.06.2015 construction notification confirmation received
- 09.06.2015 construction start
- 03.08.2015 registration in the land registry office completed with all necessary documents (fully finished)
- 25.10.2015 house handover without major defects (only minor issues)
Personally, I would say we were probably one of the fastest "self-builders" you can find. With luck, Viebrockhaus might be about a month faster (guaranteed build time 3 months, but the preparation often takes longer…). I should add that as project manager I kept the organization on track and pushed for a quick start. After construction began, the process almost ran by itself because the company has a clear structure that worked very well.
To get back to your question: we started in mid-April, now it is mid-May. We were finished at the end of October, so the end of November would be feasible. With December and January you still have 2 more months as a buffer. But honestly, I don’t believe you can have a house "fully ready for painting" by the end of January unless you work with a company known for fast completion and that doesn’t delay beforehand. You will also need to invest 20+ hours per week over weeks or months for organization. Daily calls, organizing, etc. are part of it 🙂 Then it will work.
Another idea: how about February/March 2017 with some self-performed interior work, for example electrical/networking or similar. Or take parental leave to focus on "being a parent" and spending time with your child 🙂
- 19.04.2015 signed general contractor agreement with the GC (including financing exit clause in case of rejection by the savings bank)
- 28.04.2015 received financing approval from the bank with the GC’s documents
- 08.05.2015 notarization appointment for the land purchase
- 02-06.2015 declaration of transfer of ownership + full payment of the land from own equity (so according to the purchase contract we were "initially" the owners – allowed to start)
- 04.06.2015 construction notification confirmation received
- 09.06.2015 construction start
- 03.08.2015 registration in the land registry office completed with all necessary documents (fully finished)
- 25.10.2015 house handover without major defects (only minor issues)
Personally, I would say we were probably one of the fastest "self-builders" you can find. With luck, Viebrockhaus might be about a month faster (guaranteed build time 3 months, but the preparation often takes longer…). I should add that as project manager I kept the organization on track and pushed for a quick start. After construction began, the process almost ran by itself because the company has a clear structure that worked very well.
To get back to your question: we started in mid-April, now it is mid-May. We were finished at the end of October, so the end of November would be feasible. With December and January you still have 2 more months as a buffer. But honestly, I don’t believe you can have a house "fully ready for painting" by the end of January unless you work with a company known for fast completion and that doesn’t delay beforehand. You will also need to invest 20+ hours per week over weeks or months for organization. Daily calls, organizing, etc. are part of it 🙂 Then it will work.
Another idea: how about February/March 2017 with some self-performed interior work, for example electrical/networking or similar. Or take parental leave to focus on "being a parent" and spending time with your child 🙂
S
Steffen8023 May 2016 21:09We have been planning for over a year 🙂 Hopefully, construction will start "soon" 🙂 Everything should be perfect... planning, planning, planning, planning... and planning again...
- Plot purchased in October 2014 (in consultation with planner/building authority regarding permissible developments)
- Detailed discussions with planner in December 2014 about the floor plan
- Building permit / planning application submitted in March 2015
- Building permit / planning permission granted in April/May 2015
- Construction started at the end of July 2015
- Move-in mid-January 2016
Maybe this helps – I also took parental leave from mid-November to mid-January, so it was almost perfectly planned…
- Detailed discussions with planner in December 2014 about the floor plan
- Building permit / planning application submitted in March 2015
- Building permit / planning permission granted in April/May 2015
- Construction started at the end of July 2015
- Move-in mid-January 2016
Maybe this helps – I also took parental leave from mid-November to mid-January, so it was almost perfectly planned…