Hello everyone,
My partner and I would like to build a solid, masonry house (or have it built) with about 140 square meters (1500 square feet), including a basement and a garage. We have already visited two local home builders, but both only carry out a small portion of the trades themselves and subcontract the rest.
Now we are wondering if it might be more cost-effective to plan the construction ourselves with an architect and request individual quotes for each trade. How much can you typically save this way, and is it advisable for us as novices to plan the project on our own, or is the risk of making mistakes too high?
Thank you.
My partner and I would like to build a solid, masonry house (or have it built) with about 140 square meters (1500 square feet), including a basement and a garage. We have already visited two local home builders, but both only carry out a small portion of the trades themselves and subcontract the rest.
Now we are wondering if it might be more cost-effective to plan the construction ourselves with an architect and request individual quotes for each trade. How much can you typically save this way, and is it advisable for us as novices to plan the project on our own, or is the risk of making mistakes too high?
Thank you.
Elisabeth78 schrieb:
Hello everyone,
I just wanted to check in again and share my experiences with you. That’s very kind of you to come back after such a long time and bring your thread back to update us. Maybe you’d like to do that with pictures as well? There is a dedicated collection thread for that: https://www.hausbau-forum.de/threads/Haus-bilderthread-zeigt-her-eure-hausbilder.14011/page-1367
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
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Elisabeth785 Apr 2020 14:16PyneBite schrieb:
Thanks for this report!
A construction period of 15 months is definitely quite lengthy.
How exactly were your scopes of work defined for the bids? At the moment, I can’t really imagine how to prepare a tender. That’s why I’d probably leave it to the architect.
Did you complete the construction phase without defects? There wasn’t much included in the bids. They weren’t really formal tenders, more like we found companies and requested quotes. Of course, you need to know what you want and do some research.
Here in the Bavarian Forest, most people build this way.
We did have a few defects here and there, but everything was resolved, and all issues were corrected. What more could an architect do? In the end, the €100,000 (about $110,000) we saved more than outweighs the extra effort and work we had. If we had gone with a general contractor, we would have had a standard house with the cheapest fittings!
Okay, 15 months is a long time. But compared to the savings, it quickly makes sense. Moving into a damp house isn’t the point either.
A couple of friends built a year before us, also got quotes themselves, and had initially planned to build with a general contractor. I didn’t believe at first that they saved €100,000 (about $110,000) ...
Another advantage was that we could negotiate with every company on the quotes, with discounts ranging from 3–7%. Architects and general contractors usually keep this to themselves.
As I said, most people here build this way; I don’t know anyone who hasn’t managed it so far.
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Elisabeth785 Apr 2020 14:22What comes to mind is that our floor installer worked for Town & Country. He told us that the standard flooring sold to customers for 25€ per square meter (about $25 per square yard) is actually the same as the one he sells for 7€ per square meter (about $7 per square yard). He didn’t want to be part of this fraud anymore. For us, the standard floors would also have cost 25€ per square meter (about $25 per square yard). They were not exactly high quality...
I also think that many people who give advice in forums like this have personal interests involved.
I also think that many people who give advice in forums like this have personal interests involved.
Elisabeth78 schrieb:
What I also remember is that our flooring installer worked for Town & Country. He told us that the standard flooring sold to customers for €25 per square meter (about $27 per square foot) is actually the one he sells for €7 per square meter (about $7.50 per square foot). He didn’t want to take part in this scam anymore. The standard floors would have cost us €25 per square meter as well. They weren’t exactly high quality...
I think many people who give advice in forums like this have their own personal interests. I have mentioned this here before, but it got lost in the general noise. It seems many don’t realize that the €25 per square meter charged by a general contractor (GC) does not reflect the actual value if the work is contracted individually.
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hampshire5 Apr 2020 14:40PyneBite schrieb:
A construction period of 15 months is certainly quite long.A significant deviation from the plan is what "quite long" implies. If you plan for 15 months and it takes 15 months, then everything was done correctly. Depending on the terrain and the start of construction, it naturally takes a bit longer.and @Elisabeth78: Thank you for the update on how it turned out.
Elisabeth78 schrieb:
There wasn’t much involved in the tendering process. It wasn’t really a formal tender. We found companies ourselves and requested quotes. Of course, you need to know what you want and do your research. Please feel free to explain this in more detail here – unfortunately, the prevailing view is that simply involving as many bidders as possible will automatically result in the best variety of offers.
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/