ᐅ Take out an additional loan to save time or do it yourself?

Hello everyone,

Our house construction has been ongoing for 2 years now, and we are close to moving in. Since February, I have been actively working on the interior finishing (installing bathroom fixtures, laying flooring, fitting interior doors, and fixing various small issues) because our general contractor went bankrupt.

Now the interior is mostly done, and we are starting to think about the outdoor area. We want to leave the paving work in front of the house to a landscaping contractor. In the backyard, 40cm (16 inches) high L-shaped retaining walls need to be installed because the neighbor’s property is at a higher level. Apart from that, we need to prepare the terrace area by spreading gravel (36sqm (387 sqft)) and laying decorative gravel on top, as well as filling with topsoil (25cm (10 inches) high over 40sqm (430 sqft)).

Since we have already incurred over €100,000 in additional costs, we are considering doing the gravel spreading and topsoil filling ourselves to save €10,000.

The problem is that our plot is on a slope, and when the landscaping contractor finishes in October, it won’t be easy to wheelbarrow materials uphill because access to the garden is only via a staircase on the side. The rest of the soil is contained by 80cm (31 inches) high L-shaped retaining walls.

According to my parents, we should do it ourselves with a group of 4-5 people, hauling the soil and gravel uphill to save money. But I’m not sure how well we could manage that as amateurs, or how long it might take.

I am getting tired of finishing work after 5 p.m. and on weekends, while neglecting my wife and two children (under 3 years).

Since we will need to arrange additional financing anyway, the question is whether it makes sense to take out a loan for the €10,000 for the landscaping work as well?

Advantages:
- More time for work and family

Disadvantage:
- Less money (about €100 more in monthly expenses)

What are your experiences with doing parts of the construction work yourselves while having small children?

Have you checked if there is a conveyor belt available for rent near you? That seems much more practical than carrying tons of gravel up in buckets.

Otherwise, you’ll have to find the right balance yourself. Maybe some of the work can be postponed until next year to reduce the stress a bit now.

To better assess the additional cost of €100, you would need to know the total income and total expenses. But speaking from experience: HIRE IT DONE! Moving into a new house, your own home, and then having an unfinished garden with small children is really frustrating. We moved in February and, against our original plan, decided to have the garden done—and we have no regrets. You yourself write that you are burned out, and compared to wallpapering, laying floors, and installing doors, gardening is truly hard physical work. Do yourself a favor and treat yourself to the "luxury" of having it done. Irrigation, planting, landscaping fabric, pine bark mulch, electricity, robotic lawn mower, etc. There’s still plenty left to do yourself!

Ypsi aus NI schrieb:
To better assess the additional cost of €100 (about $110), you would need to know the total income and expenses. But I can tell you from experience: HAVE IT DONE! Moving into a new house, your own home, and then having an unfinished garden with small children is really frustrating. We moved in February and, against our original plan, decided to have the garden done—and we have no regrets. You already mention that you’re exhausted, and compared to wallpapering, laying floors, and installing doors, gardening is truly hard physical work. Do yourself a favor and treat yourself to the “luxury” of having it done. Irrigation, planting, landscaping fabric, pine bark mulch, electricity, robotic lawnmower, etc.—there’s still plenty left to do yourself!

Currently, we have a household net income of €5000 (about $5500) per month.

If we apply for additional financing, our monthly payment for loan and repayment will be around €2100 (about $2300). The extra costs for the landscaping would only appear as an increased remaining loan balance.

When I finish my reduced working hours for parental leave and my wife completes her teacher training, we expect to have a household net income of about €6000 (about $6600).

We will probably have it done as well. I was raised in a way that encouraged doing as much as possible yourself to avoid taking out loans. But nowadays, I value my time more than the interest costs.