We bought an old (1930s) 2 story single-family home last year which needed to be gutted almost entirely.
Except the plumber, all trade folks we had tried to cut corners and delivered subpar quality. Even the ones that came recommended.
We did a lot of the destruction work ourselves as that was not complicated or dangerous (under the guidance of a structural engineer and proper protective equipment).
Our walls are entirely out of brick and not 100% straight. Our plasterer somehow managed to make them curvy. He is licensed in my country and not some general handyman.
We had to sand down the walls ourselves to get them straight. He tried to charge us for that.
Electrician started the job but now never shows up. We still have some of his tools he left here, but won't answer texts or calls.
Family member thankfully is an electrician but doesn't live close to us. We paid them to plan everything for us, we'd install it, they'd come check and do the mains connection.
Drywallers put drywall on walls that shouldn't have any. We provided them plans that clearly detailed instructions. They admitted they were wrong but still wanted to charge us for the work.
We ended up doing most the work ourselves. Not necessarily because we wanted to, but calling, organizing, and ultimately arguing and running after the trades folks was such a pain in the ass. At some point I decided to keep track of much time I spent on quality checks and running after them and I figured out it wouldve taken me less time (and money) to just do it myself from the get go.
In Germany for private residences you often only have a general contractor if you're building a new house.
Alternatively, an architect often takes over coordinatation for renovations like this as well. They usually work on % basis though so they can add significantly to the expenses.
We bought an old (1930s) 2 story single-family home last year which needed to be gutted almost entirely.
Except the plumber, all trade folks we had tried to cut corners and delivered subpar quality. Even the ones that came recommended.
We did a lot of the destruction work ourselves as that was not complicated or dangerous (under the guidance of a structural engineer and proper protective equipment).
Our walls are entirely out of brick and not 100% straight. Our plasterer somehow managed to make them curvy. He is licensed in my country and not some general handyman. We had to sand down the walls ourselves to get them straight. He tried to charge us for that.
Electrician started the job but now never shows up. We still have some of his tools he left here, but won't answer texts or calls. Family member thankfully is an electrician but doesn't live close to us. We paid them to plan everything for us, we'd install it, they'd come check and do the mains connection.
Drywallers put drywall on walls that shouldn't have any. We provided them plans that clearly detailed instructions. They admitted they were wrong but still wanted to charge us for the work.
We ended up doing most the work ourselves. Not necessarily because we wanted to, but calling, organizing, and ultimately arguing and running after the trades folks was such a pain in the ass. At some point I decided to keep track of much time I spent on quality checks and running after them and I figured out it wouldve taken me less time (and money) to just do it myself from the get go.