Turnkey shell or turnkey house? Costs and what pays off in 2026

A closed shell (uzavřená hrubá stavba) costs CZK 18,000 – 24,000 per m² of usable floor area excluding VAT on the Czech market in 2026, while a standard turnkey house costs CZK 35,000 – 45,000 per m². For a 120 m² house that is CZK 2.16 – 2.88 million against CZK 4.2 – 5.4 million, so the shell makes up roughly half the price of the finished house. You either pay the other half to one contractor, or you manage the completion yourself and hire each trade separately. Our calculation below shows that ordering the trades one by one is not cheaper in itself. The savings come mainly from your own labour and your choice of materials — and in exchange you take on the coordination, the risks and the responsibility for the interfaces between trades.

This article compares ways of ordering a house: who should deliver which stage and what that means for cost, time and warranties. What exactly a shell includes is explained in what a house shell is, and an item-by-item breakdown of its price is in house shell cost per m².

Four ways to order a house

Option	What the contractor delivers	Market (excl. VAT)	120 m² house
Open shell	foundations, walls, floors, roof frame and roof covering	CZK 15,000 – 20,000/m²	CZK 1.80 – 2.40 million
Closed shell	plus windows and the entrance door	CZK 18,000 – 24,000/m²	CZK 2.16 – 2.88 million
Turnkey house — standard	everything up to move-in condition	CZK 35,000 – 45,000/m²	CZK 4.20 – 5.40 million
Turnkey house — premium	the same to a higher specification	CZK 45,000 – 60,000/m²	CZK 5.40 – 7.20 million

Our prices: open shell from CZK 14,000/m², closed shell from CZK 17,000/m², turnkey house from CZK 31,000/m² and premium from CZK 38,000/m². All rates come from our 2026 construction price list and apply to Prague and the surrounding area.

Between a closed shell and a turnkey house there is also an intermediate option: the contractor builds the shell and adds the services, plastering and screeds — all the "wet trades". You then handle the floors, painting, doors and final fit-out yourself. Ask for this option to be priced item by item; the price list has no single rate for it because the scope varies from house to house.

What a "turnkey shell" means

The term describes a shell delivered entirely by one contractor: materials, labour, machinery, site setup and transport for one contract price. It does not mean a turnkey house — "turnkey" here applies only to that stage. The opposite is a labour-only contract, where the client buys the materials. The price list gives no rate for that option, so always compare it with the cost of the materials you would have to buy and have delivered yourself.

When comparing quotes, check exactly where the shell ends: whether it includes the chimney, internal partitions, stairs, windows and entrance door, and whether the foundations are in the price. Complete foundations cost CZK 3,500 – 5,500 per m² of slab according to the price list, and some contractors leave them out of the price per m². A difference of several hundred thousand between two quotes may then mean a narrower scope rather than a cheaper contractor.

Example: what finishing a 120 m² house costs

The gap between a closed shell and a turnkey house is CZK 2.04 – 2.52 million on the market (CZK 4.20 – 5.40 million minus 2.16 – 2.88 million). That is roughly what a contractor charges for completion. For comparison we added up the main finishing works using the unit rates in the price list — the way you would pay individual tradespeople. Assumptions: 120 m² of floor area, 200 m² of facade, 350 m² of internal plaster, 470 m² of painted surfaces, one bathroom and 8 doors.

Item	Calculation	Price (excl. VAT)
Complete electrical wiring	120 m² house	CZK 85 – 200k
Water and drainage pipework	120 m² house	CZK 95 – 240k
10 kW heat pump incl. installation	1 unit	CZK 180 – 420k
Underfloor heating (wet system)	120 m² × CZK 900 – 1,600	CZK 108 – 192k
Internal plaster	350 m² × CZK 280 – 620	CZK 98 – 217k
Anhydrite screed	120 m² × CZK 380 – 800	CZK 46 – 96k
EPS facade insulation incl. render	200 m² × CZK 1,500 – 2,200	CZK 300 – 440k
Scaffolding	200 m² × CZK 100 – 200	CZK 20 – 40k
Floors incl. laying	120 m² × CZK 1,100 – 2,500	CZK 132 – 300k
Bathroom	1 room	CZK 140 – 280k
Interior doors incl. frames	8 × CZK 2,500 – 4,500	CZK 20 – 36k
Painting	470 m² × CZK 90 – 200	CZK 42 – 94k
Total		CZK 1.27 – 2.56 million

The total largely overlaps with the contractor's price for completion. The list is also incomplete — it leaves out, for example, stairs and railings, window sills, suspended ceilings, the kitchen, landscaping and the time you will spend coordinating. The real saving from finishing a house yourself therefore does not come from ordering the trades separately, but mainly from what you do with your own hands (painting, bedroom floors, final fit-out) and from the materials you choose.

Watch the VAT as well: construction work on a family house with up to 350 m² of floor area is usually invoiced at the reduced rate, whereas materials bought in a shop carry the standard 21% rate. Part of what you save on the contractor's margin can therefore be swallowed by tax. Check the conditions for the reduced rate for your specific project.

Comparison: cost, time, risk, warranty

Aspect	Shell + self-managed completion	Turnkey house
Cost	lower only with your own labour and cheaper materials	higher, but known in advance from the contract
Time	depends on your free time and on tradespeople's availability	the completion date is part of the contract
Coordination	yours — order of trades, deliveries, handovers	the contractor's site manager
Liability for defects	each tradesperson is liable only for their part	one contractor for the whole house
Financing	the bank wants a budget for completion too and checks progress	drawdowns follow the contract schedule
Control over details	full — you choose every material	within the specification and showroom range

The weakest points are the interfaces between trades: who is responsible for the screed being at the right height above the underfloor heating, for the electrician setting the boxes flush with the future plaster, or for the windows being properly sealed to the insulation. In a turnkey house one contractor and one site manager deal with these questions; when you finish the house yourself, you do — often only once the defect shows.

Which option suits whom

Situation	Recommendation
You have building experience, free time and no rush to move in	closed shell and self-managed completion
You work full time and pay rent in the meantime	turnkey house — every month of delay adds a month of rent to the total cost
You want to save, but without risk on the services	intermediate option: shell, services and wet trades from a contractor, fit-out yourself
You have a fixed loan and a small reserve	turnkey house or the intermediate option with an itemised budget and a fixed price

How to decide, step by step

1. Price both options for your house — multiply the floor area by the rates in the table above and add the foundations if they are not included.
2. List what you can really do yourself — realistically, not in the ideal case. Leave services, waterproofing and screeds to professionals.
3. Check the financing — ask your bank which documents it requires for self-managed completion and how drawdowns will work.
4. Have the delivery boundary priced — for the shell and for the intermediate option, ask for an itemised budget stating exactly where the contractor's work ends.
5. Draw up a completion schedule — services, plaster, screeds, insulation, floors, bathrooms, painting, fit-out.
6. Keep a reserve and budget for housing costs for the whole completion period.

Common mistakes

• Comparing apples with oranges — a shell price without foundations against a turnkey house with foundations.
• Saving on services and insulation — mistakes in pipework, wiring, waterproofing and screeds are fixed by breaking things open.
• Underestimating time — every extra month of rent raises the real cost of self-managed completion.
• Buying materials without calculating quantities — surpluses and repeated small purchases make the build more expensive.
• Accepting the shell without an inspection — defects accepted without reservation are hard to claim later.

Checklist before signing

• Do you know exactly where the contractor's delivery ends (chimney, partitions, stairs, windows, foundations)?
• Does the price per m² refer to the same floor area in every quote?
• Have you priced the completion item by item rather than guessed it?
• Do you know how the bank will release money for completion?
• Does the contract include a deadline, a warranty and a handover procedure?
• Have you allowed for VAT on both the construction work and the materials you buy yourself?

What a turnkey price usually includes and what it leaves out is covered in turnkey house cost.

Frequently asked questions

How much does a turnkey shell cost? A closed shell costs CZK 18,000 – 24,000 per m² excluding VAT on the market, an open shell CZK 15,000 – 20,000 per m². For a 120 m² house that is CZK 2.16 – 2.88 million and CZK 1.80 – 2.40 million respectively.

How much does a turnkey house cost compared with a shell? A standard turnkey house costs CZK 35,000 – 45,000 per m² on the market, so CZK 4.2 – 5.4 million for 120 m². A closed shell makes up roughly half of that price.

Will I save money by finishing the house myself? Only if you do part of the work yourself and choose cheaper materials. The main finishing works ordered trade by trade come to CZK 1.27 – 2.56 million at price-list rates, while a contractor charges roughly CZK 2.04 – 2.52 million for completion.

Which option is better with a mortgage? Banks usually release money in stages according to a budget and after checking progress. With a turnkey house the drawdown schedule is set by the contract; with self-managed completion you have to document the completion budget yourself.

What should always be left to a professional contractor? Electrical wiring, water and heating services, waterproofing, screeds and window connections. Mistakes in these parts can only be fixed later by breaking things open.

We build shells and turnkey houses in Prague and Central Bohemia. Compare both options for your floor area in our online calculator; we prepare an itemised budget with an exact delivery boundary free of charge.