Self builders

POPPYOSCAR

andrew-b wrote: »

poppyoscar..you strike the nail on the head on not having personal recommendations. There maybe some naiviety in my inexperience of self-builds but my experience of tradesmen (good and bad!) is you have to vet them even if you have recommendations...especially when it's on this sort of scale.

But the accidents do happen...a nice old guy died digging the drains for one of my parents extensions when i was just a school boy still....right there in the trench from heart attack. He was working against all his relatives wishes but loved his work not that that was much consolation for his family.

Jennifer so you fit my self-build stereotype too ... could always live on site in a caravan i suppose...seen it a few times on grand designs etc.
Still i best wait a few years cos i don't think wife will be too supportive with baby about to arrive..might have to wait tilll the baby is big enough to be a site labourer and i've got them trained up !

But how do you vet them? this firm was well established, had other projects on the go, we saw completed work they had done which looked good.His brickies, carpenters, roofers were great but not his plumber and electrician as it turned out.

If you know tradespeople that you can trust then you are 90% of the way there.We did not have the time or the skills to do it ourselves.

Tucker

Not self built a whole house, but self built an extension.

Would I do it again - yes, in fact I wouldn't do any major building work any other way.

Would I encourage others to - Yes, absolutely. It's the best way to make sure it is done right and you save a fortune over a building firm.

Did I enjoy it - uuuummmmm, at the time if I am honest, not all of it no, after - yes! Lots of stress when things didn't turn up and builders merchants let me down. Lots of phone calls chasing and hassling people. Some good, plenty of bad, but I still would not want to leave it to a building firm.

slummymummyof3

As Tucker above, not self built a whole house but extend each house we have bought ourselves and each extension has become more and more ambitious!!!)

Definately they way to go - yes a few stresses along the way obviously. However, the money saved by doing most of the work ourselves has been phenominal. There is no way we could afford to buy the house we have now if we hadn't extended each house ourselves. The other advantage is that with each property, you learn what works and what doesn't. By the time we get to a complete self build - it will be spot on!!

Canucklehead

Good morning: in answer to the OP's questions (if you mean selfbuild in the fullest sense of the word)

1. Yes
2. Yes
3. Depends on the individual: you need to be decisive and organised:in our experience, many have neither of those qualities.

HTH

Canucklehead

27col

Interesting set of replies. Mostly bearing out my own experience. We went self build for our original project because we were going to join a self build group. However, we decided to buy an individual plot on a small estate that the council was selling to self builders. The reasoning behind this was that my wife said we were having trouble deciding what we wanted between the pair of us. So there was no chance of us agreeing with 16 others in the group. This worked out alright as I could pick the brains of others in the road as we progressed.
The second self build came about as we then knew that we were quite capable of doing a self build after our experience with the first one. We found an almost derelict wooden bungalow on a 0.4 acre plot.We lived in a mobile home on the site and had to demolish the old house first. It was riddled with wood worm.
People think that you get to build exactly what you want, but we found that you get to build mainly what the planner wants. Maybe we should have stood up to him more. My main regret is that there was no digital photography in those days so the pictorial record is a bit sketchy, especially after the roof went on and I did not have a camera with a flash then. The problem with doing it on your own is that there is no help available without paying for it. I was in the Civil Service at the time and did not know anyone in the building trade. Quite a lonely existence at times. The fact that we were living on the site was both an advantage and an incentive to get the house habitable asap. Even at my present advanced age I would still be prepared to take on another project. Even better, I would like to be associated with someone else who was having a go at it. So as to be able to turn up when it suited me and do what I was able.

bobhawke

Thought about it the last couple of years. I would love to build a house for myself, doing as much work as possible myself.
No money though :rotfl:

john_howard_fisher

any good links for self-build. rules / process / ideas etc please?

Canucklehead

john_howard_fisher wrote: »

any good links for self-build. rules / process / ideas etc please?

Good evening: try Buildstore and the Planning Portal...as well as here.

HTH

Canucklehead

slummymummyof3

Some ways to save money on self-build/extending:
Use an online window & door company such as dunster house (based in Bedfordshire but deliver nationally)
Buy celotex insulation etc from somewhere online like seconds & co
Lintels tend to be far cheaper from Wickes than from a trade account with builders merchants
Buy roof tiles second hand - ebay has loads and often at ridiculously cheap prices (tiles for my garage were 1p!!)
Kitchens - buy handles, soft close hinges, worktops, sinks/taps and appliances from somewhere other than the place you are buying the kitchen from. Ebay is excellent for handles, soft close hinges - screwfix, wooden worktops - worktop express (we saved £200 on door handles, £150 on soft close hinges and £3k on worktops alone by sourcing from other co's)

The list is endless on ways to save thousands by taking a bit of time to shop around. HTH's.

teepoo

I have always been interested in doing a self-build myself but have found it a daunting prospect mainly due to the lack of training & knowledge.

Can anyone recommend how to gain this knowledge/training?
Are there any courses I can take for building volunteer groups that I can join?

I have looked at habitat for humanity, but they don't seem to have any major builds on at the moment.

Cheers,
Pete.