All About Self-Build

Building your own home is the only way that you can truly get the house you want. Imagine living in a house that has been designed around your unique needs as a family, your own personalities, tastes, and desires for extra space, the number of bedrooms, bathrooms and even taps. Even the positioning of the windows, colour of the bricks or render, the size and shape of the roof and the shape of the garden can be designed around your needs.

More and more people are building their own homes each year — between 18-20,000 new homes were built in 2005, making the army of self-builders the single largest housebuilder in the country: bigger than any of the big names such as Westbury, Redrow or Barratts. Every one of these houses looks different in some way; some are traditional in style, being authentic replicas of Georgian, Tudor and Victorian homes, with warm, cosy interiors and plenty of cottage appeal; some are radically contemporary in design, with white rendered exteriors, flat roofs, vast areas of glazing and large, open plan interiors. What unites them is the singular determination of their owners to refuse to follow the mainstream and accept what commercial developers decide what they should have in a house.

Self-building, of course, does not neces­sarily mean picking up bricks and physically getting stuck in on site. In fact, less than 5% of all homebuilding projects involve the owner being significantly involved with the actual building process. While many people enjoy helping out on site, and perhaps even putting their own DIY skills to use finishing the interiors, decorating or creating their new garden, a large number of so-called ‘self-builders’ have no involvement whatsoever with the physical work. They will be involved in formulating a design brief for the house designer, selecting a builder, and choosing the internal fixtures and fittings — but little else. Regardless of whether you are very busy or have plenty of time on your hands, your involvement in the project can be tailored entirely around your own lifestyle.

New bespoke homes are also at the cutting edge of technology and many enjoy the best features available to homeowners. Underfloor heating is only just catching on with developers but has been popular with self-builders for many years; labour-saving features such as a central vacuum and even automated home technology can also be incorporated at a fraction of the cost you might expect. These features can revolutionise your lifestyle: at the touch of a button you can control the heating, climate, lighting and entertainment functions of your entire home.

Yet having a bespoke home built especially for you sounds expensive, right? Wrong. By going through the process of arranging a design and having a personal input with the housebuilding process, you can usually save yourself up to 38% on the market value. As a guide rule, the house that you spend £300,000 building should quite easily be worth £400,000 if all goes to plan. As a way to make money in a flat property market it is unbeatable — and as a way to create a home based around your unique needs, it is second to none. So where to start?

Finding a Plot

Finding a suitable building plot is the most important and, perhaps not entirely separately, the most difficult element of the self-build process. Many otherwise keen self-builders fall at this first hurdle, spending months or even years hunting for just the right site in exactly the right location. The more pragmatic element within the community tends to look at every plot they can possibly consider, and is willing to compromise on one of the following key factors: price; location; size and shape of plot. In all likelihood first-time self-builders are unlikely to find the plot of their dreams first-time around; many have unrealistic price expec­tations and many are simply too restric­tive in their criteria for size/shape of the site and particularly location. Yet almost every vil­lage, town or locale does have available self-build sites ready for development across all or most price ranges: the key thing is knowing how to find them.

There are many ways to find a building plot. The key to success is being proactive and putting out as many feelers – in as many different directions – as possible.

Estate agents: Identify estate agents in your area who deal with building plots. In all likeli­hood one or two agents market the majority of the available sites. Register your interest with them and indicate that, as a sweetener, you are potentially willing to sell the house you build with them. The chances are that they have many local builders who they would much rather sell the plot to (often before it comes on the market) before you, for this very reason. In order to ensure you have the best chance of getting hold of plots as they are advertised, keep in regular (perhaps weekly) contact with the agents and ensure that you have finance ready to go as soon as some­thing comes up.

Land finding agencies: Specialist companies such as Plotfinder (www.plotfinder.net) employ dedicated staff whose job it is to find land. The sources they use vary from private individuals (who can advertise free on the site) to former public utilities, local councils and estate agents. Subscriptions are around £40 for access to the constantly updated details in up to five coun­ties of your choice. At the very least, the infor­ma­tion you find on sites such as these will get you out looking at plots, give you more details on what prices plots in each area are going for, and which agents deal with them.

Planning lists: Local authorities publish the details of planning applications and decisions on a weekly basis. The information is usually available on the councils’ websites, although local council offices and libraries also hold the information. There is nothing to stop you con­tacting the applicants or the applicant’s agents where something might be of interest to you, and whilst in almost all cases the owners will have other intentions, you might find some joy if you present yourself as a family looking for somewhere to build a modest family home which you’re happy to talk to them about the design of.

Identifying plots in your area: Many home­owners are unaware of the potential windfall that their garden or side garaging area may provide. There is absolutely nothing to stop you from applying for planning per­mission on any bit of land you happen to think has some potential — the owners don’t have to agree to it or even know about it. Of course, the bene­fit of any uplift in price will belong to the owner of the site, which makes your planning application rather altruistic — unless of course you can reach an ‘option agreement’ with the owner before you apply, which obliges them to sell you the land at an agreed price should you be successful in gaining planning permission.

Existing houses: Every house could be seen as merely a temporary inhabitant of what in many cases is a prime building plot (with the exception of protected buildings). Some houses are reaching the end of their natural life and these houses are rarely identified as potential building plots — just old houses. Learn to see shabby bungalows and ram­shackle houses as potential sites and a range of possibilities begin to open up. Costs of demolition are usually £5-10,000 and much of this can often be reclaimed by the reuse of materials from the site in the new house (or sold to a local reclamation yard).

Remember, you should only consider buy­ing land with outline planning permission (i.e. approval in principle for the construction of a new dwelling) or detailed planning per­mission (i.e. approval based on a particular house design). For a more comprehensive guide to finding land, see our Plotfinder section at the back of the magazine, which includes details on 1,000s of building plots across the country.

The Design

Building your own home from scratch is the ultimate chance to create something that is completely designed around your own unique needs as a family. Firstly, analyse what your essential requirements are: number of bed­rooms, size of kitchen/breakfast room; garag­ing; home office/study; number and size of bathrooms; etc. Your requirements should also take into account the potential resale chances of the property, so if you are thinking of selling in a few years, avoid anything too out of the ordinary. If resale is not an issue, then you really do have a blank canvas and your choice ranges from replicating a period style of your liking to a white, contemporary-style home with lots of glass and open plan spaces. If you like modern interiors but aren’t sure that the planners will let you build a modern home, then don’t forget that many of the finest self-built houses combine a ‘safe’ traditional exterior with very contemporary, open plan interiors — the planners have no say on what the inside of the house looks like!

Magazines such as H&R are a great source of design ideas and you should keep favourite homes, rooms and ideas (both exterior and interior) to one side to present to your designer. Once you have found your plot you should also pay close attention to the style of homes in the surrounding area; not only will this influence the planning authority in making their decision (more on which later) but will ensure – unless you purposely want to stand out – that the house fits into its surroundings and com­ple­ments the neighbouring properties.

A good design will make the most of its individual site and for this reason coming up with sketches for ‘your dream home’ before you have bought a site is futile. Your plot will have unique properties such as slopes, trees, views, neighbouring properties to avoid overlooking, access problems and so on — all of which should affect the house design you end up with.

Dealing with Designers

Although some people decide to try and design their house entirely by themselves (perhaps using one of the wide variety of CAD packages available), almost all self-builders employ a professional house designer to come up with a scheme. This will include all of your requirements and many of your favourite features, as well as benefiting from the input of the designer’s experiences; it will take into account any factors that may influence the planner’s decision. It will then be presented to the planning authority and will be used for gathering tenders and quotes and, eventually, converted to full build­ing regulations drawings for inspection and eventually use by your builder.

A design really is the basis for any project and investment in good design is likely to pay for itself many times over. A well-considered design will not be changed on site (which is the main reason for cost and time overruns); a well-presented design has a higher chance of gaining planning approval; a clear set of drawings is likely to result in less interpretative errors on site. In short, scrimping on house design is a serious false economy.

There are several options for those wishing to employ a professional house designer. These include using a fully qualified Architect (www.architecture.com) who in addition to design services may well offer a package involving project supervision; an Architectural Technologist (www.ciat.org.uk) who is effective­ly a house designer who hasn’t completed the full seven years’ architect’s training but in many cases is equally as talented (and often cheaper); a house designer (available through Yellow Pages) who has little or no formal training but may well be very experienced in designing individual houses; or going to one of the so-called package companies (a list can be found at www.homebuilding.co.uk) who offer either bespoke design services or will amend plans from standard models. Many will offer minimal or even free upfront design fees in return for committing to the company providing the materials (often timber frame) for the project. Their designs cover all possible styles and budgets and are finding favour with people who might consider themselves too busy/inexperienced to go down the traditional route.

The choice of design and designer is the key to the success of your homebuilding pro­ject and you should approach the decision with an open mind. You should interview two or three designers and ensure that you are clear about what fees you are paying for each service you receive. Good communication is the essential part of this relationship and a talented designer, while being willing to give you advice and the benefit of his/her expe­rience, should also listen to your requirements and, in particular, build cost budget.

Package Companies: A growing army of self-builders are avoiding the traditional archi -tect/builder route to engage one of the dozens of package companies in the market. Package companies usually offer an initial advisory (and in some cases land finding) and design service which financially compares favourably to paying upfront design fees. This is usually on the basis of committing to the company providing the materials for the pro­ject. Whilst the vast majority of package sup­pli­ers offer a timber frame option, there are also traditional masonry suppliers. Package companies will either supply their own team of contractors on site (frame erectors) or arrange for you to be introduced to someone on their list of approved local contractors. They will then effectively hold your hand throughout the project.

It is not difficult to see why this option is proving very popular with many self-builders. You can get total design freedom at the same time as a design that is closely attuned to the build cost (after all, it’s coming from the same company). In addition, the project manage­ment services offered are very appealing to self-builders who may be too busy or unwilling to get involved with the day-to-day running of a building site and effectively want none of the hassle and all of the benefits. Hence the fact that package suppliers are also called ‘turnkey’ companies.

Financial Benefits

Self-builders make savings by building rather than buying their own home in two ways. Firstly, they take what would have been the profit the developer makes on the project for themselves — usually meaning that the end value of the finished house is anything between 5-30% more than the combined cost of the building project and the plot. On a standard 20% mark-up, a self-builder expect­ing to spend a total of £300,000 can expect their home to be worth around £360,000 — a £60,000 instant profit. As self-builders always build their Principle Private Residence, then this profit is likely to be exempt from Capital Gains Tax — only if you continue to self-build houses, move into them on a short-term basis, sell and repeat the process, releasing the profits for you to live on, would you be liable to pay tax.

Secondly, the purchase of building materials and labour is zero-rated for VAT — instantly saving another 17.5% on the project. As a general rule this figure applies to all labour and all materials fixed into the house — so while it applies to bricks, kitchen units and wooden flooring, it doesn’t apply to curtains, furniture and carpets. VAT-registered builders will zero-rate their invoice and any VAT you pay on materials you can claim back at the end of the project under R&C Notice 719. You should receive a cheque within eight weeks. Ensure you keep records of expenditure along with all receipts, as these are essential to prove purchase.

Getting the House Built

There are many different ways to approach the construction of a house and all have their pros and cons. Clearly the most cost-efficient way is to DIY it – literally to build your own home – meaning that you are only paying for materials. Less than 5% of self-builds are actually true DIY projects; the vast majority either employ main contractors who manage their own tradesmen, or act as their own project managers and bring in trades and materials as necessary on site. In addition, a growing number of package companies offer a full ‘turnkey’ service. Choosing your route depends entirely on your own situation.

DIY: Whilst literally building your own home is the easiest route to a cheap project, few self-builders possess the full range of building skills necessary to competently complete all tasks, ranging from groundworks and block­work to plumbing and electrics. Indeed, recent changes to the Building Regulations mean that some elements of the project now have to be completed by an approved ‘com­pe­tent’ person. If you still feel up to building it yourself, don’t forget to factor in the time element; if you intend to take 18 months off work to complete the house, allow for the lost wages you would have otherwise earned — could these have been used to pay someone quicker and more efficient? At this stage, most keen DIYers decide to get involved only with a certain element of the project, for instance helping out with brick­laying, or general labouring. However, such is the level of support for DIYers these days that a complete DIY project is far from out of the question — especially when you consider that with regular building inspections from the local authority and the warranty provider, it is far from an unregulated experience.

Directly employed labour: Those wanting to save as much of the builder’s profit as possi­ble without actually getting dirty will consider acting as the project manager. This task involves co-ordinating the day-to-day running of the site, ordering in materials and ensuring that subcontractors turn up when required. There are significant savings to be made, however many people underestimate the amount of work, time and stress involved in ensuring that a project runs smoothly. As only the self-builder is responsible for time lags and delays, this route can often lead to significant time and cost overruns and is best left to people who have experience of man­agement and are confident that they can get to site and deal with problems over the phone at any time. Despite these issues, many self-builders find this a highly appealing route to self-build success.

Using a main contractor: Most self-builders will employ a main contractor/builder on a fixed-price basis to get the house built. The builder will be responsible for ensuring his contractors turn up on time and co-ordinating the trades; he may or may not be responsible for materials — it entirely depends on your arrangement. Whilst this route is more expen­sive than using directly employed sub­con­tracted labour (as the builder will add on a sum to the tradesmen’s fees for management), it is certainly less stressful — assuming the builder is a good one. A good choice of builder will ensure the house gets built to a high standard and on schedule — and that can be worth its weight in gold. A bad builder will manage a badly run site that is likely to suffer from time lags and cost overruns.

Package route: As previously explained, using a package design/build company is a good way to ensure that a house gets built without the usual hassles associated with the building trade; however it is no guarantee of success and you should carry out the same checks on a package company as you would a builder: get references, see previous work, and arrange a clearly defined payment schedule. Use a well-established company and be aware that you are paying a little bit extra for a ‘hand-holding’ service. On that basis, many self-builders find this an excellent route into the market — the choice of design is effectively bespoke and there are many other benefits.

The mix-and-match approach: The more traditional routes described here are general and every project involves a slightly different mix of labour, DIY, materials supply, project management and supervision. For instance, most package suppliers don’t get involved with groundworks — you have to make your own arrangements. One particularly popular route is to use a main contractor to build a shell to weathertight stage and then take over the build as project manager yourself, mixing directly employed labour on electrics and plumbing with DIY in terms of floor finishes, fitting kitchen units and decoration. This can help reduce both risk and costs at once.

The method of construction

Today’s self-builders operate at the cutting edge of housebuilding technology and have a massive variety of options when it comes to choosing a construction system for their new home. Each has its pros and cons. Whilst it is a crucial decision, be aware that the choice of construction system will, as a general rule, have next to no influence over the way your house looks from the outside — that is entirely down to the design and the choice of cladding (bricks, stone etc.) that form the outside face of the house. In terms of general market value, most estate agents and potential buyers would not be able to spot the difference between different house types and consequently your choice of construction system will have minimal effect on the end value of the property. Your choice should be based on the cost of the system, its inherent performance values and qualities, and ease of construction on site (and how familiar your builder is with it). In making your choice, be wary of hype and base it on the factors that are particularly important to you.

Traditional/masonry: The vast majority of self-build projects are built using the method of construction that has dominated housebuilding in this country for the last century: cavity construction using masonry. Typically this means a structural shell of concrete blockwork combined with an additional outer facing of either brick, stone or additional blocks if the house is to be render finished. A cavity between the two courses is usually partially filled with insulation, although sometimes it is fully filled to improve thermal performance. All builders know how to use this system and it can be surprisingly fast on site, particularly with the new generation of large-format blocks available. www.housebuilder.org.uk

Timber frame: Massively popular in North America and much of Northern Europe, timber frame is rapidly growing in popularity in the UK (although in Scotland it already accounts for a majority of new homes). It is very quick on site and owing to the large amounts of insulation it is possible to pack into the frame, can prove to be very energy efficient. The market is dominated by the package companies, many of who offer a design and build service. There are usually lead-in times of between six and 12 weeks on the kits, and the system doesn’t allow for much flexibility on site should, for example, the foundations have to change slightly. Initial problems with acoustics between floors and rooms can be overcome through specification of suitable insulation. www.trada.co.uk

Structural Insulated Panels (SIPs): SIPs are a well-known building system in North America and are gaining popularity in the UK thanks to their speed­iness on site and high levels of insulation and air-tightness. Effectively prefabricated panels with a layer of insulation sandwiched by two layers of oriented strand board or cement board, the panels are very strong and, as window shapes and so on can be cut out off site, are easy to construct. www.sips.org

Insulated Concrete Formwork:  Using polystyrene blocks on a building site might seem peculiar but, once filled with concrete and steel reinforcement they form a totally solid form of construction that has been popular in the USA for several decades and is used increasingly on projects in the UK. Construction times are almost ludicrously quick, and the system is inherently very well insulated. www.concretecentre.com

Alternatives: Self-builders looking for a more individual approach may want to consider (often very traditional) methods of construction that appeal in terms of their sustainability and simplicity on site, such as cob, hemp, straw, and so on. Popular in commercial constructions for years, self-builders are beginning to appreciate the inherent strength of steel frames, which are particularly appealing in creating open plan spaces. It’s also very quick on site.

The Best Bits

• Showing the finished house off to your friends and family!
• The profit and making your way up the express route of the housing ladder.
• Living with the warmth and comfort of a new, well-insulated house.
• Enjoying the large open spaces you have created.
• Getting the VAT cheque back — and treating yourself to a well-deserved holiday.
• Seeing the windows go in — when the building becomes a house.
• The first day on site — when the diggers indicate this is a REAL building project!
• Choosing all the fittings and finishes for every bit of your new home — and not having to get rid of any of the old ones!

Common Mistakes

• Not taking up a builder’s references and doing the proper checks.
• Over-estimating what you can do both on site and as a project manager to save money — and not dealing with the stress.
• Specifying cheap materials in the shell in order to spend more on final fittings.
• Not facing the truth when it comes to budgets — don’t kid yourself!
• Paying builders upfront for work.
• Skimping on design — good design drives the whole project.

The Worst Bits

• Trying to find a builder — and getting quotes in.
• Dealing with finance lenders who don’t share your vision.
• Waiting for things to start and seeing no progress.
• Getting a call from the builder with a problem.
• Wondering why on earth you haven’t self-built earlier!

How Long Will it all Take?

An individual home can completed within three months if well organised, alternatively it might take a DIYer several years. As a general rule you should expect it to take around two months to get a design and a general budget worked out; it usually takes two to three months to get planning permission (during which time you should engage builders); construction of the shell takes around three to four months, with the same again for the internal work. As a result, self-builders should look at the whole process taking between a year and 18 months. If at all possible, try and ensure that work starts on the internal trades in time for winter; builders like to be inside when it is cold, and hate digging foundations in very wet conditions.