How to Build a House

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/becoming the main contractor

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.

Find out more about how to run a building project

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.

Read more about finding a good builder and how to get the most from them

Package route

As previously explained, using a package design/build company 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.

Find package companies and learn more in the Homebuilding Directory

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.

Further reading:

• A complete guide to the self-build trades

• Find the right construction system for your project

• Get tips and advice from other self-builders and renovators in the Homebuilding Discussion Forum

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