How to Build to a (Relatively) Small Budget: Part 2

ABOVE: Nicky and Robin van der Bij managed to build their new low-energy self-built home for just £115,000 — thanks in part to its modest size (100m²) but also due to them managing the project themselves. Read more about this self-build.

Read part one for advice on house design and fees...

A Basic Specification

The materials and features you choose for your house come in a huge variety of prices. Expensive bricks are six times the price of cheaper ones, and so you’ll need to research the prices and qualities of a range of products and structural options. The decisions you make will have a direct impact on how much money you spend. A small new house will need (at approx 60 bricks/m² facing) around 9,000 bricks. At £175/1,000 for basic stock bricks compared to £1,000/ 1,000 for handmades — that decision alone will save you £7,425. Opting for a basic heating setup (pressed-steel radiators and combi boiler rather than underfloor heating, system boiler, pressurised hot water cylinder, woodburner and controls) can save you in the region of £3-5,000. Choosing softwood or PVCu windows over hardwood will save you around 20-40% per window.

Get Involved

A chequebook self-build – one where your personal involvement is limited to paying people – is likely to be an expensive approach. The more you can do, in any capacity, the more money you will save — from the very simplest level labouring on site (which will save you a labourer’s day rate: about £100) through to project management fees (a project manager will typically add on 10% to all material and labour costs).

Be sure that you’re adding value. A plumber won’t be terribly grateful for your attempts to help out if it’s slowing him down (meaning higher fees). Likewise, if you’re not able to actually manage a building project, and have no idea of construction schedules, then your 10% saving will be quickly eaten up by wasted days on site. If you want to go down the project management route as a first-time self-builder, make sure you invest in some good books (homebuilding.co.uk/books) and pick up David Snell’s Project Planner wallchart (07899 896733). Just as importantly, you’ll need the local knowledge to be able to find good tradesmen.

Perhaps the most sensible option is to discuss with your builder where savings can be made. Builders in general are certainly keener to get work than they were two years ago and as such would be more amenable to helping you shave costs in return for still getting the job. One tactic that works well is to employ a builder on a split basis, meaning that you’ll employ him to get you to weathertight stage — and then you can take over to run the interior side of things.

On a smaller scale, perhaps better suited to those with little time but a lot of enthusiasm, it’s possible to negotiate down a contract with a builder to leave out certain tasks. Those that make most sense for a keen money-saving self-builder to get involved in are decorating and landscaping — in truth, because less things can go wrong. Decorating above all is a non-time-sensitive task that, while surprisingly intense (imagine painting all the walls and ceilings in your house three times) can be accom plished on weekends and evenings at the end of the project and might save you between £5-10,000. You’ll need to be able to fit skirting boards, flooring, tiling and so on, but these aren’t tasks beyond the wit of a typical self-builder (or a typical self-builder’s wise father-inlaw). Landscaping is physically demanding (it helps if you do it as you go along) but, again, is not an immediately critical task.

Shop Smart

Small discounts and shop-smart savvy can go a long way on a self-build project — the biggest shopping trip of your life. On a £150,000 project, materials are likely to account for between £50-100,000 worth of expenditure, so it pays to make sure you’re getting good deals. Getting all of those items at a 5% discount means saving between £2,500-£5,000 on your project.

The key first of all is to establish an account with a local builders’ merchant. Make them aware of the work you’ll be putting their way and try and negotiate a fixed discount. Secondly, use the internet (see below) — it’s a good source cheap deals on all sorts of goods.

Save Money by Researching Prices

Radiators - Save 7%: Radiators vary hugely in price and it’s well worth shopping around — especially now that many retailers have online pricing. We found an eight-section version of this classic cast-iron Daisy radiator (below) at Stonewoods (020 8870 5555), as pictured, for £37/section (£296) but we also found a similar model for £277 from Pendragon Radiators (01384 444475), and a restored antique version for £224 from UK Architectural Antiques (07890 728144).

Bricks - Save 20%: Engineering bricks are the workhorses of the brick family – tough, durable and pretty cheap – but even at this level, prices can vary hugely. A class B engineering brick from B&Q online (diy.com) costs £310/1,000; Building Supplies R Us (an online merchant: buildingsuppliesrus.co.uk) sells the same for £260/1,000.

Flooring - Save 32%: A smart shopper can save a fortune on flooring. A quick trawl around found prices for an American black walnut parquet floor (above) to be around £49/m² (excl VAT), but Ambience Hardwood Flooring (0116 274 1050) sells it for just £37/m² (excl VAT).

Bathrooms - Half Price: The Stagsden Grand Bath Filler Tap (above) would make an attractive feature in any contemporary bathroom. Pay just £108 (incl VAT) at Tap Centre (0844 499 3900) or £263 at the alternative retailers we found.

More Budget Self-builds:

• A Hillside Home for £140,000
• An Eco House Built for £60,000
• A Four Bedroom Home Built for £125,000

Further reading:

• The 10 Rules of Building a House for Under £150,000
• Starting Out On Your Own Self-build
• The Project Manager's Toolkit

	Great Value Homes - 25 Inspirational self-build homes from £25,000-£241,000.
	Great Value Self-Build Homes 2nd Edition - You don't have to be rich to build your own home. This books contains 48 of the best examples of individual homes created on absolutely ordinary budgets, by self-builders of all different backgrounds.