Anyone ever had their own house built?

[whiskywill]

I did.

I designed the house, drew the plans, got planning permission and building regulations approval and started.

What I didn't do.
A local farmer friend with a JCB dug out for the foundations and drains.
Another bricklayer friend built the house from ground floor level up although I did all the preparatory labouring in the evenings after work and at weekends. I handled every single brick and block used.
A roofer laid the tiles.
An electrician did the technical bits though I did the hard work chasing channels in walls, pulling cables and fitting socket boxes.
I didn't do any plastering.

What I did do. (After work and at weekends)
Laid the concrete foundation strip with help of a friend.
Built up to ground floor level, filled with hardcore and laid the concrete slab.
Laid the drains and built manholes.
Dug the hole for a septic tank with a shovel, put the tank in and backfilled with concrete.
Fitted the roof trusses, built the dormers, fitted the fascias, soffits and barge boards.
Installed the PVC windows.
Installed floor joists, laid floorboards, built partition walls and built in wardrobes.
Put up plasterboard on ceilings and partition walls.
Fitted ceiling coving.
Installed an alarm system.
All the plumbing and central heating.
Hung all doors, including for a double garage, fitted skirting and architrave.
Fitted the bathroom and kitchen.
Tiled the bathroom, en suite, downstairs W.C and the kitchen splashbacks.
Laid floor tiles in the utility room.
Built low garden retaining walls.
Laid the driveway kerbs and called on my friend to help with the concrete pouring.
Laid a brick paviour patio.
Decorated the whole house.
Went to sleep.

The build up to ground floor level was done in the first Summer then we had a break until our house was sold. We moved into a caravan on site in April and moved into the house the following March. I did all the planning and material ordering. It was a hell of a commitment but thoroughly enjoyable, and I lost two and a half stone in weight. But we had a house which didn't cost a lot.

 

[powertools]

Thanks for the detailed replies it is good to know that others have gone through the same process and have been happy with the results.
Up to now we have been through a steep learning curve and it has been very apparent that you need to have the right people giving you advice.
After we first had the idea we approached a planning adviser that we had used in the past plus another that was recommended to us by one of the estate agents we had gone to for valuations of the property as it is and as it would be if we went ahead with our proposal and it doesn't take long to realise that there are plenty of people who over value their time and make out that you will struggle to make progress without their help.
Our local council offers a service that you can just turn up and have a brief meeting with a planning officer free of charge and also a service where you can apply for pre planning advice for a charge of £150. We drew up our own basic plans and went for the free advice to see if they would be sufficient for us to apply for the pre planning and with a few modifications we then went for the pre planning.
This stage then gets the plans looked at by all relevant departments and includes a site visit from the planning officer and you get a written report that throws up the problems that you will encounter with your proposal.
In our case the problems were with building height and vehicle access so we revised our plans to something we were still happy with and made an appointment to see the planning officer again and it seems that the revised plan that fits in with their requirements should not face too many problems but from past experience we know that this can change. We are aware that no planning officer ever had a problem turning an application down but puts their credibility on the line by making an approval.
Our next step has been to find an architect to put our ideas into a detailed plan to make a full planning application and that step has been the most difficult one yet and is a story for another day.

 

[powertools]

Just thought I would update this thread if anybody is interested. It is almost 8 months since since we had the original idea and we are only now at the point where we are within a week or two of making a formal planning application and that will take at least another 2 months.
A project that we thought may take just over a year to complete will stretch into 2 years even if the planning goes through ok, the only good thing about the delay is that as a self build project we may not have to pay the local council £15000 just to build it due to recent government changes in the last budget.
This is not a project for the faint hearted and if anybody thinking about doing the same type of project wants the benefit of my experience to get things to this stage just ask.
I will update again as the planning application progresses if there is any interest.

 

[Mike.S]

I will update again as the planning application progresses if there is any interest.

Yes, please - considering something similar(ish), so very interested to learn of your/other posters' experiences.

 

[Random Orbital Bob]

best advice I could give re planning which is what we did with the house we built 7 years ago is to engage a professional planner to either put together or at the very least review your plans before submission. Our guy cost £350/day and we used 2 days of his time. He was ex-staff in the very planning department we were applying to and knew every little foible we needed to avoid. Plans sailed through with zero objection.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Yes. Bite the bullet and pay up front. Get your retaliation in first!

 

[dericlen]

Hi,
I have done this "self build" thing four times now, the last one completed 2011 at age 75 in timber frame (the building that is!!)
The whole framing structure fabricated on site, under floor heating, A/C, sheep's wool insulation, rainwater harvesting wheelchair access to showers etc etc.
The biggest advantage being you plan to your own requirement, what where how big/small right down to the very smallest detail, especially when it comes to electrics.
Go for it.
dericlen

 

[powertools]

Well I hope that we have done this the right way but only time will tell. When we first came up with the idea we did consult two planning advisers who both said we should be able to get planning permission for our project but advised that we should apply to the council with an informal application one wanted £400 and the other £600 both plus VAT and the fee to the council of a further £150 and the result is in no way binding.
Our council allows you to turn up at the office and have a brief chat with a planning officer which we did and were told that we could do an informal application ourselves with very basic plans and that is what we did and were then given detailed advice of what they would be likely to allow and that was after a planning officer had visited the site.
We then modified our plans to take into account their requirements and then started the long haul of finding an architect to put our ideas into a practical application and that is where the fun begins.
To be continued if there is any interest.

 

[Random Orbital Bob]

That's excellent. It sounds like your local council have really got their act together in terms of assisting people to plan. That approach completely obviates the need for a consultant planner. If we had been able to take that route we would have jumped at the chance. In our case, you were lucky to be able to access plans from their library in under an hour long wait. The difference in service from one council to another is staggering.

 

[powertools]

After months of design work and research the formal planning application is now in.
Having paid the local council £185 for pre planning advice and then a further £385 for the planning application I have to say that I am shocked that they now want another £600 in legal fees.
The planning application will have a section 106 charge on it of around £11000 and I have had to supply the details from the deeds to prove that I own the property outright but the council legal department require the £600 to verify that that information is correct. No wonder that there is a shortage of housing in this country.

 

[powertools]

We have now been given the date of August the 5th as the date when we will know the outcome of the application and next Monday is the day when it is being discussed at the local Parish Council. It will be interesting to hear the views of local people to our plans.

 

[powertools]

Well it's been a long journey and a steep learning curve that I was going to share the experience with others who may be thinking of a similar project, coming up with an idea then talking to the local planning dept then finding an architect who we could work with who doesn't think that he is gods gift to buildings and planning and charges prices that are out of this world but after the last post it seems that there is little interest so to wind this up the Parish council meeting went well and they had no objections and today we have been told that we have been granted full planning permission by the district council.
We now know what we can do and the next step is to raise short term finance to build the ultimate hobby wood workshop and a house that fits our needs for the foreseeable future, after that comes building control then the build can begin.

 

[Charlie Woody]

Delighted to hear that you got planning permission, which is only what you deserve from the effort you put into doing the right research etc. I wish you every success with the build & sale of existing house. I would be interested to hear, & see photos, as the project progresses.

 

[Wuffles]

Are you going to use Council building control or an independent? We went independent as it was cheaper, plus our place is being built off the drawings on the back of a *** packet - couldn't justify any of the architects we met for exactly the reasons you stated.

I'm on a phone right now so it may become obvious when I get back to a computer, but where in the UK are you based?

Edit: I see, Bedfordshire.

I can recommend the Indy route, especially if you rather not give the Council any more money

 

[gregmcateer]

That's great news, PT.

Don't for one minute think there isn't interest here - I suspect people don't want to keep pestering for info and/or are fighting their own battles in other walks of life.

It would be great to see the plans, etc - An easy way for you may be to put the planning authority and application number on here and those that are interested could go online and look for themselves - Just a thought.

Though you may end up with dozens of different views of how this than and t'other could be changed!!

Good luck with the next stages - the scary bit is when the real money starts to go out - My brother and I are having a house built as a development project, (not for either of us to live in) and the foundations, blockwork, bricks, tiles, INSULATION!!! - Many it adds up.

Having said that, as others have said, don't be put off - if you want it enough and have got the energy you will end up with a wonderful place to retire, with the added satisfaction of having caused it to happen.

Best wishes

Greg

 

[KevM]

The planning application will have a section 106 charge on it of around £11000 ...

I understood that Section 106 charges were going to be scrapped for smaller developments, has this not been enacted yet?

P.S. I'm following your trials and tribulations with interest/morbid curiosity - please keep up the posts!

Edit, just read the following:

Why only 'affordable housing' contributions?
Government research has found that the 'affordable housing' justification accounts for around half of the value of all planning obligations. The Department for Communities & Local Government appears to have decided to focus on tackling this element of the contributions, although the consultation does invite views on a possible extension of the exemption to other tariffs and justifications for planning obligations.
The move should therefore remove a large part of the burden of Section 106 charges, but may still leave self builders exposed to the elements of S106 that apply to 'infrastructure' improvements (which should be charged on a proportional basis to the impact of the development).

So I guess the infrastructure element is still there.

 

[powertools]

I will keep the thread going, for selfish reasons I am going to need a lot of advise over the coming months but I feel that the professionals among you may also learn something from the experiences of a self builder and how we view our interaction with the professionals in the building trade.
Yesterday we were elated that we got our permission but today we have been informed by our architect that he has not got time to do our building control drawings we are a bit sad about that because we got on well with him but we have grown to expect that while all these professionals are busy they will go for the easy money.
With regards to the section 106 charges there has been a government consultation the results of which have still not been published I did phone the The Department for Communities & Local Government and the advice I was given was to delay putting in our application for 2 months but that was nearly 3 months ago and we felt that we could not delay things any longer and as things stand at the moment we are committed to paying £11638 if we start the build but none of that is for affordable housing so I guess that we will have to pay that amount if there is a major change between now and when we start we will try to renegotiate the amount or just submit the same application that will have the charges in force at the time applied to it.
To be fair I can understand that a new house build should contribute to the existing infrastructure but I was really annoyed that the council wanted £600 in legal fees to set this up followed by another £360 if we proceed with the build for them to oversee that the £11638 has been paid.

 

[Wuffles]

We didn't have building control drawings done. See my post above.

We did use professionals I trust at each stage and the building control guys (independents) would give advice on what they'd like to see in each section. Cavity size etc., which doesn't normally deviate from what the people who actually do this for a living are used to putting in themselves - normally anyway.

For example, roofer wanted to put 90mm insulation in the flat roof, building control want 120mm - no problem (provided you find out first of course, which we did). Got an email in with the building control guys now regarding size and spec of lintels for above doors and windows, so they're pretty helpful people.

 

[Charlie Woody]

We didn't have building control drawings done. See my post above.

We did use professionals I trust at each stage and the building control guys (independents) would give advice on what they'd like to see in each section. Cavity size etc., which doesn't normally deviate from what the people who actually do this for a living are used to putting in themselves - normally anyway.

For example, roofer wanted to put 90mm insulation in the flat roof, building control want 120mm - no problem (provided you find out first of course, which we did). Got an email in with the building control guys now regarding size and spec of lintels for above doors and windows, so they're pretty helpful people.

If you don't have Buildings Control Certificate of Completion & you ever want to sell the property you may have problems as it might be deemed not built in accordance with Buildings Control. As far as I know once it's built there is no way of getting certification. There may be others ways of getting certified that will achieve the same ends, if done during the building work. At the end of the day it has to be saleable in the future. I recommend seeking the advice of a good quality conveyancing solicitor to establish what your options are. If you don't know a suitable one I used to know a really good one in North London some years ago. If you would like his details PM me please.

 

[Wuffles]

Erm yes, but that's not what I said.