Bozza

Ha nice idea. My PM messaged me today the joiners are going to lower the doors & frames accordingly to the proper height.

I talked through a few solutions with my PM, thing is we’re putting down glue down LVT all the way through the house specifically avoiding any thresholds. My PM had briefed the joiner on floor coverings so I assume he just had a “moment”. Looks like the joiner will have to come back (at his cost) and disassemble all the door frames and lower them, or presumably not get paid by them. The doors hadn’t even been trimmed, just hung high. Then they’ll presumably have to replaster and paint. And the surrounds are solid oak too. I could understand it if there was a mix up eg we’d changed our mind from solid oak flooring or whatever but it was always going to be LVT. Funnily enough my PM had ensured I told him, in writing which floor coverings I was putting in precisely to ensure correct door heights.

Just visited my self build at 2nd fix completion stage with my project manager. Beautiful and rather pricey oak internal doors downstairs (x 9) have been fitted with a 25mm/1” gap at bottom. There is no heat recovery system, and they know we’re installing glue down LVT no more than 4-5mm thick once fitted. Yet the joiners workmanship is otherwise excellent. Oops. Big job at this stage to rectify. Would like to be a fly on wall for that conversation. Things like this make me glad I’ve gone for a turnkey service and so falls into “not my problem” category.

Are you happy with the Liftestyle product Wagas, it’s the Galleria range we have chosen. Ecru Oak. Could have afforded the higher spec range they offer but we actually liked the colour in that range. We’ve gone for a straightforward plank design. interestingly we did consider herringbone design and our contractor said that wouldn’t be a problem has done it with Liftesyle before. But yes lot more work than planking.

Ok so I’m paying £4300 for approx 112 sqm Fitted LVT No VAT new build. That’s including screed and all material Lifestyle flooring LVT which retails at £19 sqm. From approved dealer installer etc with good reputation. so your quote sounds good / fair if from someone with good reputation. Post pics once it’s done !

I’m also tight but do try to look at it from the perspective of a self employed tradesperson. Sometime I also think jeez that’s like £40 per hour or so to do something for me. Rip off. But that’s based upon the hours on site getting paid. They won’t get paid for driving around, picking up supplies, quoting for jobs, buying their tool, having jobs cancelled. It’s not like they’re getting paid that rate for every hour they’re out doing their job. That said my nephews a plumber and he’s just bought a brand new BMW and I drive an old Skoda. But every so often he has to put his hands in *£ite. I used to do a (Non trades) job that paid £25 for 15 mins work. But to get that work I had to drive to peoples homes. And pay fuel. And postage. And sometimes folks wouldn’t be in so I got nowt. So it certainly was nowhere near £100 per hour probably closer to £15-20 in real terms. Before tax.

+1. Make sure the sand and bricks or rubble sit below the EPC, then have pebbles or whatever above that. But would also think about a layer of permeable membrane between the top layer of pebbles and whatever’s underneath, so the pebbles don’t work their way down. if you don’t have old bricks or rubble kicking about you’ll normally find folks on Facebook marketplace happily giving that kind of thing away for free if you didn’t know that already.

Ok so I’m nearing end of my self build. My builder quoted £30k for a double garage with proper slated pitched roof, but that would be built to a high turnkey standard eg plasterboarded inside etc. As a starting point for you. I’m looking at doing a large double sized workshop and at the moment looking towards perhaps a steel portal frame which I’ll then frame out and roof. For the frame circa £3k supply only so I think I can get something suitable for under 10k

Yes that sounds about right. Where I am it’s approx £25-£28 plus they’ll need adhesive and probably ply and/or a screed depending on your floor surface. If screed they’ll probably need to do it 24 hrs before etc. I’m not a floor fitter BTW but have just been sorting out a contractor for glue down LVT for my self build. Glue down LVT ain’t cheap unless you fit it yourself.

Just another wee thought or idea. Would an option be to buy perhaps a small ugly house in the area you like. Rent it out for a few years to cover any mortgage payments. Then when you’re ready to self build have the house demolished and replaced with your self build. Or even better if you could find somewhere suitable that would have sufficient land that would allow the self build to progress prior to demo of the original house. Somewhere you can temporarily stay. I would be careful about over committing to a high budget build unless you are in a 100% secure job or have massive cash reserves.

+1 see attached water needs to be lower

A solicitor would probably only advise you to make sure you have a proper contract and the build is supervised by an architect or subject to a build warranty. Which you have. And the local authority Building standards should be checking on the build at stages too. You could in theory pay for another tier of inspection by a surveyor but there is always a certain element of risk when building anything. Surveyors would always report that something “appears” in order, as to reduce the risk of litigation of something going wrong. For example they wouldn’t be testing the correct concrete has been used I the foundations. Your risk is mitigated significantly if your chosen builder is reputable and well known, vetted etc. Do you have specific worries about your builder or are you just looking to reduce the risks as much as possible. Don’t forget those horror stories of mainstream big house builders building terrible houses with loads of faults. If you have a vetted and reputable Local builder the risks I would argue are less. only thing I would advise is to make sure 100% that the quote and contract etc is all inclusive and you are certain what you could or not be asked to pay extra for. Make sure there isn’t any dubiety whatsoever.

Wet & Forget is a product that gets good reviews. I have bought some to remove moss from a north facing stone wall, But yet to use it so cannot comment further hopefully someone else can, Costco were doing it a few weeks back.

It looks like you’re house is part of a fairly modern estate perhaps 20-30 years old? . Which makes me wonder why the developer wouldn’t have had the fencing placed at the edge of your boundary from the outset, so they could sell a house with a bigger garden. There must be a reason for them not doing so and that reason may be Perhaps visibility at the junction something like that ?

It’s 42mm, according to their website.

In advance of delivery dates, put polite notes through his door advising him of dates & times of deliveries. With apologies for any inconvenience and accepting responsibility for any mess damage etc.. Don’t make it formal eg it’s my right to do so. Just keep it informal and polite. Take a photo of you putting notes through his door in case he claims you never did and he phones police etc claiming obstruction if he’s that kind of person, or is looking for a bun fight. Also take photos and a walkthrough video of any existing damage in case he claims your deliveries did damage that was already there. He could In theory use that advance notice as an opportunity to create an obstruction, but if he did you’d have evidence for your side of things in case you needed to involve a solicitor or whatever for breach of deeds or whatever.

But I’m a working class Northerner. Can you imagine the shame of me sending my kid to a public school and her ending up with a posh Southern accent In all seriousness we weighed that up and due to the local school being extremely good performance wise, we put the money into a build that we’d get a better return on and where she can maintain her friendships etc. Which of course she’ll inherit in due course. Other reasons too of course!

Ok so you’re probably not quite as “completely inexperienced and probably out of my depth“ then So what are the local house prices telling you? -v- what you’d like to build.

So in terms of the risk of buying an old property and not getting PP. I bought a rural cottage without PP and replaced it with a new build. Each local council area should have policies on rural development, which the planning officer will follow. Basically hit the internet and research the policies in the areas you are considering. You obviously increase the chances of getting PP if your proposal is within policy. In rural areas It’s often the case that the planning authorities look for something sympathetic to the local vernacular eg use of local materials etc. Appropriate in scale. Environmentally friendly. Or alternatively something of significant architectural merit. Understandably rural communities don’t want an outsider butchering the local landscape, but they would probably welcome something sympathetic with modern eco standards etc. A small rural cottage will probably have an agricultural connection, so if you are replacing it with something new And bigger and you’re probably have to think of looking at doing something like a contemporary barn or something like that. My local councils policy is that traditional properties should be renovated where possible but if too far gone and not of significant architectural merit replacements are ok if your building something good quality. But each area has its own policies as I say. Like has been said already you probably don’t need a consultant at the moment just look at properties available and do your research. One word of caution though. In rural communities you rely much more on your community and neighbours. Would strongly advise if there is a sense of resistance for any proposal you rethink it. What you want is a proposal that the local community is 100% behind. As well as the local planners.

The true value of any plot of land is what a buyer is prepared to pay for it. You mentioned that the plot is a good location for kids presumably schooling, friends, etc. That has an added value to you. I ended up paying approx £85k more than I had wished to pay for a plot. Why, because it was a great location, great for my kid (school catchment), not in middle of nowhere - which my wife was against. I offset that additional cost by building a smaller house than I had intended to. You’ll have an idea of what you wish to build size wise, and your build budget. As plots are all so different, a better approach might be to try to establish the value of that plot with a completed house on it. So if your Self build 4 bed house or whatever costs £300k to build and the plot is £150k, and 4 bed new builds in that location go for £750k the plot is good value. If such a house goes for £350k it’s obviously not. With self building the amount of “profit” can depend on so many things because you have complete control of the spec and how much of the work you can do yourself which obviously is more advantageous profit wise. As you know turn key is the most expensive build method. But even if you do turnkey, something has gone badly wrong should you not turn a profit. From my perspective if I turn a £ profit that’s great, but the added value for me is location, quality of house etc etc etc in compared to similar value houses nearby. Like SupeJohnG says if you provide details of the plot here there’s plenty of experienced self builders here who can give you impartial advice on the pros and cons of it which will help you decide whether it’s worth it, or not.

It’s not really a self build if your family are paying for it.

A lot will depend on the valuation of the build of course. LTV and all that. £500k? Jeez - Good luck with the mansion

Ferdinand, Assuming it’s the Beechgrove Garden that’s filmed literally 60/70 metres from my plot / self build. They film on Tuesdays and they’ve put me in touch with one of their garden designers whose going to do a design for me because I’m a terrible gardener. I see you’re from Notts. I grew up in Cotgrave where there’s a street named after my after my Grandma. Small world.

Chris, You are quite right Ecology are mentioned positively quite a lot here, in fact I’m not sure I’ve heard anything bad at all about them. They are the sort of company that you can pick up the phone and have a chat with them knowing you’re speaking to a person with knowledge, as opposed to a general call handler in bigger organisations. I think they’re operating reduced office hours due to Covid but they’re the type of organisation that you can pick up the phone and have a chat about any questions that you can’t get an answer to here or on their website. The main thing about them In my experience is they come across as approachable and flexible / relaxed. When I did my shopping around for a lender that was the main reason I went with them. I think others had slightly lower interest rates but they for example will release the money when you need it as opposed at each stage and requiring revaluations/inspections as other lenders required. As a self builder I found not having stress around the finances/lender a huge benefit. I can imagine Ecology BS being quite successful moving forward my only worry is one of the bigger banks buy them out and they end up like the others with crap customer service etc. And no, I don’t work for them and no this forum isn’t on some sort of commission with them . It turns out there are good companies / banks etc out there - ecology seems to be one of them.

Prior to my current project I was considering a more complex project involving a steading conversion. In trying to price the project my architect told me that the problem with Quantity Surveyors is that to protect themselves from litigation from the clients, if the project goes over budget, they over estimate all build costs. Not sure if that’s true but that’s what I was told. In terms of self build projects I may be wrong here but I don’t see many people on this forum embarking on a literal self build (as opposed to fixed price turn key type builds / main contractors), whereby they are totally clueless on costing etc. Seems to me that the majority of literal self builders have relevant experience or actively research costs including via this forum. I suppose your proposed business would be targeting those Self builders without any knowledge or savvy but also without a contract nor an architect, or project manager. And presumably in your locality. Not sure if there would be many of them, and if there were good luck working with them. I think that most self builders have spent years thinking about self building, watching tv shows, doing their research etc etc. Funnily enough just earlier today I was in conversation with someone at the very start of their self build journey. It was pretty easy for me to give them a decent steer on expected costings and risks. And that’s based upon what I’ve learned on this forum and through my own self build journey. Maybes there is scope to act a a self build consultant in some way though. Would be just a case of advertising what you can offer and see if there is any interest. In the same respects people offer VAT reclaim services. A stand at one of the self build shows might be a good shout. Would suggest though doing a fixed price service so pricing it transparent. Eg for £x I’ll check your build contracts, check your budget spreadsheet that sort of thing just to make sure you’re not getting ripped off etc. In fact now I’ve said that I’ve just thought about a business opportunity for myself.