So, where to start? I’d been talking to my wife about building our own house being a dream for the last 10 years or so. One day late last year, she woke up and said, “Why don’t we do it?”
So we spent a few weeks looking at plots, barns, and the like with planning but really struggled to find something in budget in the areas we wanted. At the same time, my parents had secured planning on the very barn we had our wedding reception in, and it had been on the market for 9 months without a sale. It wasn’t where we wanted it precisely, but considering the price was right (we paid the advertised asking) and I grew up playing in and around it, I supposed I knew pretty much all there was to know about the potential pitfalls that would come with such a project. We thought, “Why not?”
Fast forward 6 months: we’ve had the designs developed, completed the majority of the preconstruction/site clearance activities, closed out the original precommencement conditions, and submitted drawings for building regulations approval and material amendment for a revised design. Work starts in a week!!! We still need to sort the financing but have enough to keep us ticking along for a few months before our house sale which will keep us going until Christmas, the idea is to pass the trickiest, hard-to-price hurdles before getting the self-build mortgage.
It’s already been stressful. Considering all the exposure I’ve had of the industry starting my career as a carpenter working up to project manager, I’ve never seen the “other” side. When employed by someone else, it’s much easier to look at things objectively, and decision-making is simpler. When it’s your own money, your own budget, and you have to create your own finance plans, it really puts the pressure on!
Some details about the site/project. It’s low-lying, and there are requirements for the ground floor to be elevated by approximately 600mm relative to external levels. It’s fairly isolated being 20 minutes from any significant town and 15 minutes to a shop. There is currently no power and water. I’ve ducted ready for the electric, but I’ve yet to put 800m water down the drive. We’ll duct for full fibre when it arrives too. It’s a Grade 2 listed building, which comes with its own challenges. The old asbestos shed which sat beside the original structure has been dismantled and disposed of, and a full veg strip of the flora immediately surrounding the building is complete.
Bats have been observed during some of the surveys, meaning works to the roof are required to be carried out under the supervision of a suitably trained ecologist. Last of all, there is a requirement for archaeological monitoring and historic building recording due to the plot being sited on a lost medieval village.
The building recording is complete, and WSI has been accepted for the ongoing monitoring of the works, and we now have our bat mitigation class license.
Next steps are making good of the structural openings, scaffolding, stripping the roof to allow for structural survey and repair, followed by re-roofing and windows.
Anyway, here are some photos of the site… when we took it on… and now! And of course, the plans. Feel free to comment! Thoughts on a postcard are welcome!
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