Self-build survey for my dissertation

[Lakeside]

Hello fellow self-builders,  

 

I am currently studying for an MSc in Construction Project Management at Anglia Ruskin University. I am currently writing a dissertation, which aims to explore what enables self-builders to build, why self-builders choose to build and whether the risks are too great. 

 

If you have self-built in the past or are currently self-building (if you have planning permission granted through to the construction phase), I would be grateful if you could spare 5 minutes to fill in the questionnaire accessed through the link below.

 

https://angliaruskin.onlinesurveys.ac.uk/what-enables-self-builders-to-build-are-the-risks-too-great- 

 

Many thanks, 

 

Tom

 

[Conor]

Done. Good luck.

[Lakeside]

Thanks Conor. I really appreciate you taking time out to fill in the survey!

[D Walter]

Yup, completed the survey.  Hope it goes well.

[Simplysimon]

done!

7 hours ago, Lakeside said:

what enables self-builders to build,

being wired differently

[Russdl]

13 minutes ago, Simplysimon said:

being wired differently

 

In a nutshell. 

[Lakeside]

Thanks all. I really appreciate it. If you have any friends or family that have also self-built, please kindly forward on the survey. As it would be great to get as many responses as possible!!

 

[Temp]

Done.

 

The survey is about risk. Some thoughts on this....

 

When we set out I thought cost or technical issues might be our biggest areas of risk. However it turned out to be dealing with third parties...

 

Planning Permission is known to be hard to get but I expected any difficulty to be due to issues related to the design of the house. Instead our 14 month planning nightmare was due to was staff shortages in the planning department and general incompetence. We eventually got planning permission for a design virtually unchanged from our original proposal. Cost me a fortune in Architects fees, air fares, hotels and hire cars as we were living abroad at the time.

 

The water company probably represented our second biggest risk. We needed a water main diverting. Unfortunately the way the rules work and the way the water company costs jobs virtually forces you to use them not a third party to do the work. They don't give quotes only estimates. In addition we found their workmen horribly inefficient. Turning up without equipment etc. Forgetting to test water samples leading to weeks of delays and a bill about £3k higher than estimated. Really wish I could have used another company to do all the work. Heaven help self builders if water companies are nationalised and get even more inefficient.

 

Supplier failure/bankruptcy. We had one supplier go bust but fortunately we didn't loose money as we hadn't paid yet. Have heard of others not so lucky. Some form of Escrow system for self builder would be welcomed by many.

 

 

[joth]

Couple quick questions

- do you only want "green field" new builds, or are demolish+rebuild and/or deep renovations interesting too?

- how "self" of a selfbuilder do you need? On here we range from those that dug every hole and laid every brick with their own hands, through to self specifiers (aka custom builders) that are very hands-on clients of traditional architect+main contractor setup, and every variation on this in-between (most commonly: had main contractor(s) for groundworks foundations and perhaps shell, then did bulk of the fit out themselves)

 

 

 

[Lakeside]

18 hours ago, Temp said:

Done.

 

The survey is about risk. Some thoughts on this....

 

When we set out I thought cost or technical issues might be our biggest areas of risk. However it turned out to be dealing with third parties...

 

Planning Permission is known to be hard to get but I expected any difficulty to be due to issues related to the design of the house. Instead our 14 month planning nightmare was due to was staff shortages in the planning department and general incompetence. We eventually got planning permission for a design virtually unchanged from our original proposal. Cost me a fortune in Architects fees, air fares, hotels and hire cars as we were living abroad at the time.

 

The water company probably represented our second biggest risk. We needed a water main diverting. Unfortunately the way the rules work and the way the water company costs jobs virtually forces you to use them not a third party to do the work. They don't give quotes only estimates. In addition we found their workmen horribly inefficient. Turning up without equipment etc. Forgetting to test water samples leading to weeks of delays and a bill about £3k higher than estimated. Really wish I could have used another company to do all the work. Heaven help self builders if water companies are nationalised and get even more inefficient.

 

Supplier failure/bankruptcy. We had one supplier go bust but fortunately we didn't loose money as we hadn't paid yet. Have heard of others not so lucky. Some form of Escrow system for self builder would be welcomed by many.

 

 

Thank you for your thoughts Temp and for completing the survey. Sorry to hear about your troubles but I hope it was all worth it in the end. Absolutely,  financial security and also planning regulations and processes for self-builders are all issues certainly I will be looking in to. 

[Lakeside]

4 hours ago, joth said:

Couple quick questions

- do you only want "green field" new builds, or are demolish+rebuild and/or deep renovations interesting too?

- how "self" of a selfbuilder do you need? On here we range from those that dug every hole and laid every brick with their own hands, through to self specifiers (aka custom builders) that are very hands-on clients of traditional architect+main contractor setup, and every variation on this in-between (most commonly: had main contractor(s) for groundworks foundations and perhaps shell, then did bulk of the fit out themselves)

 

 

 

Hi Joth, 

 

To respond to your first point, all of those that you mentioned are appropriate for this study. 
 

Secondly, within my research I have created a definition of a self builder which is as follows; 

1. they have acquired the land.

2. the risk ultimately lies with the owner.

3. the self-builder is going to live in the property. 

For the self build that I have carried out, we employed a construction management approach, where we split the project into work packages, did not have a main contractor and did as much of the work we were able to ourselves. 
 

Please pass the survey onto other self-builders if you get the opportunity to do so! 

[NSS]

Hi @Lakeside, I also completed your survey (when first posted) but, as I stated, i didn't feel we were taking any significant risk as we were in the fortunate position of having the wherewithal (financially) to cover the budgeted spend plus any reasonable overspend. Like you, we didn't have a main contractor and carried out much of the work ourselves. However, and picking up on @Temp's point about ESCROW, this was a major factor in our choice of timber frame contractor. That was the largest single cost (excluding the land purchase) on our build, and the fact that our chosen supplier offered ESCROW removed the major (cost) risk entirely.

[Lakeside]

On 21/11/2019 at 23:08, NSS said:

Hi @Lakeside, I also completed your survey (when first posted) but, as I stated, i didn't feel we were taking any significant risk as we were in the fortunate position of having the wherewithal (financially) to cover the budgeted spend plus any reasonable overspend. Like you, we didn't have a main contractor and carried out much of the work ourselves. However, and picking up on @Temp's point about ESCROW, this was a major factor in our choice of timber frame contractor. That was the largest single cost (excluding the land purchase) on our build, and the fact that our chosen supplier offered ESCROW removed the major (cost) risk entirely.

Thanks for completing the survey @NSS. That’s a really interesting point. May I ask why you opted for timber frame? When you looked for timber frame contractors, did many of them offer ESCROW or were your options subsequently limited? 

[NSS]

2 hours ago, Lakeside said:

Thanks for completing the survey @NSS. That’s a really interesting point. May I ask why you opted for timber frame? When you looked for timber frame contractors, did many of them offer ESCROW or were your options subsequently limited? 

Opted for timber frame for the speed of erection to weather-tight, and because it enabled us to do more of the work ourselves. Research led us to a short list of three TF companies who we had detailed conversations with. We had two of those quote for the TF, only one of which offered ESCROW. It wasn't the only factor in the final choice but it was a significant one.

[Lakeside]

On 24/11/2019 at 13:18, NSS said:

Opted for timber frame for the speed of erection to weather-tight, and because it enabled us to do more of the work ourselves. Research led us to a short list of three TF companies who we had detailed conversations with. We had two of those quote for the TF, only one of which offered ESCROW. It wasn't the only factor in the final choice but it was a significant one.

Thanks @NSS that is really interesting. Financial security during self-builds is certainly a prioritised factor for many. How did you manage your suppliers? Did you ensure that you held a percentage back as retention for some of your bigger suppliers? 

[NSS]

35 minutes ago, Lakeside said:

Thanks @NSS that is really interesting. Financial security during self-builds is certainly a prioritised factor for many. How did you manage your suppliers? Did you ensure that you held a percentage back as retention for some of your bigger suppliers? 

Largely via stage payments made upon agreed milestones being achieved.

[Lakeside]

On 25/11/2019 at 17:41, NSS said:

Largely via stage payments made upon agreed milestones being achieved.

That certainly sounds like you approached it in an appropriate way. I worry that for many self builders using small sized contractors, contracts and payments can become too informal and therefore ambiguity can mist the relationship which ultimately does not help the project meets its targets/programme. 

[Lakeside]

Hi all, 

 

My survey is going to close very soon. If you haven’t filled the survey out, I would really appreciate it if you could. 
 

Happy Building, 

 

Tom

[Ferdinand]

>

Secondly, within my research I have created a definition of a self builder which is as follows; 

1. they have acquired the land.

2. the risk ultimately lies with the owner.

3. the self-builder is going to live in the property. 

 

That seems to be a very good general purpose definition to me.

 

F

Edited December 5, 2019 by Ferdinand

[Lakeside]

Thanks @Ferdinand.  One of the challenges I found when planning this academic project, was the interchangeable terms used for self-building. Although the above is pretty broad, a high level definition seems to be the only way to capture what self-building really is. 

 

Thanks, 

 

Tom

[Ferdinand]

1 hour ago, Lakeside said:

Thanks @Ferdinand.  One of the challenges I found when planning this academic project, was the interchangeable terms used for self-building. Although the above is pretty broad, a high level definition seems to be the only way to capture what self-building really is. 

 

Thanks, 

 

Tom

 

It's one of the existential questions we sometimes get theological about ? .

[Pocster]

I’ll do the survey but I think some ‘ real world ; hands on labouring ‘ is required. When can you start ? ?

[Lakeside]

Thank you very much @pocster. The survey will be closing soon, so please fill the survey out when you get a moment. Haha! For the build I have been involved with, I have relished the opportunity to get hands on. I have learnt a lot along the way. As mentioned above, we applied a construction management approach, did not have a main contractor and therefore managed trades, and did as much of the joinery, site prep, tiling, painting etc etc... as was possible. A very rewarding experience. 

[Pocster]

1 hour ago, Lakeside said:

Thank you very much @pocster. The survey will be closing soon, so please fill the survey out when you get a moment. Haha! For the build I have been involved with, I have relished the opportunity to get hands on. I have learnt a lot along the way. As mentioned above, we applied a construction management approach, did not have a main contractor and therefore managed trades, and did as much of the joinery, site prep, tiling, painting etc etc... as was possible. A very rewarding experience. 

I answered honesty . But as I’m a complete cock ( as @Onoff will agree ) not sure how much help it will be .

A cavalier approach at best ....

[Onoff]

12 minutes ago, pocster said:

I’m a complete cock

 

+1

 

?