Newbie asking a very basic question ? what's involved in self build?

[Mrsrc]

Hi. Early stages. Just in the process of land purchase. Is there anywhere on this forum that I can get a list of EVERYTHING I need to take into account cost wise? Project management by myself and hubby. 

I've got the following obvs not in order:

Land

Planning permission (already passed) 

Landscape plans and permission (part of the condition of pp) 

Build of property shell (foundations, walls, roof) 

Tiling

Bathrooms

Kitchen

Plumbing ufh and radiators 

Internal doors and handles and skirting 

Windows and doors

External render

Plastering 

Elecs and fittings /switches internal and external 

Utility and drain connection 

Drilling investigation (coal mine area) 

Possible raft depending on ground investigation 

Building regs sign off

Clearing site

Landscaping of garden

Drive laying and materials 

Skips

Flooring

Insurance? Not sure If I need this 

I'm sure I've forgotten lots! Please help me! ? 

 

 

 

[recoveringbuilder]

Hi, have you decided on your build route,? Timber frame? Blocks? Passive house?

You need to make your list in some sort of order( my ocd kicked in reading your list?) 

Once you set it out in order you will be able to see what’s missing,eg; 

land

planning permission 

building regs

utilities

clearing site ( this can be expensive if you need muckaway)

self build insurance  

and so on

go through everything in your mind and get it down, you’ll have to be able to do this in order anyway if you are planning on project managing so the sooner you get it clear in your head the better as you’ll have to be one step ahead in order to get your trades in at the correct time.

Plenty of people on here to keep you right but don’t underestimate the challenge!

[OnlyAlan]

My first self build plot was alongside an experienced self-builder. He looked after me and I learned from him. He was about two weeks in front of me. Recoveringbuilder is quite right - you need a great deal of committment.

Any of your family members in the building trade - if so talk to them.

[Thorfun]

Pick up a copy of the house builders bible. Should give you a good understanding of what’s required. 
 

(other books are available)

[Russdl]

@Mrsrc in your ‘not in order’ list, utilities connection was right near the bottom. As @recoveringbuilder said you’d do well to get things in a more logical order, and as utilities could end up being very expensive I’d move that to the top of the list and get some quotes (or are the services/quotes already in place?)

[Mrsrc]

15 hours ago, recoveringbuilder said:

Hi, have you decided on your build route,? Timber frame? Blocks? Passive house?

You need to make your list in some sort of order( my ocd kicked in reading your list?) 

Once you set it out in order you will be able to see what’s missing,eg; 

land

planning permission 

building regs

utilities

clearing site ( this can be expensive if you need muckaway)

self build insurance  

and so on

go through everything in your mind and get it down, you’ll have to be able to do this in order anyway if you are planning on project managing so the sooner you get it clear in your head the better as you’ll have to be one step ahead in order to get your trades in at the correct time.

Plenty of people on here to keep you right but don’t underestimate the challenge!

Thanks for the reply. I know what you mean, I need the list to flow in a logical order, was just writing stuff down as it can in my head. 

We're planning a block build. STILL waiting on builders quotes. I know it's going to be hard work project managing ourselves. But in for a penny.... ?

 

[Mrsrc]

1 minute ago, Russdl said:

@Mrsrc in your ‘not in order’ list, utilities connection was right near the bottom. As @recoveringbuilder said you’d do well to get things in a more logical order, and as utilities could end up being very expensive I’d move that to the top of the list and get some quotes (or are the services/quotes already in place?)

Thanks for the reply. I was just writing things down as they came into my head. Obviously I'll be making a list in the correct running order. Just wasn't sure if I was missing anything ?

I haven't got many quotes in place yet. Finding it tricky to get any tbh. Will be contacting utility connection today/tomorrow. 

[Mrsrc]

14 hours ago, Thorfun said:

Pick up a copy of the house builders bible. Should give you a good understanding of what’s required. 
 

(other books are available)

Do you think there's much difference between version 12 and 13? 

I've seen a 12th edition (used) for a couple of quid on eBay. Or is it worth paying the £20 for the latest one? 

[PeterW]

19 hours ago, Mrsrc said:

Insurance? Not sure If I need this 

It is a must have ..! From the point you own the land ideally but your mortgage company may insist on a minimum level anyway. Things can (and do) go wrong and you need the proper cover in place. 

[PeterW]

Just now, Mrsrc said:

Do you think there's much difference between version 12 and 13? 

I've seen a 12th edition (used) for a couple of quid on eBay. Or is it worth paying the £20 for the latest one? 

Just the pricing tables change. Let me check as I’ve got a couple of versions here, I’ll see what the differences are. 

[Mrsrc]

5 minutes ago, PeterW said:

Just the pricing tables change. Let me check as I’ve got a couple of versions here, I’ll see what the differences are. 

Thanks x

[Mrsrc]

7 minutes ago, PeterW said:

It is a must have ..! From the point you own the land ideally but your mortgage company may insist on a minimum level anyway. Things can (and do) go wrong and you need the proper cover in place. 

Good advice. Thank you x

[Thorfun]

41 minutes ago, PeterW said:

Just the pricing tables change. Let me check as I’ve got a couple of versions here, I’ll see what the differences are. 

I think the latest version also uses his own passive house build as an example house doesn't it? for the £20 it costs it's a great starting point for any self-builder and well worth the money.

 

plus I met him at a SB&R show a few years back and he seemed a really nice guy. happy to help out and answer questions.

[PeterW]

9 minutes ago, Thorfun said:

I think the latest version also uses his own passive house build as an example house doesn't it? for the £20 it costs it's a great starting point for any self-builder and well worth the money.

 

plus I met him at a SB&R show a few years back and he seemed a really nice guy. happy to help out and answer questions.

Yep I’ve got 9 and 12 here and it’s just price changes by the looks of it (and fixing the awful index...!!) so buying the latest would be good value if he’s brought it up to date. 
 

@Mrsrc what stage of plans are you at ..?  Would be worth spending £200 on getting the whole lot costed by one of the online estimators and then you have a starting point for understanding what you’re asking for pricing for. It’s about £100 plus VAT and will give you a reasonable idea of what to expect. Just use it as a guide to start with, and you can search out the best pricing yourself if you have the time to do this. That is where you save the most money ..!! 
 

It is also worth understanding what materials come in what quantities - right the way up to what a “lorry load” looks like. I’ve seen people buy 20 bags limestone (MoT1) in bulk bags for £35 a bag, when a 16t tipper was £14/t or less than half the price. Same with blocks and bricks, if you have space then taking a full artic load of 22 packs can be cheaper than by the pack from the BM. 
 

Lots to consider but also there is lots of help here if you ask - everyone has been in the first build boat before !

[Thorfun]

2 hours ago, PeterW said:

Yep I’ve got 9 and 12 here and it’s just price changes by the looks of it (and fixing the awful index...!!) so buying the latest would be good value if he’s brought it up to date. 

just checked my 13th edition and he still has the model house for price references but the Case Study is his own self-build. I'd suggest the 13th edition (or latest) is always best to get for the few pounds saved by buying a second hand version 

[patp]

As recommended above we got an online estimator for our build. It was offered by our Builders Merchant (Ridgeons then and now part of Huws Gray)  and they refunded the cost of it after we ordered a certain amount of stuff from them. It has been very useful especially as it comes in two formats. One is alphabetical and the other is in order of build. This version is so useful because we can see that once the materials start to be used for one part of the build you just look down the list and order the next lot of materials. For instance we are at the bricking up stage so the next materials on the list after bricks and blocks is Roof Trusses, then the felt and batten and fascias then the tiles. 

 

We have made a friend of a salesman at our local builders merchant. He warns us when certain materials need more notice than others due to shortages. He also knows the local tradesmen and will, when he can, recommend one.

 

Another thing to do is, when a tradesman starts work, get chatting about the next stage and ask him/her for recommendations for the next trade needed. We have been so lucky with this as, probably the best bricklayer in the world, when working opposite us, asked if we were building a bungalow. When we answered in the affirmative he offered to quote. He does not want to work on houses anymore due to his age. He then recommended roofers and told us which ones to avoid. They have come to quote and have, in turn, recommended carpenters, scaffolders and solar panel installers/electricians that they trust to work with. Many of these people do not need to advertise and so are hard to find.

 

We are not too far ahead of you due to finding a 4 inch water main slap bang underneath our proposed build when we were digging the foundations. It is illegal to build over them and so we had to pay to have it moved. There is a thread on here about the trials and tribulations. 

[Mrsrc]

That's great advice @patp 

I'll definitely look into this. As we're still at the financing stage the more info we can get the better. STILL had no quotes back yet....and it's not even an unusual build! ?