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Regs for self builders - Which parts did you read?


giacomo_z

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How much of the building regs would you practically recommend a newbie self builder to be familiar with?

 

As an engineer (although electrical) I am not afraid of reading a standard and I understand that more knowledge is never a bad thing but on the other hand I don't want to waste time reading parts that I don't really need to know.

 

Just for reference, I am very early on in the project and still looking for a plot. I would like to draft plans myself and get help from an architect only for technical drawings. I am thinking to go with ICF and do most of it myself calling in trades when required.

 

How did you do it? 

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Let the architect and SE seal with structural elements of the building.

 

You need to know all the accessibility stuff, like design of staircases (width, tread heights, rise and going etc) obviously socket and switch heights, door widths, accessibility to bathrooms etc minimum windows sizes for means of escape, fire protection of escape routes etc.

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If you post your plans here we can point out what’s wrong.

 

the most used parts (in my experience) are fire escape, protection from falling and disabled access.

 

I also think self builders can’t design and you need to let someone experienced do it or you’ll get something garbage.

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14 minutes ago, CharlieKLP said:

I also think self builders can’t design and you need to let someone experienced do it or you’ll get something garbage.

I take exception to that, I designed my build completely and I am a self builder. Yes I am sure some are not able to do this but I recommend people write themselves a wish list (I did this myself) as a starting point. As others have done post your ideas here and there is enough knowledge collectively to guide your design. If calcs are required then BC will ask fir them (I had no calcs done at all).

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31 minutes ago, CharlieKLP said:

 

I also think self builders can’t design and you need to let someone experienced do it or you’ll get something garbage.

What horse shit.... I designed something no architect was able to give me which is what I want and a way I want to build it.

I brought it to an architect( award winning) who is a relative of a good friend to put into planning and BC drawings and to ensure I wasn't missing anything and he reckoned he wouldn't change a thing 

 

Where most Architects fail is they are more interested in what they like and disregard their client opinions as inferior... hence alot of self builders treat them with less than the respect good ones deserve...

 

P.s I'm a big fan of good architects and if plot was different or I wasn't in the game and had such a clear vision I would definitely have used one.

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Just now, SteamyTea said:

Something architects seem very reluctant to do.

None of us like our ideas shredded to pieces.


I have my designs posted weekly actually. 
 

I think architects are trained to accept criticism quite well, but I’d say self builders ‘know what they want’ and are quite determined to do things that are unfortunate a lot of the time. 

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Thanks all for the pointers.

 

No plans yet. As I said it's very early on and I don't have a plot at the minute. Conscious of the fact it'll take a while, I would like to get ahead with some reading.

 

I like dealing with pros when they know what they are doing and are humble. I like pros that have "the heart of a teacher" rather than of a secretive salesman but unfortunately these folks seems to be rare in all industries, including architects. 

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30 minutes ago, Ronan 1 said:

What horse shit.... I designed something no architect was able to give me which is what I want and a way I want to build it.

I brought it to an architect( award winning) who is a relative of a good friend to put into planning and BC drawings and to ensure I wasn't missing anything and he reckoned he wouldn't change a thing 

 

Where most Architects fail is they are more interested in what they like and disregard their client opinions as inferior... hence alot of self builders treat them with less than the respect good ones deserve...

 

P.s I'm a big fan of good architects and if plot was different or I wasn't in the game and had such a clear vision I would definitely have used one.

Post your drawings. I’d love to see what you designed.

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At the end of the day if the self builder is happy with his design who can tell them they are wrong?, others may have a view but they don’t have to live there. I am very happy with what I designed but I am sure it’s not everyone’s cup of tea. Telling self builders if they design it themselves they will end up with garbage is pompous crap. 

Edited by joe90
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27 minutes ago, joe90 said:

At the end of the day if the self builder is happy with his design who can tell them they are wrong?, others may have a view but they don’t have to live there. I am very happy with what I designed but I am sure it’s not everyone’s cup of tea. Telling self builders if they design it themselves they will end up with garbage is pompous crap. 


I think assuming you know better than someone trained in design and experienced in building regs is a little (let’s say “over-confident” rather than pompous), so agree to disagree. 
 

I’m not saying anything is wrong, I’m just saying I don’t think there should be some idea that hiring a designer is somehow a false economy. 
 

op is asking if you can reduce the building regs into ‘the important chapters’ I think that’s a bit optimistic, but am happy to help.

 

Its like me asking the useful chapters to read about being an electrical engineer. I wouldn’t be doing that, it’s a profession that takes years to understand.

Edited by CharlieKLP
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44 minutes ago, joe90 said:

At the end of the day if the self builder is happy with his design who can tell them they are wrong?, others may have a view but they don’t have to live there. I am very happy with what I designed but I am sure it’s not everyone’s cup of tea. Telling self builders if they design it themselves they will end up with garbage is pompous crap. 

Post your drawings. Let us see what you designed.

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7 hours ago, giacomo_z said:

How much of the building regs would you practically recommend a newbie self builder to be familiar with?

 

As an engineer (although electrical) I am not afraid of reading a standard and I understand that more knowledge is never a bad thing but on the other hand I don't want to waste time reading parts that I don't really need to know.

 

Just for reference, I am very early on in the project and still looking for a plot. I would like to draft plans myself and get help from an architect only for technical drawings. I am thinking to go with ICF and do most of it myself calling in trades when required.

 

How did you do it? 

Give Structure and Fire Safety a good read before you put pencil to paper. The rest can be looked at as you go.

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