Who is really 'Self Building'

[LSB]

Who is really doing it themselves, as in digging foundations, laying floors, laying blocks etc. etc. etc

 

The only outsiders we have had are the pouring concrete suppliers.

Every other thing is done by one man and his missus.

It's very slow, hard work and sometimes not much fun.

 

But, the satisfaction.

 

I'm just wondering how many of us are on here as it seems most people are getting in teams.

[nod]

Myself and my wife have done most things on our last two builds Though we where tempted to go the TF route on our last build But couldn’t justify the extra cost Does TF count as self building 😁

[JohnMo]

I did most. Roof no (all internal battens yes), electrics no, plasterboard no, ground works no (except insulation and UFH) but did just about every thing else.

 

I selected my battles 

[IanR]

Who's deciding the definition of "self-build"?

Gemini's definition:

[JohnMo]

24 minutes ago, IanR said:

Who's deciding the definition of "self-build"?

Gemini's definition:

Think OP decided the criteria, not AI

[LSB]

28 minutes ago, IanR said:

Who's deciding the definition of "self-build"?

Gemini's definition:

This doesn't seem to cover putting mortar on blocks etc, just planning it all.

 

[LSB]

This was just me wondering, no one is particularly right or wrong.

Obviously, it depends on skills, time, money and attitude.

 

We are doing it block by block as our budget is <200k for 240sqm barn conversion.

This requires 2.4m underpinning  and we couldn't even get anyone to quote on doing it.  So, rollup your sleeves and get on.

 

Hence we are doing it in phases, like building 5 mini houses until we get to roof level.

 

I'm not sure what happens then though.

 

One real advantage though is you've got time to make decisions and rectify any mistakes when they happen (we've made a few)

 

 

[JamesP]

Paid for the electrician, skimming, window and ASHP installation (RHI). My father (82 years) helped me get the frame up to the rafters.

Took 3 years before moving in and still finishing off after another 5 years.

Still enjoying it....

Came in about £800sq/m but start was in 2017.

 

[nod]

I think we all know what a self builder is on here 

Pretty much most on here 

Drawing a few sketches and running a few lengths of ducting Isn’t a self builder 

John’s spot on with picking his battles 

There’s always things that you can’t do yourself Time constraints is often the main reason 

[Russell griffiths]

Yes. 
I can count on one hand the lads I’ve had here. 
Piling contractor. 
plasterer

floor tiler

electrician

plumber 
nobody else planned until it’s finished. 
I reckon I’ve saved over 200 grand in labour

[JamesP]

11 minutes ago, Russell griffiths said:

 I reckon I’ve saved over 200 grand in labour

 

[Oz07]

Yeh there's only so many things most people can turn their hands too. I'm rubbish with wet trades so need subbies for those. Likewise sparky and plumber although I do try to give them a hand. 

[MikeSharp01]

We are trying to do as much as we can ourselves. So far the only external trades have been:

 

Slating the roof - we built the structure from the inside, I have no head for heights.

Fitting the windows - the VAT on the windows, which we could have got back, was equal to the fitting so the obvious thing to do to say nothing of the de-risking arising from getting them to measure and fit.

MCS sign off of the PV install - although I could go and get qualified it seemed like an unreasonable use of my time and would have been very expensive.

 

We will need:

Floor screeding before we put the wooden floor down.

An umbrella approach to our ASHP and DHW system to get the grant.

Drywalling of the plasterboard we are fitting.

 

We might:

Get the external cladding fixed professionally. 

 

this approach does take time....

[BotusBuild]

Who's been onsite?

Groundworker (for experience and speed)

Concrete pourers

Window fitters (wanted a scapegoat, and it's been worth it)

GRP for roof (for guarantee)

Electrician (because I'm no longer certified)

ASHP fitter (only because of BUS grant)

Otherwise it's been me and SWMBO

4.5 years and counting

Must have saved 100's of  £1,000's in labour costs

[nod]

We’ve taken two years Mainly my wife and myself Both have full time jobs 

£815 m2 on our previous 

420 m2 this time With a 337k spend 

While we built the foundations and did the GWs I still brought in five bricklayers Costing 20k 

o

[JamesP]

5 hours ago, JamesP said:

Paid for the electrician, skimming, window and ASHP installation (RHI). My father (82 years) helped me get the frame up to the rafters.

Took 3 years before moving in and still finishing off after another 5 years.

Still enjoying it....

Came in about £800sq/m but start was in 2017.

 

Had a quick look through the invoices and need to add  Anhydrite Liquid Screed to the ground floor, took them a couple of hours.

Not working full time (stay at home Dad) and not a builder by profession. 

Edited Friday at 19:41 by JamesP

[Dreadnaught]

 

Yes, mostly solo here. Am at first fix.

 

Only trades …

• Screw piles
• Concrete raft pouring
• Timber frame
• Roofing (for the guarantee)
• Heat pump fitter (for grant, could have done it myself)
• Tiling (large format bathroom wall tiles.
• Plastering

And had some help with …

• groundworks labourer
• UFH pipe
• a small amount of labouring with brick slips cladding
• a small amount of first fix carpentry (to show me a few things)
• a small amount of tacking (to speed me up with the rooflight reveals)

All else me.

 

For second fix, I expect to use these trades …

• Electrician - sign-off only (I am pulling all cabling)
• LVT flooring fitter
• Decorator
• Paver (for drive)

[G and J]

As a young child (though in truth I’ve never really changed) I would ask me mum what I had to wash.  The answer was always the same, “the parts that show and the parts that smell”.

 

Apart from paint very little that I do will be seen.  Much safer that way.  So the “parts that show” will be done properly by dudes that can.

I translate “the parts that smell” into the bits that are vital to the structural integrity of our new pad.  I won’t be doing those either.  Grown ups will (though I’m on hand to ask dumb questions and do really important stuff like making tea).
 

But the rest I’ll happily toddle away doing.  So mum knew best all along.

 

[Selexus]

Yup. Me and her, with help from friends along the way.

Contractors will help with Steel and electricals, and a few other bits (ICF pour, etc).

102m of foul drainage installed already.

Waiting for Insulated raft kit for the next stage 😃

[Canski]

With the help of a digger driver site strip & foundations.

I did 50% of the brickwork on 2 houses I used my lads to help me 

I had a team of chippies in for the first fix ( I wish I’d done it myself)

We had a great team of plasterers. 
Electrics and plumbing from my mate who has the second house. 
Windows and doors supply and fit from a national supplier. 
Painting and decorating from another friend. I hate painting and he is 3 times quicker and the quality is outstanding. 
I fitted the kitchen and bathroom units. 
I did all of the floor tiling and wooden floors. 

I did all of the landscaping. (I really enjoyed that)

GRP roof by a specialist 

Roof tiling by another mate. 
We are nearly finished now and getting ready for sign off. The garden office ( man cave)  is being plastered at the end of this month This was originally the site office and has served us well. 
 

[-rick-]

I've got to ask what's with the lifebuoy?

[BotusBuild]

On 13/06/2025 at 19:20, BotusBuild said:

Who's been onsite?

Groundworker (for experience and speed)

Concrete pourers

Window fitters (wanted a scapegoat, and it's been worth it)

GRP for roof (for guarantee)

Electrician (because I'm no longer certified)

ASHP fitter (only because of BUS grant)

Whoops, missed out the plasterers who were awesome

[Canski]

On 15/06/2025 at 11:13, -rick- said:

I've got to ask what's with the lifebuoy?

It was left in the old house prior to demolition and was getting in the way ever since. I just hung it there until I thought of a use for it. It’s round the back of the garden room now. 

[Kelvin]

I’m probably 50/50 in terms of trades and me. My intention was the majority of the build done with trades for speed but we were beset with problems early on and I ended up taking over a lot of the work.