Who is really 'Self Building'

[syne]

I'd say a self build is when you do more than 75% yourself. 

 

 

 

A true self build means hewing rocks from a cliffside a spinning 110drainage pipe from hand reared sheep

. 

 

 

[ToughButterCup]

On 13/06/2025 at 13:50, LSB said:

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

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

 

I'm DIYMax. Retired the day we got full PP.

If you don't require a formal qualification to get the job done , I'm on it. Not from choice. Or ability. Or bent. Just financial necessity. We're in a Development Zone so trades are like hens teeth. 

 

Which means 10 years in so far and still lots to do. MVHR second fit, Part P, Air Test, lobotomy.

 

Learnt a fair bit mind ....

 

[LSB]

7 minutes ago, ToughButterCup said:

 

I'm DIYMax. Retired the day we got full PP.

If you don't require a formal qualification to get the job done , I'm on it. Not from choice. Or ability. Or bent. Just financial necessity. We're in a Development Zone so trades are like hens teeth. 

 

Which means 10 years in so far and still lots to do. MVHR second fit, Part P, Air Test, lobotomy.

 

Learnt a fair bit mind ....

 

I'm impressed that you are still at it.

 

[Pocster]

Me sir me !

 

what didn’t I do …

 

Put up the timber frame 

CU wiring 

plastering 

install the glazing 

 

ummmmm , that’s it really .

 

took a bit of time - but me nutters are big 

[ToughButterCup]

On 09/07/2025 at 19:53, LSB said:

I'm impressed that you are still at it.

 

 

Sunk Cost. No option.

But come what may I'm going walking in the Rockies this summer. Maybe a bit of scree running and a bit of ice work. It's the bears that add a bit of spice....

[Eric]

26 minutes ago, ToughButterCup said:

 

Sunk Cost. No option.

But come what may I'm going walking in the Rockies this summer. Maybe a bit of scree running and a bit of ice work. It's the bears that add a bit of spice....

Are you going to look for the treasure in the Rockies? 

[Marvin]

Hi @LSB

 

Renovated an existing bungalow converting the garage but added a rear extension. Involved a bit of labour to help now and then otherwise definitely self build.  

[SteamyTea]

On 15/06/2025 at 10:13, -rick- said:

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

In a flood zone.

[SteamyTea]

On 09/07/2025 at 18:45, ToughButterCup said:

10 years in so far and still lots to do. MVHR second fit, Part P, Air Test

On 09/07/2025 at 18:45, ToughButterCup said:

If you don't require a formal qualification to get the job done

You could have spent a day a week getting those qualification.

 

Just think if you could have done an environmental qualification and sorted them newts out on the cheap.

[saveasteading]

My pitch on this.

How much Risk and hands-on?

 

If you project manage and don't have a main contractor, and do some of the work, then it is self build.

The degree varies from there of course.

100% means no contractor, but help from friends and family.

Next level includes labourers or semi skilled workers ... . But it's all your responsibility.

From there down to 10%.  A nonsense figure of course. Several trades contractors, some diy.

 

We will all have our own views on this according to skills and experience.

 

[ToughButterCup]

On 12/07/2025 at 22:03, Eric said:

Are you going to look for the treasure in the Rockies? 

 

With a bit of luck we'll be blessed with a couple of sunsets and dawns while camped out of the wind on a ridge line. (Sulphur Skyline)

 

Fabulous night skies. And nay bloody midges. 

[Kevan Marshall]

I am going to self build, hopefully I’ll clear most of the site myself, the foundations, drainage and installing utilities my mate shall do that, I shall erect my workshop myself, help erect the SIP’s kit, clad the roof with Standings seam, install the MVHR and also the underfloor heating, paint the interior, install kitchens and bathrooms, install fencing and fabricate gates, possibly cattle grid if I cannot find a good secondhand one and fabricate the estate fencing for the front of plot, hopefully this should save me a few quid…

[G and J]

I’ve an 18V Makita obsession, a bright orange nail gun, a misfiring hilti gun, steel toecap boots, oh, and hi vis t shirts so I must be a self builder. 
 

All the gear and no… you get the picture. Sigh. 

[flanagaj]

I cannot brick lay, nor can I do electrical work, but I am planning on doing as much as possible on my own.  I have found a chap who has self-built two homes himself.  He is mainly groundworks, but that is perfect for me.  I just don't have any family members who could assist.  We all live miles apart.

I have no choice to do as much as possible myself, otherwise, we'll overspend and we will have to sell 😞

We had a quote from a builder who for some reason ignored the brief and quoted for everything.  He came in 150k over estimators online!
 

[ToughButterCup]

I think that people who do no more than consistently dream about self building are also self builders.

 

Because - for now - that's the best they can do . 

 

Every single one of us on this site started with a house build dream. A chat in the pub, snatched looks at building sites, sneaky plans to buy an expensive tool - useless today but will come in handy 'on the build' . (Mine was for a HiLift jack) You notice every damn digger sitting doing fekall in a field. Sitting there leering at you.

 

Whispering 'buymebigboy'

 

You know that with a tweek of those now semi formal plans you could might should ought maybe possibly will buy one and sell it soon as we're finished with it (and make a profit).. The business case writes itself dunnit.... Stands to reason. Just need to get it past HerIndoors. Hmmm. Another night's lost sleep or tumescent dream.

 

You pluck up courage to whisper half formed thoughts to your partner, then a year later to mates. Suddenly you realise you're routinely saying 'We're thinking about applying for.....'

 

That's it. Hooked. You are a self builder. We had that first dream in 1985. (Land purchased for £1000,  0.385 hectare)

 

40 years later we still don't have sign off. 

Next year eh?

 

 

Edited July 27 by ToughButterCup

[SimonD]

3 hours ago, ToughButterCup said:

I think that people who do no more than consistently dream about self building are also self builders.

 

I would just caveat this one with that a self builder is someone who turns the dream into a reality through their own best means, and does it independently. However they do it is up to them, but in IMHO turnkey, full design & build stuff doesn't quite cut it for me, even if the self-builder sources the land and does some of the preliminaries.

 

I wanted to go down the route of having a contractor to do all the work but was so appalled by my experiences through the quote phase and through some intial building experience that I decided to do it all myself. During this time I've just had some labour help with family and friends to assist with heavy stuff, like installing <200kg windows etc. My wife insisted at one point that while I was away with my son, that I get in a chippy and a plasterer in. She didn't supervise them (as she didn't know what to look for and just paid them) and it was a tragedy, so they got fired and I had to re-do a load of their work.

 

Other than the disaster above, the only people I've had in are the steel framing crew with crane for the steel frame. I've had an electrician in to start doing 1st fix but let him and his mate go as this was a mess too. I met a retired electrical engineer who then tought me the electrical side so I can do this all now myself and have a friendly electrician to sign of and install the EV charger. Heat and plumbing all completed by me.

 

My sense of this is that sometimes I totally regret going down this route and sometimes I don't know how I would have felt if I didn't go down this route and how much debt I'd be in if I'd paid someone else to do it. 

 

The other side to this is that I've ended up training and getting certified as a heating engineer and have my own business doing this. So far I've got about 5 years doing gas systems and now I've gained a lot of experience, I'm moving across to heat pumps, probably exclusively in the near future. 

 

I'm still not finished either.......but feel like I'm in good company with @Russell griffiths as I'm 6 years in and actually not that far off, although next month I've told the family to leave me alone so I can swap out my gas boiler for a heatpump, so who knows. Now my wife has the common worry that she'll never feel warm with a 35C flow temp and need it hotter 😁

[SteamyTea]

5 hours ago, SimonD said:

Now my wife has the common worry that she'll never feel warm with a 35C flow temp and need it hotter

In the last 6 years she could have restrained to Masters Level in Thermodynamics.

[Benpointer]

10 hours ago, SimonD said:

I would just caveat this one with that a self builder is someone who turns the dream into a reality through their own best means, and does it independently.

 

Well said.  

 

Whilst I have immense admiration for those of you taking the full hands-on approach, physically we can't do that, so we are sourcing and coordinating subcontractors who can.  

 

Whichever way is right for you, I say.

[Adrock]

Bit of a bump, I'm 2.5 years into a basement/lower ground conversion, garage conversion and total house refurb. Whilst living in it and working a full time job. So I'll call it self build.

 

Last weekend we cut through the 1920's reinforced concrete ground floor slab to form the stair opening. I reckon I'll be finished the lower ground in a year or so.

[Crofter]

I'm pretty sure I count as a self builder. It's much easier to list the things I didn't do, than the things I did. 

 

I looked for an existing design but found nothing suitable. So I drew my own in SketchUp. Then I got an old A3 drawing board and hand drew the planning drawings. Borrowed a dumpy level and staff and surveyed the site. Dug holes and did perc tests.

 

Once I had planning, I did get a plant guy in to break a lot of rock and create a driveway and parking area. He didn't need to level the site though, because the house is up on pillars.

 

I dug the holes for the pillars... with a spade. Got in a volumetric concrete lorry to do the pour, and paid a couple of neighbours to help on the barrows. Then I made up shuttering and site batched the rest of the pillars.

 

Bought a big pile of wood, some power tools, and turned it in to a house. Got a couple of mates to help raise them. 

 

Insulation, VCL, plasterboard, windows, cladding, roof, were all done by me. 

 

I got a plasterer in, and a sparky. I laboured for both. Plumber did the UVC, I did the rest. I painted the whole place, which seemed like it would never end.

 

I tried to get someone in to do the second fix but no joy, so I ended up also laying the flooring, doing the entire bathroom, all the tiling, kitchen, and wood burner.

 

 

 

 

And that is how you take three years to build a 50m² house.

[G and J]

8 hours ago, Crofter said:

And that is how you take three years to build a 50m² house.

Good grief I simply couldn’t cope with that.  
 

We are four months into the demo/founds/frame stage.  I’ve been pretty much full time on site throughout so far.  At some point I need to reduce my hours/intensity to make the project more reasonable for both of us.  
 

Working with a joiner now means keeping up with him, but once that’s over I can reduce my hours a bit to restore balance to the force - J will raise her eyes at that and shake her head almost imperceptibly, probably refusing to believe I can be less full on foc-used.  She’s probably correct. 
 

But we’ll soon be getting more trades in: roofer; solar dudes; brickies; k-rend peeps; etc.  In that way we will hopefully complete in less than the 15months site insurance we took out in March. 
 

If I took 3 years that would mean 2 more years out of the rest of our lives trashed.  Ouch.  That’s probably at least 10% of my remaining active years.  
 

I know we could do more than we are intending to, but at the core of it we designed our house.  We made it happen.  Regardless of how little I/we do I’m going to continue to think of us as self builders.  Hopefully, eventually, happy (and quietly proud) ones. 

 

 

[LSB]

35 minutes ago, G and J said:

Good grief I simply couldn’t cope with that.  
 

We are four months into the demo/founds/frame stage.  I’ve been pretty much full time on site throughout so far.  At some point I need to reduce my hours/intensity to make the project more reasonable for both of us.  
 

Working with a joiner now means keeping up with him, but once that’s over I can reduce my hours a bit to restore balance to the force - J will raise her eyes at that and shake her head almost imperceptibly, probably refusing to believe I can be less full on foc-used.  She’s probably correct. 
 

But we’ll soon be getting more trades in: roofer; solar dudes; brickies; k-rend peeps; etc.  In that way we will hopefully complete in less than the 15months site insurance we took out in March. 
 

If I took 3 years that would mean 2 more years out of the rest of our lives trashed.  Ouch.  That’s probably at least 10% of my remaining active years.  
 

I know we could do more than we are intending to, but at the core of it we designed our house.  We made it happen.  Regardless of how little I/we do I’m going to continue to think of us as self builders.  Hopefully, eventually, happy (and quietly proud) ones. 

 

 

I can't see you slowing down until it's finished and you are living a life of luxury in all those cafes in Woody.

 

[LSB]

I started this post out of interest, it's not meant in any way as a criticism of people who 'get others to do things'.

 

If we won the lottery, more than a tenner 🙂 then I would try to persuade HID to do less and get more help, but he probably wouldn't as he doesn't trust others.

He's there now on Sunday morning working on blocks for a tricky corner.

 

That said I need to go to work at lunchtime, so not much difference except mine provides a tiny amount of money for bills.

 

[Crofter]

Everybody will have a different balance point where the DIY vs GSI makes sense. 

 

If you have a decent job (i.e. earning more per hour than a tradesman) it probably makes sense to go to work and get someone else to build your house. 

 

I was in the position where I had a seasonal, summer only job for two years, followed by a year as stay at home parent with a newborn. So rather than try to find a job over the winter (not easy up here) I got stuck in to building the house.

Carrying on the build whilst looking after a baby was certainly interesting. Thank goodness for wireless baby monitors... 

[SteamyTea]

4 minutes ago, Crofter said:

Carrying on the build whilst looking after a baby was certainly interesting.

Surely, if you take your time, the child can build it for you.