Doing it Yourself: an Introduction to Self-Build
Despite the recession, “self-build” houses are still popular. Why? Because they’ve invariably provided better value for money than simply buying a house. So what is “self-build”? It’s a house you build yourself, as the phrase hints! Not necessarily only by yourself, but you put yourself in the position as planner, foreman, architect of your property and allow professional workers do the task you order them to do. More people are choosing the “self-build” route – in point of fact, there are more self-builders in the UK than the total amount of houses being built by any single developer. The function of self-build is to produce a property to your exact specifications, not a boiler-plate design that commercial developers use.
I know what you’re thinking: “I’m no developer”. The pleasant news is that getting involved with a self-build project doesn’t have to involve you with the physical aspects of the home building (in point of fact, just 5% of self-builders actually take a role in the actual construction of the property). Even when it comes to design, quite often this is delegated to a professional designer.. Self-build, mostly, is about you expressing (in laymen’s terms), what you want to the property designer – who then produces a design dependent on your necessities. This design then becomes the blueprint the builders work to. Easy, eh? You don’t need to have any hands-on engagement in self-build. Having said that, the Do It Yourself fan can use self-build as a chance to save some wonga by helping out with the aspects of self-build they have experience in – it’s your shout as to how much participation you want during the build.
Self-build sounds costly, but in reality it’s more often than not cheaper than purchasing an already built property of the same specifications (up to 30% cheaper). Not only that, self-built homes fetch a good price too – as much as 25% higher than the development costs, so you can view self-build also as a means to invest your money, rather than just a place to live
You must ensure the team of workers you select are 100% competent and that they build well together. Without doubt, you will require workers with lots of experience, particularly with specific types of building machinery, such as concrete cutting chainsaws, block and slab splitters, power / disc cutters, floor saws, and wood saws. Skills bring safety to the project too.
This article is only an introduction to self-build, and I trust it will encourage those of you who are perhaps a little disconcerted by such projects. It needn’t take up all of your time, and you won’t need any specific skills, but hire carefully, and you will need to cautiously work out the overall cost of the project.
