House Self-Build

robs1

Member
Converted our place and built the granny annexe on it too hope to fo another barn if I get the time, did all the work in our place and most in the annexe including all the electrics and plumbing.
The only agro to me are the planners, after that it's just a fair bit of graft, but no builders getting stuff wrong or not how you want it. You need to enjoy it and not rush
 

steveR

Member
Mixed Farmer
I've done 3 and doing a 4th now. Not all from scratch (two were major renovations of old houses and two barn conversions).

I don't particularly enjoy it as dealing with the trades is a pain in the arse but I've saved a lot of money doing it this way and learnt a bit. I would say it worth doing it yourself unless you are in a hurry. Don't skimp for the sake of finishing the job off either - finish the job off when you move in

Done two, (One new, one complete rebuild) and might build a retirement property in the next 5 years.

Trades are a real PITA, some are good, and when you do find one, shower them with tea, biscuits and love.

First house I built myself (mostly) as an all timber post and beam, Segal type House. Design and frame build and some inspiration was the CAT at Machynlleth. Fully clad in timber.

The main help was a lad from Wigmore, about 40 miles away, who had some good DIY skills and was careful and steady. He was vital, as it meant that the property kept on moving on during busy times on the farm. I brought in sparkies and CH plumbers, but did first fix myself. Took about 20 months from inception to completion.

Still standing, so cannot have screwed up too much!! :) It is an ideal concept for a farmer with basic skills. The ethos is that if you can cut a piece of timber straight, and drive a nail square, you really can DIY!

 

snarling bee

Member
Arable Farmer
Location
Bedfordshire
the price they quote is what you pay unless we make a change through the build.
This is a very important point. That's where builders really make their money.

We built ours 25 years ago, paid day rate to a couple of builders, and the trades. Seemed to work. And if we decided to venture from the plans (which we often did) then it only cost materials and day rate (if any).
It depends on so much. How practical are you? Do you have your own digger? How much time have you got? How do you cope with stress? Can you 'loose' spoil/concrete? Have you got that box of really long screws the builder needs in the workshop? Can your job/business/farm play second fiddle for 6/12 months?
 

Mur Huwcun

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
North West Wales
This is a very important point. That's where builders really make their money.

We built ours 25 years ago, paid day rate to a couple of builders, and the trades. Seemed to work. And if we decided to venture from the plans (which we often did) then it only cost materials and day rate (if any).
It depends on so much. How practical are you? Do you have your own digger? How much time have you got? How do you cope with stress? Can you 'loose' spoil/concrete? Have you got that box of really long screws the builder needs in the workshop? Can your job/business/farm play second fiddle for 6/12 months?

The builder, brickie and plasterer here were really chuff that they didn’t have to cart anything to a skip and that we had th 4 in 1 bucket right by the door!! Also very lucky that the lad that helped the builder was passing a builders merchant on the way here every morning and so was the brickies son!! They were able to pick up most things for that day and we returned anything not used
 
This is a very important point. That's where builders really make their money.

We built ours 25 years ago, paid day rate to a couple of builders, and the trades. Seemed to work. And if we decided to venture from the plans (which we often did) then it only cost materials and day rate (if any).
It depends on so much. How practical are you? Do you have your own digger? How much time have you got? How do you cope with stress? Can you 'loose' spoil/concrete? Have you got that box of really long screws the builder needs in the workshop? Can your job/business/farm play second fiddle for 6/12 months?

Basically Yes, I'm practical, got my own 13 tonner and telehandler, deal with stressful situations everyday, can loose spoil etc..

All apart from the time aspect... I don't have any spare

I already work 50hrs a week in my full time job, set up my own part time consultancy business last year which is currently taking about 30 hrs a week and growing steadily and I just haven't fully decided if I'm done with farming yet or not.

It's the consultancy part that I'm worried about, business is growing steadily and I need to continue growing the customer base, If I turn any away now.. I could have closed the door for good.

I have a client who recently offered to build my house for me and we'll sort out money later.. he was deadly serious.. I dread to think what sort of lifelong deal I would be singing up for lol but he is panicking I wont be able to do for few jobs for him this year
 

br jones

Member
Basically Yes, I'm practical, got my own 13 tonner and telehandler, deal with stressful situations everyday, can loose spoil etc..

All apart from the time aspect... I don't have any spare

I already work 50hrs a week in my full time job, set up my own part time consultancy business last year which is currently taking about 30 hrs a week and growing steadily and I just haven't fully decided if I'm done with farming yet or not.

It's the consultancy part that I'm worried about, business is growing steadily and I need to continue growing the customer base, If I turn any away now.. I could have closed the door for good.

I have a client who recently offered to build my house for me and we'll sort out money later.. he was deadly serious.. I dread to think what sort of lifelong deal I would be singing up for lol but he is panicking I wont be able to do for few jobs for him this year
Sounds like your too busy in the week ,best delagate
 

haybob

Member
Livestock Farmer
Find a good builder who actually works with his men on site and not in a office with Range Rover company car. You can do the ground works with him overseeing it. He will probably be able to buy in materials at a better rate than you can on his trade account with merchants. You can arrange your own electrician and plumber if you want.
 

AJ123

Member
Mixed Farmer
Location
South east
I did it, glad I did.
If you don’t do it you’ll never know!
barn conversion that was really a flatten & new build,

biggest mistake:-got full building regs plans drawn up & then deviated from them on the first day! ( went bigger)_ just made life difficult as nothing quite matched the plans after that,

I got an all inc quote from a builder, he came in at £140 I thought I could do it for £100, ended up spending the £40 on better fittings! But don’t regret that looking back, (except some expensive italian bath taps that look identical to ones out of screwfix but are less reliable! ) So spent the same got a better end result, learnt a lot and enjoyed it And proud of it still.

I subbed most of it out as individual jobs except decoration which is in my skill set, unlike bricklaying, electrics plumbing, carpentry, dry lining, UFH etc etc

my advice/ what id do differently
1) when getting subs to quote for a job that ties in with another sub get them both there to quote at the same time and say : you’re both here, agree now who is responsible for exactly what. There’s always a bit ‘the other one should have done’
2) Future proof future proof future proof. I’ve got cat 6 everywhere. I ran the cable, so all it cost was the cable, It might all get replaced by wireless systems but it might not , so I’m covered either way.
3) I presumed doors were wheelchair width as standard for today’s building regs. For very little cost now, just go up a size. It’s little thing like this that are so obvious looking back!
4) don’t be tight on anything. You’ve got to look at it forever, but at the same time don’t waste on unnecessarys ( like the taps!).
5) get organised,I had a quantity surveyor cost it down to the last screw in the last plug socket...they also give you a nice list that happens to be pretty much in the order you’ll build it.
6) enjoy it
7) remember to take the before for the before and after photo!
 

mo!

Member
Mixed Farmer
Location
York
We paid a builder. There's no way I could have built this house without him, he had all the contacts and when stuff went wrong he had to sort it. I was still on site every day which really helps as decisions could be made on the spot, and was able to be involved and help out. Part of the deal with the builder was that we would take spoil away and provide a telehandler, saved them money so saved us money.

Paying a builder also means I still have a wife and family to enjoy the house we built. Maybe one day we will get it finished...
 

S J H

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
Bedfordshire
I did ours, I think a lot depends on the tradesman and how willing they are to help you along. I thought I’d end up with the same stress if I had a main contractor, and I’d have been less involved in what was going on.
 

Vincent

Member
Location
Kildare Ireland
Time to check everything is being done right, time to order materials can be the killer when working. On my house we did as much as possible ourselves but it did take up a lot of time. I had the advantage of my dad being a clerk of works and previously being a builder himself to over see things.
If your time is tight get a builder you can trust to do it.
 
biggest mistake:-got full building regs plans drawn up & then deviated from them on the first day! ( went bigger)_ just made life difficult as nothing quite matched the plans after that,
Wifey spends a lot of time on pinterest, it's a very real concern!! As soon as she sees something that she likes then I get the "What if we.."

Thanks for the solid advice too,
Defiantly going to put in the cat 6, but really have to think about were all the possible media points could be, I'm really interesting in putting the sky box, xbox etc under the stairs and then it is wired to each room
 

Derryn

Member
Livestock Farmer
Have many on here build their own house?

We are hopefully going to break ground this march on our self build project after 3 years of hassle but we are at the final hurdle now.

I always had this dream of me project managing the build as I have a real interest in doing so and factor in the cost savings etc.

But due to work commitments and a serve lack of available time, I cannot discount the value in giving a builder a 20-30% margin and let them at it.

Questions for the Self Builders,
1)Was it really as much hassle as everybody says it is to self project manage? (If I ask any self builders I know, the answer always is "Never Again")
2)How much time approx did it take up?
3)Did you actually save any money self project managing including adding in your own time and lost earnings?
4)Did you enjoy it?
5)If I get a builder to carry out a start to finish project, will I not have the horror stories to tell every other new self builder?
In my day job I'm a solicitor specialising in all forms of building, engineering and energy projects. Can I just recommend that you take some competent legal advice on all agreements with builders, tradespeople, suppliers and consultants. It will save you money and grief in the long run. If building is not your trade it's full of traps, practices and so on that will catch you out and cost a fortune. There are laws that only apply to construction that can really cause problems for the inexperienced (and the experienced, to be fair).
 

Hampton

Member
BASIS
Location
Shropshire
The easiest way in my experience is to get a quote to first fix.
you can arrange plumber and sparks if builder can’t, but builder and joiner must be virtually joined at hip up to first fix anyway so best to get a team that work together to guarantee smooth build.
From first fix on its then up to you. Sometimes the original builders just get trades in for finishing anyway, so it’s often easier to organise this yourself.
it also helps to kick things on once original builder has gone on to new job and forgotten to book the kitchen fitter/tiler/painter etc.
In my experience, their are more jobs for the layperson later in the build than earlier on.
 

Derryn

Member
Livestock Farmer
The 2 builders that I approached about doing the complete package have surprised me slightly with how meticulous they are with their pricing. Every detail is thought about down to every socket position before the house build starts and the price they quote is what you pay unless we make a change through the build.
One of them has a building team of 11!! and they give you 2/3 days at alternative weeks.. And these guys are expectational at what they do, I think there total squad is 26 strong including all sparks, plumbers, joiners etc

But for some reason I'm still leaning towards doing it myself
The price you pay is never the price they quote. Seriously, never.
 

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Red Tractor drops launch of green farming scheme amid anger from farmers

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As reported in Independent


quote: “Red Tractor has confirmed it is dropping plans to launch its green farming assurance standard in April“

read the TFF thread here: https://thefarmingforum.co.uk/index.php?threads/gfc-was-to-go-ahead-now-not-going-ahead.405234/
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