It pays to recognise the many different types of building land available if you are prepared to put the effort in. There could be a small plot, not visible from the street, behind an existing house. Don't overlook rundown houses that could be demolished and replaced with the home of your dreams.
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Just how do you go about working out a viable, price/value of a piece land or a property, suitable for a self-build project. In this article, we explain how to go about starting to work out a site's value?
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When setting out to find a site you will be up against some fierce competition such as other self-builders, full-time land finders, small builders, and all the vested interests of the development industry.
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The architectural design brief forms the very start of the design process and setting it down a on paper will help you pull together your ideas, needs, likes and dislikes. It will help you think carefully about what you want from your new house, and it will provide us as architects, a framework to interact with you and work to.
It should be an ever-evolving document as things change and develop and you get a better understanding of your needs. This brief can also be used as a point of reference / checklist thought the whole life cycle of the project to ensure your requirements are meet
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With horror stories about so-called ‘cowboy’ builders, budgets spiraling out of control and sites being left half-finished, it’s a wonder anyone builds anything! However, we find the vast majority of builders and their sub-contractors to be decent, honest people who take pride in their work, and who will go to great lengths to satisfy their clients and protect their reputation.
Your project is only as good as the quality of the workmanship that goes into it, but hiring skilled, passionate tradespeople is not always easy.
“This guide shows you how to choose your main builder/contractor and related sub-contractors like electricians, plumbers, carpenters, joiners, ground workers, bricklayers, plasterers and decorators.”
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What are building regulations?
In general terms, the Building Regulations are a set of 14 statutory documents, part A to P which set minimum construction standards for the design and building work applying to most buildings and many alterations to existing properties. They include consideration of materials and workmanship requirements, structural matters, fire safety, sound insulation, energy conservation and access to and use of buildings.
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"93% of homeowners doing extensive renovations works are not properly insured. If you do not tell your home insurer about works then you could invalidate your home insurance!”
When you undertake a project involving the structure and fabric of your property, as opposed to simple renovation without any alteration or addition, you are putting your biggest asset under increased risk. It only takes one misfortune to produce consequences which could jeopardise the value of the building. Increasingly, therefore insurance providers are demanding proof of the existence of a suitable policy. Building sites are full of potential misfortunes — all of which need to be insured against.
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What is Asbestos?
Asbestos is used generically to describe six minerals that share similar physical characteristics, specifically being natural strong mineral fibres, all with a high melting temperature but which are chemically different.
Up until the 1980's three of the six have been extensively used in construction, these were:
Amosite and Crocidolite are the ones most closely associated with health issues and were typically used in pipe lagging and fireproof coatings.
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For many years’ people having work carried out on their homes, whether that means a small extension or a large brand new self-build project, have been happily able to ignore health and safety regulations, which were formerly known as the Construction and Management Regulations (CDM), as they have traditionally only applied to contractors, commercial schemes and large scale projects homeowners being exempt.
All that changed on the 6th April 2015 when the revised CDM regulations came into force. Now, homeowners are subject to these revised regulations which have been altered in an impetus to place responsibility on the private domestic extender, renovator or self-builder.
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The Party Wall Act of 1996 may sound like an unnecessary hassle, but its objective are to prevent disputes arising between neighbours. It sets up a legal right and a framework to undertake certain works that might otherwise constitute trespass or nuisance. It is nothing to do with planning permission or building regulations but a totally separate bit of legislation.
You can understand neighbours not being overjoyed at the prospect of having their homes foundations undermined by builders in mini diggers, excavating alongside them or knocking into the party wall at loft level, and even potentially coming through the wall into the loft. The Party Wall Act is designed to assist both sides in negotiating this potentially challenging affect of building and restoration projects.
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Get started right with expert advice early on in the project with our Kickstart Consultation — quickly get to grips with design, costs and planning, and minimise the likelihood of stress, time wasting and escalating costs.
Work with us for a broad range of commercial architecture services that includes feasibility studies and planning applications, Building Information and Modelling, design and build, project management and interior design.
