Build or Buy

granger

granger

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I have been looking at buying a new home for a few months now. Countryside home

I have yet to find one suitable and to be honest, see the market overpriced

Has anyone here got much building experience or built your own home and kept to within budget

I would describe my needs as not lavish but far from pauper :D
 
I know everybody is different, that tastes and interests differ, but I have always thought that I would rather have my eyeballs nailed to the wall with rusty nails than build my own home.
 
an capall said:
I know everybody is different, that tastes and interests differ, but I have always thought that I would rather have my eyeballs nailed to the wall with rusty nails than build my own home.
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As granger says, and as I clarified in my email to him, 'self-build' is usually a misnomer.

I often talk about having built my house but I merely engaged an architect to firm up my design and manage the project with a builder to complete it to 'turnkey'.

The day we received the keys it was worth double what the project cost.

(And is still standing 24 years later...)
 
With the right land and the right builder you’ll make considerably more than you would just buying a new house PJ. Plus you have the added benefit of it being yours.

The downside of course is the time and the hassle factor, plus the possible risk of going over budget.

My advise though is don’t compromise. Haggle to get what you want within budget, and agree the detail with you builder so he doesn’t come back for extras. And if you’re planning to stay for any reasonable length of time spec internals to a high standard. If you’re planning on flipping in a relatively short time though you may want to go a bit more ‘budget’ but with a good look.

And if you’re limited with the amount of time you can spend on site agree review schedules and meetings, and tick everything off against schedule and cost. Keep them accountable and you’ll likely get what you expected. If you don’t you may get a few unwanted surprises,
 
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Desert Orchid said:
As granger says, and as I clarified in my email to him, 'self-build' is usually a misnomer.



(And is still standing 24 years later...)
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If I undertook this with the fragrant Mrs AC the house might be still standing but the marraige certainly wouldn't. The woman is obssessed with house design and construction. Thinks Grand Designs is porn.
 
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A friend of mine has built a few and they rarely come in on budget, seeing how they went I would allow an extra 25% budget just in case, if it comes in on budget then great, if not then you aren't scrabbling round for the money.
Think properly about what you want, the little things can make all the difference, like he usually gets an entertainment cupboard built into the sitting room, sky box etc goes in there, and he has all the cables ran under the walls from the cupboard to where the TV will be. A HDMI cable from there to every room in the house, if he doesn't intend each room to have a TV then he leaves them unconnected above the room so it can be connected if need be, cat 6 cable to every room, stuff like that. He usually puts a couple of ceiling speakers in each room too, and links them to a central system in the entertainment cupboard.
The cost of doing that type of thing while building is next to nothing, yet to do it a few years later would be a nightmare.
 
My sister in law does up houses but a couple of years ago did a new build by holding back part of the garden and given the choice would do so again. But she is notorious in her over spending on budget and added stupid things to the new build like a fireplace in the kitchen plus underfloor heating. She’s got the desirable “look” right for her refurbished houses with the right kitchen and bathroom but still overspends on curtains and carpets or moving the front door/stairs at vast expense which doesn’t add to the price. Her houses do sell quickly and the new build was on the market less than 48hours!
I always thought if I ever built, I’d love to build an American style house with the deck wrapped around the house and a nice swing to sit on and drink gin and tonics!
 
dvds2000 said:
A friend of mine has built a few and they rarely come in on budget, seeing how they went I would allow an extra 25% budget just in case, if it comes in on budget then great, if not then you aren't scrabbling round for the money.
Think properly about what you want, the little things can make all the difference, like he usually gets an entertainment cupboard built into the sitting room, sky box etc goes in there, and he has all the cables ran under the walls from the cupboard to where the TV will be. A HDMI cable from there to every room in the house, if he doesn't intend each room to have a TV then he leaves them unconnected above the room so it can be connected if need be, cat 6 cable to every room, stuff like that. He usually puts a couple of ceiling speakers in each room too, and links them to a central system in the entertainment cupboard.
The cost of doing that type of thing while building is next to nothing, yet to do it a few years later would be a nightmare.
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Yes. Get everything included at the planning stage.

When I was going over the spec with the builder (with the architect present as he was the project manager) I got multiple double sockets, telephone and TV points in every room including the kitchen.

I asked the builder about roof trusses (I hate wasted space) and he told me the cost £60 (this was in 1994/5) extra per truss compared with normal ones, that the increased roof pitch would mean an extra couple of rows of tiles but the whole extra amount came to about £1400. This gave us an extra 525 sq ft of full-height loft space.

We developed above the double garage (playroom/studio) and above the granny flat (walk-in wardrobes and huge ensuite) for minimal extra cost and got nearly 600 sq ft of 'living space'.

Everything specified in the contract was completed to the agreed price. Only items we chose to add (perimeter fence etc) cost extra but the builder himself was keen to be competitive with that as well. The builder was, I have to say, a lot easier to work with than the architect!
 
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dvds2000 said:
A friend of mine has built a few and they rarely come in on budget, seeing how they went I would allow an extra 25% budget just in case, if it comes in on budget then great, if not then you aren't scrabbling round for the money.
Think properly about what you want, the little things can make all the difference, like he usually gets an entertainment cupboard built into the sitting room, sky box etc goes in there, and he has all the cables ran under the walls from the cupboard to where the TV will be. A HDMI cable from there to every room in the house, if he doesn't intend each room to have a TV then he leaves them unconnected above the room so it can be connected if need be, cat 6 cable to every room, stuff like that. He usually puts a couple of ceiling speakers in each room too, and links them to a central system in the entertainment cupboard.
The cost of doing that type of thing while building is next to nothing, yet to do it a few years later would be a nightmare.
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These are my kind of thoughts
 
I’ve only watched Grand Designs twice, but it strikes me that when you budget for building your own home you also have to budget for the new baby that will be conceived during the project...


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