. .We will start with the bad news. There is no magic formula for the perfect, unencumbered build. Every project brings with it unique challenges that have to be overcome in unique ways. These hurdles are what make self-building so inspiring and always influence what the end product looks like.

The challenges presented by your plot, plans, budget and contractors ultimately make up the story behind what will eventually be your very own home.

However, it might well be interesting to work around a problem.t we can all agree that it would be a lot better to avoid these problems altogether. That is why we have picked six key areas to keep in mind when embarking on your self-build journey.

1. Project Management – know your limits

You’ve likely been dreaming of building your own home for as long as you can remember. You know the ins and outs of every room because you’ve been imagining it your whole life. So, when it comes to managing the process of building this home, who best to do it than yourself? Well…

Project management, especially when the project is your own home, is more of a lifestyle than a job. With so many elements coming together all at once it really does require your absolute attention.

For some, this is a challenge to be relished. As different trades, with different schedules, different budgets and different requirements come to you with a different set of problems, your job will be to have an answer for each one. If you feel like this is something you would enjoy then project management might be the right thing for you.

If that doesn’t sound all too appealing then you might want to consider hiring a Project Manager.

Project Managers, on average, cost about 10% of your build. At the start of the build this might seem like a hefty price to pay. Especially when you are the one who knows everything about the project.

However, if you take the plunge and decide to manage the project yourself, you might find that mistakes caused by your lack of time or previous experience lead to a ballooning of your budget. The consequences of this can be pretty severe so the first thing you should accept is how available you are to properly manage your project.

You wouldn’t hire a Project Manager that couldn’t provide you with the proper experience and time to see the job through, so why expect any less from yourself?

2. Budgets – Speaking of ballooning budgets….

When we dream up our perfect home, we don’t tend to dream up the bill that comes with it.

Managing your budget is about being realistic. Pricing up a home that takes you to the fringe of what you have to spend without any contingencies or plan Bs is like jumping out of a plane with one parachute. You’re just hoping that it will work.

Instead you need to plan for what you think it will cost plus a bit extra (about 10% extra). You also need to be conservative with these estimates. If you give yourself some wiggle room early on then you’ll be surprised by how much you can actually wiggle later on down the line.

With nearly three decades experience in designing and building homes, we have been able to takes budgets a lot further than clients have ever thought possible by helping them plan right from the off.

It is like a diet. You have to set your target and stick with it if it is going to work. There will be many opportunities to deviate from the plan you put in place months ago, the trick is to ignore the temptation.

3. Insurance – Just in case

If you were given the option to buy insurance to cover an accident that has a 2% chance of happening or to buy those modern looking door knobs you’ve always wanted, which would you buy?

The door knobs, obviously.

However, if that accident does happen and you haven’t covered yourself, you might find that you have no doors to put the knobs into.

Buildings are big investments and there is nothing worse than losing it over the relatively small fee that is insurance.

It is easy to go on about the importance of covering yourself against random incidences on your site. It is even easier to ignore someone going on about how important it is.

The best way to convince yourself that insurance is a critical investment is to consider the relative cost of the worst-case scenario. Should something happen, the legal implications (and costs) would easily strip you of your ability to complete or even continue the project.

These is no simpler way of saying it. Get building insurance.

4. Planning permission – Read the fine print

Planning permission is that big self-building hurdle we all are keen to get past. Tick all the boxes then it is very tempting to throw all those months of caution into the wind and get straight to building your dream home.

But, before you do, you might want to consider the conditions that come with your planning.

Planning permission looks to mitigate the impact your home has on the surrounding area. when you get planning perission, the exterior of your home is locked down and any amendments would need further approval.

The conditions that determine how your house impacts the surrounding area can been pretty pernickety. They can cover things like the height of your home to the widths of your windows and they can be very strict too.

If you deviate at all from these conditions you can find yourself having to buy your way out of a planning nightmare. Any discrepancies between what you agreed with the planning officer and what you actually build will need to be rectified at your own cost. This means any spur of the moment changes will need to be tempered if you are to stick to these conditions.

In the end it is a lot cheaper to just read the fine print and reduce any building blunders.

5. Services – Keep connected

You’ll need electricity to light those new kitchen lamps and water for that modern power shower. That much is obvious. But where is it coming from?

Just because you can see that the lights are on next door doesn’t mean you are guaranteed the same luxury. Unfortunately for self-builders, most services are designed in an ad-hoc way that generally serves the needs of the moment. There isn’t a grand plan that accounts for homes of the future.

The consequence of this is that when you start building your new home, you may have to negotiate the thinking of a self-builder who was facing the same conundrum a few years prior.

Before you purchase a plot, it is always a good idea to contact local suppliers. Look for things like water and electric to better understand the services map in your area. Once you know where everything is currently located, you can begin to cost up how to channel it through to your new plot.

6. Stick to the plan – Plan, plan, plan

A running theme in this blog is planning. Not just planning permission but everything. Planning your budget, your schedule, your services. Everything.

Our dream homes spend the majority of their lives in our heads. Whilst they are there, you can chop and change them on a whim and the outcome is always dreamy.

However, when it comes to building them, changes are not always as seamless as we’d like. For a lot of first-time builders, it is hard to visualise their ideas until they are presented with the outlines of the space they were imagining.

When they finally see how big their bedroom actually is, their minds race to consider how they might fill it up. Their original ideas can fall by the way side as they begin to imagine new ways of crafting this new space.

Though this excitement is all part of why we have been doing what we do for nearly three decades, it is also a big stumbling block for a lot of self-builders. The costs of a U-turn mid plaster can be quiet extreme. A sudden re-routing of electrics can lead to a budget that quickly runs out of control.

Conclusion

Planning your build early on means you can deal with the practicalities of construction. This helps without the costs of changing mid-way through.

Welsh Oak Frame spend a lot of time with our clients designing a home that fits around their plans & budgets. Our team are upfront about the costs. We work hard to ensure you get what you want with the budget you have.

We take your dream home, put it on paper and help you visualise the end result. This is even before we’ve even began building.

Save time and money by changing something with a pencil and rubber. Instead of a jackhammer and a builder, this will free you up to get the most out of your budget.

Read more about reducing the building blunders and keeping on top of finances on our advice hub.