Altameroy Blog

Self-build is a term that is getting ever-popular in the housing market. So what is “self-build”? It’s a property you build yourself, as the term indicates! Not quite literally by yourself, but you place yourself in the position as architect, planner, foreman of your house and let skilled workers do the task you order them to do. More people are opting for the “self-build” route - in point of fact, there are more self-builders in the UK than the total number of properties being developed by any single developer. The intention of self-build is to make a property to your exact specifications, not a template that the large developers work to.

Already you’re likely thinking: “I can’t plan, and manage a house build”. The good news is that self-build doesn’t mean you necessarily have to get stuck in with the actual building (in point of fact, only around 5% of self-builders actually take a role in the actual building of the property). Even when it comes to design, quite often this is delegated to a professional designer.. Self-build, generally, is about you saying (in plain English), what you want to the property designer - who then creates a design dependent on your prerequisites. This design then becomes the draft the developers work to. Now do you see? It’s not required to have any active participation in self-build. Having said that, the DIY fantatic can use self-build as an opportunity to save some dosh by helping out with the aspects of self-build they have experience in - it’s your choice how much participation you want during the construction.

Self-build sounds expensive, but in reality it’s broadly speaking cheaper than buying an already developed property of identical specifications (up to 30% cheaper). Not only that, self-built homes sell very well too - up to 25% higher than the actual build cost, so self-build can be simply an investment, rather than a place to live.

You must make sure the squad of workers you choose are 100% competent and that they build well together. Without doubt, you will require workers with experience of some rather potentially dangerous machinery used in construction, such as concrete cutting chainsaws, block and slab splitters, Floor saws, floor saws, and wood saws. Skills bring safety to the build too.

This article is only an introduction to self-build, and I trust it will inspire those of you who are disheartened by the thought of executing a project of this kind of size. It needn’t be time-intensive, and you won’t need any specific skills, but employ carefully, and you will need to carefully work out the budget of the project.