Your complete guide to self build: Part 1

There are many benefits to building your own home. The opportunity to create a unique property tailored around your lifestyle is a particular appeal. However, self build can also provide a route to creating a low-energy home, resulting in minimal energy bills in a time of escalating costs. It can be a way of delivering a low-maintenance property, or one designed to accommodate extended family. Or it could be the perfect means of creating a future-proofed home, which can be adapted with ease as your needs change.

Building your own home, while one of life's most rewarding experiences, can also be one its most challenging, particularly if you're embarking on this type of building project for the first time.

Rest assured, if you have decided to build your own home, but you’re not sure where to start, you are in the right place. This comprehensive guide is designed to arm you with the information you need.

Undertaking key surveys when buying your self build plot and choosing the right architect or designer to design your new home, are amongst the first crucial steps in your journey to building your own home. In the first instalment of our complete guide to self build, our experts advise on both.

Preparing a plot for your self build project

Completing your self build on time and on budget is all about creating a realistic programme for the build and then working hard to stick to it. Work to investigate and prepare your plot for development is key to this and ideally starts before you have even purchased it.

The cost of site works can influence the viability of your whole project, so the earlier you know what you are dealing with, the better, in terms of preparing your budget and cashflow, and avoiding delays.

A solicitor experienced in dealing with plots will have made numerous checks during the site acquisition phase to ensure you have highway access, any rights required to bring utility services over adjoining land and more, but you quickly need to move on to your own site preparation work.

A site investigation survey will reveal information about the ground conditions, the water table, and potential hazards such as contamination, helping to predict the type of foundation best suited to the site. This information will be required well ahead of construction and will be used in the design phase and to discharge pre-commencement planning conditions on drainage strategy, and risk of contamination.

In areas where surveys have indicated previous development, archaeological investigation may be required as a planning condition. Typically a Written Statement of Investigation (WSI) will need to be submitted for approval prior to any works, and in some instances, investigation trenches will have to be dug and inspected for archaeological remains before any excavation can take place.

Well ahead of starting work, plans need to be in place to prepare the site, creating highway access and hard standing for site welfare facilities and for storage, fencing off the areas where construction work will take place, implementing tree protection measures, and arranging utility connections. Any measures to mitigate harm to European Protected Species agreed by planning conditions and required by law, will need to be implemented. Getting connection to power and water, vital on a construction site, can take months.

There’s lots to think about and to plan. Here, self build expert Michael Holmes explains what you need to know once you've found your plot.

Commission a topographic survey

Instructing a topographic survey to ‘map’ the site’s boundaries and key features is usually essential for a self build project. This information will be required by your architectural designer or architect to design your new home.

A topographic survey is a detailed ‘map’ of your site, capturing the ground levels, boundary features, fixed features such as buildings, driveways and paths, trees, shrubs, ponds, telegraph poles, etc., as well as features like inspection chamber lids and the invert levels of drains beneath.

It can be used to create a 3D model for CAD design and this is especially useful for sloping or uneven sites.

The cost of a ‘topo’ survey will depend on the size of the site and level of detail and information required. Costs range from £600 – £1,200 for a typical site, to several thousand for a large plot.

It is usually undertaken in conjunction with a survey of any existing buildings to be altered, extended or demolished on site.

If you are planning to demolish an existing dwelling you will also need a structural survey, an asbestos survey, and an ecology survey to check for sign of protected species habitats. You also need to notify building control and disconnect building services.

Undertake a site investigation report

Understanding foundation systems is key for anyone looking to build a new home. The cost of building foundations is one of the biggest variables, so to keep control of your budget you need to work out the most appropriate foundation system as early as possible. Neglecting to investigate the ground conditions on your site is one of the first and most costly mistakes a self builder can make.

Conventional strip foundations or trench fill foundations are the standard solution and the most cost-effective where suitable. (Essentially a trench excavated to below frost level onto stable ground, filled with concrete to spread the weight of the building evenly.) However, identifying the most cost-effective foundation solution will depend largely on the ground conditions on site, including the type of soil, aggregate or rock and its key constituents.

To discover this prior to starting work on site, instruct a ground investigation survey. The minimum level is a Stage 1 report, largely a desktop study based on a review of geological maps, historical records and other publicly available information, supplemented by a walk-over survey.

The study will reveal the underlying geology, likely soil type, water table and risk of contamination.

A call to the local authority building control department can add useful insight based on their knowledge and experience of their area.

If preliminary findings flag up any warning signs, then a Phase 2 survey will be required. This involves digging or boring trial holes around the site, particularly the location of proposed new buildings and any soakaways, principally to establish the load bearing capacity of the soil at differing depths but also to test for signs of possible contamination.

Samples are collected and tested for plasticity, pH levels, sulphates, moisture content (seasonal water table) and other factors that will allow the foundation solution best suited to the site to be determined and any remedial measures required to deal with any contamination.

Infiltration testing, also known as ‘soakaway testing’ or ‘BRE 365 testing’, should be carried out as part of the ground investigation survey to find out the soil porosity and the rate at which groundwater in a soakaway will infiltrate into the surrounding soil. (A soakaway is the standard solution for storing stormwater on site and releasing it slowly into the ground to prevent surface flooding of surrounding land.)

“While it isn’t absolutely necessary to carry out a ground investigation report, when planning your budget, the last thing you want is nasty surprises, and there can be many lurking beneath the soil,” says Brent Ackerman of Delta Project Management, which specialises in managing timber frame projects for self builders and small developers in the Cambridgeshire area.

"For £1,500 – £2,500 it can be money well spent to avoid the unforeseen when on site. If there are problems with the site these may come to light when a survey is conducted.

"Technical issues such as poor soil composition or poor drainage are all things that would add costs to your build budget and you should be aware of these upfront. Ideally this sort of information should be available before you buy the plot, but sadly this isn’t often the case. So, unless you want to allow a lot more in your contingency you should get a survey done as soon as possible.”

Register the address

Unless a new home you plan to build is a replacement dwelling and you intend to keep the same house name, it will require a new address to be created and registered with the local authority.

Your local authority will have rules and regulations aligned around national guidelines. Where houses only have names you can choose a name, and where there are numbers you can fit in sequentially, opt for just a name, or both. The council will check that there are no similar names in the same area that could lead to confusion for the emergency services, Royal Mail, delivery drivers, etc.

Once agreed by the local authority, they will notify Royal Mail who will confirm the official address and issue a postcode.

The local authority will also notify their council tax, electoral registration, planning, building control and waste management departments, plus the fire and rescue service, your local ambulance service, the Police and HM Land Registry.

The fee for registering an address with your local authority ranges from £0 – £100.

The earlier you register an address the better as you will need a postcode for utility connections, deliveries and services such as broadband which can be very useful for site management once the build starts and for security.

Secure the site

"Containing a site is more than just preventing thefts," says self build expert Mark Stevenson. “From the point of view of the Health & Safety Executive, it’s about protecting the general public. Preventing unauthorised access stops intruders from getting injured and will keep out children, who might think a building site seems like a great place to explore.

"Securing the boundaries shouldn’t be expensive. Anti-climb fencing is fairly cheap and easy to erect.

"Install the permanent boundary fencing at the start of the build and secure the gates with a combination padlock to allow the trades to let themselves in and out,” he advises.

Consider the costs of bringing services to your plot

The cost of connection to utilities will depend on proximity of the nearest suitable point of connection. An advantage of a replacement dwelling site is that connection to mains water, drains, electricity and other services such as gas may already be in place.

“If you need to bring services to your site it can cost from £500 to approximately £10,000, depending on the site’s location, what services you need, and whether the connection needs to be made across private land (in which case you’ll need to secure a wayleave to grant access) or public highways,” says Mark Stevenson.

“If the cost of bringing in mains gas and drainage is prohibitive, investigate the off-mains alternatives, such as oil, LPG or a renewable heating and hot water system, and a sewerage treatment plant for drainage.

"While electricity is not essential during the build, a water supply is often needed early on,” he adds.

Where the cost of connecting to mains water is prohibitive, a private water supply, such as a shallow catchment pit (a well) or a borehole are options to consider.

Satellite-based broadband connection offers fast speeds for remote sites.

On the note of services, it's also important to establish where existing services lie from a safety perspective. “Existing services present a significant risk to safety and if struck in the course of excavating, will prove costly to repair,” says Mark Stevenson. “Search through existing services records to identify the location of existing equipment that should be avoided.”

Utilities searches with the local water and sewage undertaker, district network operator for electricity, broadband operators and the gas network operator should be undertaken as part of the site assessment.

Quotes for connection fees should be done early on so that costs can be taken into account in assessing the viability of the project. Mains electricity is the one utility connection that is hard to live without. As such, if a connection can not be made or is too expensive, it might make a project unviable — and you will need to think twice about buying the plot.

Ensure you have highway access

Access from your site onto the highway will require planning permission in most situations. It will also require approval from the local highway authority, who will check the details of the proposed access, or ‘drop kerb’ and ensure it meets the requirements for highway safety, depending on the classification of the road.

Forming a new access will necessitate works in the highway by appropriately licenced contractors. Approval can take several weeks, so an application needs to be submitted early. Temporary access for construction purposes and upgrade can be made later, or you can apply for the residential access straight away.

A new drop kerb access can be costly, with design and application fees costing £1,000 to £2,500 and the construction from £1,000 to £2,000. If the road needs widening, costs will increase — in addition to forming the access driveway and parking areas. Applications are made via your local highway authority.

Check that you own all of the land between your site and the highway, or if there is any land in third party ownership, that you have a private right of way to cross it, established either by deed of grant, or through long use.

Another benefit of a replacement dwelling site is that there will almost certainly be an existing highway access in place.

Creating a design brief

While purchasing and preparing your plot, your thoughts will no doubt be turning to the design of your new home. Perhaps your plot was sold with planning consent for a home that does not meet your requirements, or has come with outline planning permission with the design of the house to be decided. Or you're replacing an existing property with a new house. Either way, you'll need a professional to design your new home or to refine the existing plans.

Before you start the process of hiring an architect or architectural designer, one of the most valuable uses of your time is to first create an in-depth design brief that will outline exactly what it is you are hoping to achieve from your project.

In fact, putting together a good design brief is a key part of the process of finding the right architect for your project. Here’s what’s involved in this crucial, but often overlooked, task.

What is a design brief?

“When creating a brief for an architect or designer, it should be much more than an Excel spreadsheet of rooms and room sizes,” says Neil Turner, an architect and director at Howarth Litchfield Architects. “A good brief will explain how you live, work and play in the house and express your personality, views and opinions.

"All sorts of mediums can be used, so you shouldn’t feel tied down or restricted by one type. Your brief can be created with pictures, diagrams, drawings, models and materials — the more information the better.

“I always advise clients to take the time to prepare this, as this description is the start — it's the script from which the new house is created,” Neil continues.

“A brief isn’t and shouldn’t be a static document, but should provide a reference point for considering all future decisions against. For example, if you start out with a desire for a snug room in the first brief, and the final design doesn’t incorporate a snug, then ask yourself why. It might be that you changed your mind, or did the designer simply forget to incorporate the space? Was it adapted and incorporated into another space? The initial brief allows you to check progress and consider variations in ideas as your design develops.”

Without a clear and detailed brief, a house design will simply float along and the famous saying that a ‘horse is a camel designed by committee’ is very apt.

“I have seen many houses where the spaces are simple: a collection of rooms with no real overriding idea or creative direction,” says Neil. “When you speak to the owners, you can feel their apologetic excuses about the limited success of their house. More often than not, the owner can’t explain why but knows it hasn’t achieved its potential.”

How to create a design brief

Magazines, websites, Pinterest and Instagram are all a great place to start when creating your design brief. By collating your favourite ideas in one place you can quickly build up a clearer picture of your dream home.

“I found it an incredibly useful process when planning my own home,” says Homebuilding & Renovating editor Beth Murton. “By looking at lots of different images, I could see the common elements I liked in different spaces and it helped me to separate the ‘must haves’ from the ‘nice to haves’. It was also a great way to get the whole family involved so that everyone could feel they had a say in the final design.”

“RIBA (Royal Institute of British Architects) publishes a plan of work for a building project, breaking it down into a linear series of events,” adds Neil Turner. “Each of the work stages involved in a project is given a work stage number.” This is a good place to start when planning your project, and when writing a brief there are a couple of work stages that are relevant:

• Stage 0: Strategic definition This is as relevant to a house extension as it is to a new build as it invokes basic decisions such as: Should I extend or replace? How big should my new home be? “All of these thoughts are worth exploring with your architect at the earliest stage,” says Neil.
• Stage 1: Preparation and brief This is the active stage of appraisal and creating the brief. You have decided what the need is from Stage 0, so now is the time to write down the actual requirements and create the scrapbook.

“Stage 0 is also the right stage to discuss costs and budgets. If you are working to a fixed budget, tell the designer. In my experience, some clients don’t want to tell the designer, as if they need to keep it secret. Make clear your target costs at the outset and your designer can tell you if you are too optimistic or sensible. Equally, it prevents wasted time or over-ambitious schemes that could never be afforded.

"Some clients don’t have an initial budget and want to explore the design before obtaining costs. However, everyone wants to know the costs at some stage, so making sure that costs or cost planning is discussed is essential to success. In the brief, explain when you want to see costs.”

Final thoughts on creating a design brief

“So often I find that one member of the family is the driving force for a development, yet has failed to ask their partner or children what they want and like, or even whether they are interested in the new development,” says Neil Turner. “I have worked with couples where one of them has been hostile to the idea and this makes creating a brief a challenging experience — closer to mediation than house designing!

“Finally, the brief is always better when there is a real site. The site access, direction of sun and position of the garden will all give reality to the brief. Many people try and imagine their dream house before they have a plot. When they finally get the plot they try and enforce a solution upon it.”

Choosing the right architect for your self build

With your initial brief in place, the process of choosing the right architect for your project is easier as you can go to potential designers with a clear idea of what you want to achieve. As for how you find your architect, however, there are a few routes you can go down.

As clichéd as it may sound, getting recommendations from friends, neighbours and family is always a good place to start. Not only will you be able to go and see the finished project, but you’ll be able to ask more pertinent questions about how they got on with their architect. What was the working relationship like? Did they respond well to your ideas? What ideas did they bring to the table? What service level did you have with them? Would you use them again?

You can also search websites like RIBA to find a registered architect in your area, as well as read magazines, visit shows and drive around your local area to see any projects on the go.

Once you’re happy with your research and have compiled a list of architectural practices you think might fit the bill, start contacting them. Your initial conversation may well provide hints as to whether you’d like to shortlist them or not.

Create a shortlist

Now you’ll be ready to choose a few architectural practices you want to meet with. Start to initiate some face-to-face consultations with them. This is where your design brief and scrapbook/Pinterest boards will come in handy. Inviting them to view your plot is a good idea so that they can see the land you want to build on.

Have a two-way conversation with your selected few. Keep in mind how they interact with you — are they listening to your ideas and priorities? Do you feel like you could work with them? Give compatibility some real thought. Not everything on a project goes smoothly and there will be times when things will need debating and decisions will need making quickly — do you think you’d feel comfortable debating issues with them?

“A strong rapport can make all the difference,” says architect Kieran Gaffney of Konishi Gaffney. “It cannot be overstated how important relationships are: even the smallest project requires a sense of ‘simpatico’ and trust to complete, while a new build represents a huge leap of faith. Clients should like their architect and vice versa, but more importantly, they have to be able to trust them. It makes a great deal of difference to the project if both parties trust each other and feel that the other has their back during more challenging times.”

"At this point you will also need to establish what level of service your architect or designer will provide," explains Homebuilding & Renovating's Business Development Editor, Claire Lloyd. "Do you need them to create drawings and plans for planning permission and Building Regulations purposes, or do you also want them to drive the process of going out to tender for building contractors? You may even want to retain them to oversee the building work. Not all architects and designers will offer every level of service, so it's important to choose one who best meets your needs.

"Then, there's the other key consideration — cost. You'll need a clear indication regarding fees before making your final decision."

Those looking to retain an architect throughout the project until completion will inevitably pay more. "Architects' fees are typically 7-15% of the build cost (design and contract administration)," explains Michael Holmes, Content Director of Homebuilding & Renovating, and vice chair of the National Custom and Self Build Association.

Finalise the design brief with your chosen architect or designer

Once you’ve chosen your preferred architect, how should they assist in finalising the brief-writing process? “The client should inform and give the architect the description of what is needed and where the drive or desire for improvement comes from,” says Neil.

“The more information that comes from the client, the better the chance of the house representing that owner. A good architect can then assist in creating a really detailed brief from this description. The initial meetings should be informal and discussion-based, with the purpose of defining the requirements.

“It’s tempting to start designing straight away, before the brief is fully completed, but the first meeting shouldn’t be about creating a design,” says Neil. “Unless there is a clear purpose and definition to the ideas, then it can all be counterproductive and the original purpose for the build can be lost. There is nothing wrong with sketches at the initial meeting but it shouldn’t overtake finalising the brief or vision for the project.

“Once you’ve done your homework and defined the start of your extension or new build with a really informative brief, then the project has commenced on a secure basis and you can then start the process of design, costs and planning,” he adds.

Find out what you need to know about planning permission and Building Regulations in the next instalment of this guide to self build.