About Building & DIY
My name is Barry Sutcliffe. I had the original idea for this site, and have been involved in its design and launch since Autumn 2008.
Who am I, and why did I think "the world" needed another "Self Build" website?
I have been involved in the Building Industry in one way or another for over 30 years.
I have worked for a number of years as a "Site Engineer / Site Manager / Project Manager in the "Commercial" Building Industry (factories / offices / shops / hotels etc) and have had over 20 years experience in the "Self Build and Renovation Industry" as a "Designer / Self Build Consultant / Site Manager / Project Manager.
I have also completed Self Build Projects of my own, and was a co founder and Committee Member of "The Association of Self Builders" in the 1980’s.
I mention my history because I think that "what I have done" and "what I have experienced" over the past 30+ years, has been slowly bringing me to the realisation that this site needs to exist.
Why?
I don’t know about you, but I reckon the world of "Self Build", "Renovation" and "Conversion" is, and always has been a bit of a mess!! – And the "DIY industry" isn’t much better!
It’s hard to believe that there are about 18,000 Self Build completions, and hundreds of thousands of "Renovations / Conversion and DIY projects of different sizes being completed EVERY YEAR! The market as a whole is MASSIVE! – Yet most of us don’t still know where to find a decent plumber or electrician. NEVER MIND finding a good piece of land or property to renovate!
There are literally hundreds, if not thousands of "sources of information" out the there, but have you found any single one that REALLY HELPS YOU "from day" one to "completion"? - With everything you need to plan and complete your project?
One site you may find could be a Trade Directory of some sort (most of which are either not particularly "user friendly" or often don’t actually have the contacts "you need", "where you need them" listed. - OR, if they do they are often "Hidden" behind dozens of "Sponsored ads" from all sorts of companies which are often of no interest to you).
Another site might give you information about various subjects relevant to your project. BUT, often this information is being presented by a company who is also "after your business", and who may not ALWAYS be totally unbiased.
Yet another site could help you to find land or property to renovate or convert, but often either you have to "subscribe" to get the latest listings or the information you get is not comprehensive. Often you will find that when you start to investigate a particular plot, - it’s already sold!
Various other sites will give you the chance to: "Talk to other like minded people" in "forums" or may have "News items" / "Tips or hints" / "Facts and numbers" / "Free advice" / "Sales or special offers" / "Planning advice" etc.
MANY sites profess to be "The place to go" for "Everything you need", but as yet, I have still to find one that actually genuinely is! - Or one gives me everything FREE OF CHARGE and that is totally , unbiased!!
As things are at present (and as they have been for many years), pretty much everyone who starts out on any sort of "DIY" project:
a) Is on their own!
b) Has to start "from scratch"!
c) Has to spend weeks or months trying to "wade" their way through the enormous "minefield" that is the internet, and / or, read countless books / make "fact finding" trips / write letters / carry out all sorts of research / make phone calls / have meetings / knock on doors etc, to try to gather all the knowledge and information they need to be able to plan and complete their projects.
d) Cross their fingers and hope they get it right!
I am hoping this site will start to change that:
"Building & DIY.com" has been designed to be that "ONE STOP SHOP" that has been missing from the market up until now.
It may take us a few months to get to it the point where it actually manages to fully reach that "lofty goal", but we will be working solidly until it does!
We intend to give FREE, simple, unbiased, comprehensive and user friendly help and advice to anyone involved in either planning or working on a DIY project of any size: from fixing a tap to building mansion. AND to allow them to find everything and everyone they need HERE – IN ONE PLACE!
We do this in various ways:
1) The Essential Guide:
The guide is being written to try to pass on some of my knowledge and experience from being involved in many areas of the building industry for many years.
I have tried to write it as "guide" and not a "manual". – I try not to weigh you down with facts and figures, but rather try to (as the title says) guide you along the route that will help to lead YOU to success in YOUR project.
I am obviously not going to be with you while you plan and work on your project, BUT, if I can pass on to you, some of "what I have learnt", along with "hints", "tips", "ideas" etc, AND if I can help you to become more aware of the pitfalls and dangers that you may come across, then you hopefully won’t feel that you are "starting from scratch" and that you "have to learn everything" before you can embark on your project (which can be a VERY daunting prospect for anyone).
Most of the things you need to know about in order to take on most Self Build /DIY projects are actually usually pretty simple and common sense things. - BUT unless you have had some experience in each particular subject you often won’t know the "basics" on which to base your "common sense" decisions on. – Hopefully the guide will help to equip you with some of those "basics"
2) The Trade Directory:
The Trade Directory has been designed to give you A FREE / FAST / EFFICIENT AND TARGETED WAY to find EVERYTHING and EVERYONE YOU NEED for your projects.
We have introduced new ideas which will help to speed up, target and simplify the search process:
· We do not allow trade headings to show results from "other trades". – If I need a Plasterer and I search for Plasterers, I want to be shown PLASTERERS!! Not a bunch of other companies who pay extra to be included in the "plastering section" in the hope that it will bring them business!
· We let EVERYONE have a high quality FREE ADVERT, so there is NO REASON why every tradesman / business / professional should not list themselves in the Directory
· We allow everyone who pays for an advert, to CHOOSE their ideal "MARKETING RADIUS". – This is important: How many trades are seen advertised in places where they don’t actually want to work or can’t efficiently cover? – How many plumbers want to travel 100 miles to fix a tap? How many medium sized Window manufacturers want to be restricted to being found ONLY in search results in their own postcode area, when they can easily service contracts maybe 80 miles away?
We allow businesses to decide for themselves WHERE they want to be seen by their target market, by allowing them to choose a radius from 10 miles from their "post code origin" up to "UK wide". – Whichever radius they choose, they will be given the same priority at the FURTHEST POINT of that radius as they get ½ a mile up the road from where they live. – This system helps to cut out the wasted contacts to businesses who "can’t help you", at the same time as making sure that businesses set up to market to a certain area CAN ACTUALLY BE SEEN IN THE WHOLE OF THAT AREA.
· We give each paying advertiser control over their own individual account so they can alter and update their ad themselves, quickly and simply whenever they need to. - Helping to reduce calls to " unobtainable" phone numbers.
· We allow each paying advertiser the option to replace their standard ad with a "unique ad" so that it appears more like a magazine type ad than a "Directory" listing. – They can also update these ads as often as they like, which lets them be used as a day to day marketing tool which could show details of sales / special offers / promotions etc
· We Don’t show results "alphabetically" or allow people to put "prefixes" in front of their company name to be seen more prominently
We allow the user quick and easy access to all advertisers in a completely fair way:
· ONLY "relevant" trades are presented in search results
· Search results are presents on a post code basis. - With ONLY businesses which cover the area of the "search origin" being shown (this may sometimes not apply to "free ads", if they have not set their own "working radius" in the directory, will sometimes be given a "best guess" radius by us).
· We include our unique "Quick reference guide" for users to quickly be able to ascertain whether or not a ad is going to be of use to them (each advertiser can "tick" relevant boxes indicating what areas of work their business covers. – Each ad presents a set of these tick boxes)
Taking all of these features together we feel that we have solved a lot of the inherent problems with Trade Directories, both "Internet" and "Paper" based
The Land and Property section:
This is a fairly straightforward section. We allow:
· FREE ACCESS to anyone looking for LAND, or PROPERTY TO CONVERT or RENOVATE.
· We present ads in the same way as we do with the directory, - on a post code search basis. – You enter a post code and are shown plots available "centring" on that post code, within a chosen price range.
· We also allow advertisers to LIST LAND AND PROPERTY FREE OF CHARGE, so again, there is no reason why EVERYONE with suitable land or property to sell, should not use the site to market it (for a small fee the ad can e upgraded to include images and more text).
· Within a short time, we will be regularly contacting EVERYONE who applies for Planning Permission" to let them know about the site and to give them the opportunity to use it should they wish to sell land or renovation property.
· We will ensure that this section of the site is kept up to date by requiring each advertiser to confirm that their land is still available for sale, once a month. If they fail to confirm this their ad will be removed.
The Community section:
Initially this section will be fairly simple. – It will be a way for anyone thinking about undertaking a DIY project of any sort, to contact other like minded people registered with the site. - This may be to "ask" for assistance, or to "offer" assistance. Questions can be asked on any relevant subject, left over materials sold etc.
We will quickly be expanding this section to include FREE TO ACCESS "Advice rooms" where "Specialists" in any particular trade or business can take a room to offer FREE ADVICE to any user of the site. The room will feature advertising for that specialist (they will take the rooms on the basis that if they offer this free advice, they may make contacts which will bring them new contracts or work).
We will also be launching a "My story" and " My diary" section where people who are actually working on, or have completed their projects can tell others all about it, either in a single article, or as a regularly updated "blog".
The "News and Events" section:
This section will allow any business registered, to publish general items of news or interest FREE OF CHARGE. We hope this section will be used by the Authorities / Federations / Associations / Government Departments etc to keep the British public up to date with anything which may affect them related to Self Build / Renovation / Conversion or DIY (news items which are intended to create profits for their authors will be subject to a small fee, and all articles will be "vetted" before publication).
Special Offers section:
This section is a designed to be a "quick guide to bargains" for users of the site.
Businesses registered with us can use it to market sales / special offers for a small weekly fee.
Graphic design directory:
If this site is as successful as we hope it will be, there could be literally hundreds of thousands of companies advertising in the Trade Directory. – Because we allow "paying" advertisers to upload "bespoke ads" to replace their "standard ads" there could be a very substantial demand for Graphic / Ad Designers to produce those ads. – The Graphic Design directory gives a quick and simple way to contact local designers to arrange to discuss the advertisers requirements.
Video Advertising / Video Business Cards:
We will continually be launching a new option for advertisers to utilize the latest marketing techniques. – In the shorter term this will include offering "Full Video Advertising" and "Video Business Cards". These will be accessed directly from the "search results" ads, and offer cost effective new ways to market both small and large businesses.
SUGGESTIONS / IDEAS / IMPROVEMENTS:
If you have any comments on the site, or if you have ideas to improve anything about it, let us know. – We want this site to be the "best thing out there", and ideas will always be welcome.
If you have a suggestion or idea, Please feel free to email us at: info@buildinganddiy.com