Which people and trades do we need at the early stages of a Self Build project?

 

 

Once you have made those initial decisions, you can start to think about the next stages of the project, which include starting to do some research into deciding “who” you will need, and when you will need them.

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In this section, I will list some of the people who tend to get involved at this stage of the project, and give a brief description of what they do. You should then be able to decide which ones you may need to contact.

These are people who can help you with the design of your property and also guide you through the “Planning application process”.

They can help you if you find that you are having problems with your Planning Application, or even if you just don’t know HOW to make an application. They can also be very useful where there are any sorts of restrictions on what you are allowed to build.

Often a simple Planning Application will not provide enough information to the Local Planning Department to enable them to make a decision on your development plans. There will often be access problems, or sometimes a number of areas of concern for the Local Authority, which will all need to be addressed before you stand any chance of being given Planning Approval.

Good “local” Planning Consultants should have full and comprehensive knowledge of how the whole Planning System works in your particular area, and by understanding how it all works, can often come up with fairly simple ideas on how to solve problems which you may have thought were insurmountable.

You need to bear in mind that anything that involves a Planning Application is going to take some time to sort out.

The simplest applications, which you will often be able to make without needing any “specialist” help (apart from your designer), can take 3 months or more just to process. - However, some more complicated applications can take many months, or even years before they come to a point where a final decision is made. – This may include making appeals to government.

If you think you may need to use the services of a Planning Consultant, the sooner you get in touch, the better.

Their fees may not be something you originally “budgeted for”, and they may end up costing a couple of thousand pounds (or, in some cases substantially more depending on the complexity of the case), but without them you may find that it’s pretty much impossible for you to gain Planning Approval. - Without the approval THERE IS NO PROJECT! – Without the project, THERE IS NO DREAM HOME, and you will not improve either your lifestyle or your “property equity”.

Some people will try to save money when they hit planning problems, by trying to carry on by themselves for many months before realising that they are “out of their depth”, and finally contacting a Planning Consultant after all, who will often then be able to “get straight to the problem”, and start the process of solving it.

If you have little experience with Planning Applications, unless you have a straightforward project with no likely problems, then I would advise that you think seriously about at least talking to a local Planning Consultant before you get too far down the line. – You can at least find out what they have to offer and how much they would be likely to cost you. You will then be in a position to make an informed decision, and you might even find that using their services could save you time and money, and actually turn out to be a very good investment.

1) You have no experience or knowledge of Building or Planning.

2) You don’t have the time to do all the “pre contract work” such as dealing with the tendering, meetings, quotations, contracts, ordering materials etc.

3) You don’t have the time, or the ability to be able to run and supervise the works themselves to make sure everything is running smoothly.

You will often find that a Project Manager is an “Ex Site Manager”. Often with years of experience with the larger housing developers or on Commercial Building projects. They tend to bring with them the ability to find more “practical solutions” to problems that will occur throughout the project. - These can range from the mundane things like “What is the best way to set the site up?” To the more complicated problems like: “How do we connect all the services (gas, water, electricity, telecom) when all the “mains” are on the opposite side of a busy main road?”

Sometimes they will also have experience and will be able to offer practical advice on the design of the property ( (which could save you literally thousands of pounds), and also find ways to help you save money when you build.

They may also have a good range of local contacts who they can introduce to you, who they may have worked with successfully before and be happy to recommend.

puts many people off thinking about it as an option. BUT quite often, taking one on will actually make perfect economical sense:

You are going to have to make many decisions on over the next few months. If you have no experience of Building, there is a good chance that you are going to make the WRONG decision in at least SOME cases.

If you make a bad decision on your brick choice and end up paying £600 / 1000, when a Project Manager might have been able to direct you to a supplier who does a very similar brick for £400 / 1000, and you need to order 20,000 bricks, his knowledge and experience could save you £4,000 in ONE TRANSACTION. If the same thing happens for the roof tiles, the kitchens, the bathrooms, the joiner etc, then you will find that very quickly he will have easily paid for himself by making you savings. NOT ONLY THAT: He will also be able to take away many of the stresses that you would have to deal with if you try to do the job yourself, AND, hiring him / her would possibly enable you to carry on working full time in your normal job, which will, in turn, allow you to carry on bringing in your normal income. (Think about it: Every Pound you lose from your normal income as a result of your taking time off to do this project is actually a REAL COST to the project. – If you lose £10,000 in salary / wages because you have taken time off, then the project has caused you to lose that income.)

Before you “sign on the dotted line with any particular Project Manager, it’s probably worth talking to a least a couple of different people or companies. Try and get some sort of “fixed price” if you can, or if that is not going to be possible, get a written breakdown of how their charges work, and what their initial fee covers.

It is important that you take someone on who you feel you can trust and who you think you will be able to work with. Your Project Manager could be a major part of your lives for up to a year, so you need to “get along” and trust them, not only to make the right decisions if you are not there, but also to keep you up to date with everything that is going on, and to look after your financial interests in all matters related to the project.

Usually you would only need to consider using the services of a Land Surveyor if you are developing a “New Build” property. However they can occasionally be needed if you are extending an existing property, or even converting.

When you find a plot of land for sale, you are usually given some of the basic information about it on the sales information. Things like approximate dimensions, area and a general description.

Sometimes there may be a “scale” plan of the site available, and depending on how much work the seller has put into preparing the “sales package”, there may be copies of Planning Permissions (outline or full) and various other bits and pieces of information.

This level of information will usually suffice until you decide that you want to “go for” the plot and make an offer.

As soon as you have an offer accepted, you need to start to think about the project more seriously.

At that stage you need to start to find out “How you can use the land” and “What you could build on it”. - This is where the services of a Land Surveyor may be needed.

If the plot is flat, and of a shape that is easy to measure, with no “features” which could cause you any problems (such as drains, trees, existing buildings, streams etc) then, even if you have no previous experience, you could probably measure the dimensions yourself, and come up with an reasonably accurate drawing of the plot. (You can get more accurate plans from your local “Land Registry Office”).

However, if the plot is sloping, with any features which could affect the “positioning” and “type” of development, then a Land Surveyor may be needed. (Note: Sometimes Project Managers, Architects, Draughtsmen, Planning Consultants, or “Package Build companies can offer a “Land Surveying” service).

Land surveys need not be expensive. Now that “GPS” has made everything quick and simple,  couple of hundred pounds will often get you a decent accurate survey of a small piece of land.

This survey will pick up all the features of the site, including existing buildings, levels, manholes, catch pits, rivers, streams, trenches etc, and can usually be created in a format which can eventually be “e mailed” to your designer so that he can use the information it contains to come up with your full designs.

Even if you have not yet decided as to whether a plot is right for you, you may decide that it’s worthwhile getting a Land Survey done on a plot. The information you get from it, for a reasonably small cost, may help you to make the right decisions, especially if you think it is going to be potentially difficult to develop (maybe due to it “sloping” or having some other awkward features such as drain runs or overhead cables where you would like to build the house).

If there is any possibility that you will need Planning Permission for ANY part of your project, contact with a Planning Officer at an early stage is recommended. The whole Planning Process can take a long time, especially if you hit any problems.

As soon as you have decided that you like a particular plot, or property, and you think that it either “is going to”, or “may” need some form of Planning consent acquiring, then if possible, start the ball rolling as soon as you can.

There are different “Planning options” available, which are all covered in other sections of this guide. BUT, whichever you choose, “early contact” is very important if you don’t want to be sitting around for months waiting for decisions when you could be building. OR, - even worse, risk losing the land or property altogether, simply because you have not acted quickly enough and the seller decides to take another offer.

Making contact with Building Regulations personnel at an early stage in the project would be more likely on a Renovation or Conversion than on a new build.

If you have found a property you are considering buying which is obviously going to need fairly major works to bring it up to a habitable condition, it may be worth you talking to the Build Regulations Officer who covers the area where the property is situated. If the owner gives permission and someone from the Building Regs department is happy to meet you at the property, you may be able to get some important information and guidance which could help you to make a decision as to whether or not the property is going to be right for you (this will usually be at a stage before you have taken on any other professional advisers such as Architects / Project Managers etc).

At these meetings the Building Regs Officer will only be able to give you “basic” and “unofficial” guidance. They will not usually be able to say “This is how it will be” with regards to anything to do with the structure (they would need more detailed information on what you are going to do before they can make those sorts of judgements with any certainty), but they should be able to give you an idea of what the project might involve (structurally) and what the limits of development might be. They may also be able to give you an idea of what information they would need from you in terms of making your Building Regulations applications.

On a smaller (mainly “cosmetic”) renovation project, you may not need any Building regulations input.

On larger projects where you intend to use “specialists” of one sort or another and you already know exactly what you are going to do to the property, you won’t usually need to seek this sort of advice at such an early stage. – Your specialists should be able to give you all the advice and guidance you need.

You will need to speak to these sorts of specialists if you either know of, or think you are likely to encounter any problems with:

1) A Building plot.

2) The structure of a new building.

3) The structure of an existing property.

4) Drainage.

Architects and other designers can often deal with these matters to a certain extent, but there are occasions where the complicated nature of the problem or your proposal will need more of a “specialist” input.

The Structural or Drainage Engineers will have access to specialist software which will allow them to come up with ideas and schemes to solve most site problems. They will then normally liaise with your designer to make sure that anything they do which could have an effect on the design of the property itself, is known about and communicated to your designer, so that it can be taken account of when the design work on the property itself gets underway.

If you are planning to build or renovate a fairly simple house, on a simple flat plot which has no services running underneath or overhead, and which doesn’t present other major practical obstacles, the chances are that you will not need to consider using the services of a Structural or Drainage Engineer. - Your “Property designer” can normally deal with the smaller structural and drainage matters which will need to be considered on these plots.

The design of your new property or the changes to and existing property will normally be “put to paper” by one of these two people.

If you think you are going to need the services of either, it is useful to find someone suitable at an early stage. Their experience and advice can be a crucial factor in helping you to make important decisions, possibly even before you commit yourselves to purchasing a particular plot or property.

A good Architect or Designer can help you to create a superb well designed new home. They will also often be able to guide through all the important and sometimes complicated decisions that you will need to make as the project progresses.

Finding a good Architect or Designer is a bit like finding a “trustworthy friend” for the duration of the project. They should have no “bias” in the information and advice that they give you, and they will often have a good level of local knowledge which can be invaluable to you.

Usually, after first contact, and maybe after a first meeting at their office or your home, they will come with you to look at the land or property, and they will start to give you their ideas and thoughts on what is likely to be “possible”, “practical” and “economically sound” for the sort of project you have in mind. - If they are good at their job, you may even find that they actually advise you against a project if they think it risks failing.

It’s probably worth talking to at least 2 or 3 Architects or Designers before you settle on one. You may develop an immediate rapport with one, or one may offer a “package” which suits you ideally. Try, if possible to get a fixed price for their input before you sign any contracts.

If you don’t think you are going to be able to Project Manage things yourself, but you don’t want to hand everything over to a “Package Build” company, you may decide that you are going to need to take on a “Main Contractor”.

If so, it’s useful to get in contact with a couple of them at an early stage.

There may not actually be any drawings to look at, you may not own the property and they may not have a contract for the job. - BUT you will be able to get a “feel” for how professional and experienced they are, and how keen they appear You should also be able to get a “gut feeling” as to their personality and whether they seem “approachable” or “curt”. – Good communication is important throughout these types of projects. – Hiring a main contractor who is “gruff” and “standoffish” at “day one” is probably not a good idea!

By making this early contact, you can start to build up a relationship with “potential candidates” before you get to the stage of talking about “prices” and “contracts”, and before you start the “physical work” on the project. – It is in their interest at this stage, to help you out as much as they can, because, if they gain your trust NOW, you are more likely to want to give them the work later. Now is also the time to ask for references and examples of similar “recent” work. – Talk to one or two recent clients and see how satisfied they were. (Don’t think about using a main contractor who can’t supply you with references or contacts)

Having this relationship from an early stage also helps you to better plan the whole project. - You can discuss “present workloads”, their “availability”, and the “approximate costs” as you go on. - You will soon know if you are becoming confident in the way they work, and you will soon get a feel for whether or not they are going to be capable of handling the project you are considering giving them.

This could be a valuable project, worth tens of thousands of pounds. You need to try to make sure you give it to the right people. – If you don’t feel confident with any one particular Builder, then find another. There are hundreds of them around, all needing work, and many of them are very good at what they do. – Don’t just accept “The best of a bad lot” because you can’t be bothered contacting and meeting another few of them. – The wrong choice now could cost you thousands of pounds and lose you months of time AND give you an inferior “product” at the end of the day.

If your project is a small one, for example and “low key” renovation, or if you are planning on fully Project Managing a larger project, then you may find it useful to start to contact some of the “Sub Contractors” you may need, as soon as possible so that you can start to “weed out” the poor ones before work starts. If you can get yourself a shortlist of good sub contractors by the time you are actually ready to go through the “Tendering / Quoting” process it will make things run a lot smoother.

Contact at least 3 or 4 of each trade that you are going to need. Meet up with them. Ask them questions. Get a feel of how professional they are and how keen they are. Ask for references, and to see other work they have done recently, and try to speak to previous clients. (As with Main Contractors, don’t think about using anyone who can’t give you references or contacts)

If you are Project Managing everything yourselves, then at the early stages you don’t usually need to worry too much about contacting Decorators / Kitchen fitters etc. You will have a lot of work to do at the early stages and these trades can be dealt with later.

Early on, you could just start to look for suitable Groundworkers / Bricklayers / Window companies / Roofers and any other trades that you may need in the first few weeks of the project. The rest of the people you need can be contacted once the project gets going properly. – Just make sure you don’t leave it TOO late. – About 6 – 8 weeks or so will normally give you time to meet, get quotes and programme the different “general” trades in. – Specialist Trades may need a longer “run in” time.

If you know at the outset that your project is going to include some unusual or complicated features, then it is a good idea to start to contact the relevant trades and suppliers at an early stage.

By doing so you will not only be able to get an idea of any “time” and “cost” implications that their inclusion will have on the project, but you will also have chance to change your mind if they turn out not to be a good idea!

We all have our own individual ideas about what we want to include in our own projects, but sometimes when it comes to actually finding a way to make our ideas “work”, we find that there are going to be some major problems.

By contacting the relevant Trades and suppliers to discuss any “specialist” features, you will be able to build up a picture of how their inclusion is going to affect everything else.

You can ask these people questions such as:

What information will they need from you to be able to supply the item or service?

How much notice will be needed for delivery / booking?

What is the likely cost?

When is the best time to install any particular item?

What needs to be done before any installation can take place?

Is installation going to cause any problems or delays with other parts of the building process?

Will you need to find a way to protect the item from damage whilst the building work is finished?

All these questions will need to be answered at some stage, but if you start to do your research early on, what you learn could help you to save time and money later.

You may find that some of the specialist people and products you need are not actually available locally and that you need to search further afield to find them. - You may also need to visit the supplier’s “headquarters”(possibly at the other end of the country), to discuss your project – Again, getting this sort of “leg work” done at an early stage can save you time and running around later on when you are busy with the rest of the project.

From day one, try to think ahead. – Make some of the big decisions “early on” about whether you are going to organise everything yourself or hand it over to someone else. – If you going to use a “Project Manager” or “Package Build” company, in order to avoid wasting your own time, effort and possibly money, spend time sorting out what they are going to do BEFORE you start to do stuff yourself.

If you are going to do Project Manage everything yourself, make a list of the people you need to “find” in the early stages, and then make contact with at least 3 or 4 of each trade or supplier. As you begin to meet and talk to people, you should find that you start to get a clearer picture of “how everything works” and what you need to do to “get the ball rolling”. Once the project starts, try to plan about 6 - 8 weeks ahead for organising general materials / trades etc.

If you think you will need anything which is in any way “specialist” i.e. anything you are not going to be able to get “from stock” and / or “locally”, then take steps make sure that its inclusion doesn’t hold up the rest of the job.