Building a house

DH and I did it, but it was 54 years ago. FIL was a small scale builder/decorator/plumber/carpenter.
He was the craftsman and we, plus MIL, were his labourers.
The only thing we subcontracted out was the plastering and electrics.
It took us 2.5 years, no holidays apart from Christmas day. We worked every day off, weekends etc,
I'm still living in the house.

As self builders, we didn't have the headache of finding a reliable builder, but we did have to deal with inefficient suppliers and the problem of site security, amongst other things.

I wish you every success. It will be hard work but worth it.

The architect we employed put our building project out to tender and advised on which builder to choose. He then oversaw the specification and quality of the work.

Or are you planning to project manage it yourself or even do some of the work yourself?

Well done Fiorentina we wanted to do this when we were young but it wasn't to be. I now have the urge to do it now.

Thanks Lathyrus. The architect will project manage, knows tried and tested contractors and is optimistic.
I trust him.

It's me who is beginning to be a bit
worried. I know it's not going to be cheap. There are plenty of affordable houses on the market right now though none of the ones I've seen so far, are right.

Grammeretto Go for it. You can rent a small flat for a year and if you are just the client with a professional project manager and competent professional builder, if they say a year, then a year it is likely to be.

I can actually remember a Grand Designs where a lady like you
built her retirement house in her back garden. As far as I can remember ontime and on budget. GD tends to like the big design with unqualified builders and a ludicrous budget because it makes good television, but in this case I suspect age and sex were the points that caught the production teams minds.

If I sound very gung ho, it is because, at rising 82 DH and I are down sizing - to another old Listed building - which will be the biggest project we have yet undertaken. It will all be done by professionals. DH is not fit enough to do it himself, but we face rewiring, replumbing, possible changes to the central heating, new staircase, new kitchen and a repositioned front door. And the only way we can insulate the roof is by taking it off and putting it back on again. I am really looking forward to it!

I like to have a nice project on the go too MOnica and Granmarreto. 😬
I felt quite at a loose end when I finished all I wanted to do in this house a couple of years ago.

Would your local authority let you put a caravan on site?

I probably could put a caravan on the site although winters here can be tough. I'm in Scotland.

A friend has offered her spare room but I think I'd prefer my own space.

Thanks for your enthusiasm M0nica and Lathyrus - much appreciated.
My sister supports me and most friends, it's just my DC who worry about me.

We haven’t built but have renovated. I’d say go for it if you can definitely afford it. It will cost more than you think and take longer than you think but you will have a lovely home. If you buy something that isn’t new you will want to spend a lot on it in any case. It’s stressful but, my goodness, you will feel alive!

Those who do it have a site already, if you have to buy it you are competing with builders who already have the skills in the business. It’s possible but those in the trade have a big advantage, they know how to negotiate the planning and other regulations.

Locally sites are expensive, 1930s and older houses and bungalows with a decent size plot sell for £400k to demolish and rebuild, often to build 2 new places. An attractive site with a view add at least £100k

Cost more than you think, the projects I’ve done have all cost much more than original budget so now at the initial concept stage I add 50% to the finance. Most of that gets used up, if you get a dispute with the local council it gets very expensive quickly, so be nice to your district councillor.

If you want a project in your mid 70s that could be a money pit and cause stress etc then go ahead and build that house. Have you worked out how long you could potentially enjoy living in it, taking the average age of female death into account. What if you become ill, strokes happen and often out of the blue, where would you live? A care home perhaps, which would eat savings

My husband was a structural engineer, we decided not to build a house, too much stress and not enough time for our family and for hobbies. Looking back we got it right and it was lovely to move into ready-built homes and to move whenever we liked

Go for it Grammaretto - we did it albeit in 1976 and we are still here. Built a beautiful bungalow, we love it. Although we have done many alterations and love to keep it up to date we would also love to find a plot and start all over again. You just get a great satisfaction from building your own home. You are so lucky to have a building plot they are like gold in our area. There will be times you will think why did I start this but at the end you will, I'm sure have no regrets. It's such a satisfying feeling you get. You can achieve it, put your heart and soul into to it, go for exactly what you want/need in your new home. Love it! Good Luck!

An older couple near me handed over their beautiful, listed, draughty, inconvenient house to their children and built, in the garden, a wonderful Grand Design style bungalow.
It is designed to have views over the allotments at the rear, is super - eco- friendly and looks amazing. I watched the construction and am green with envy.
Absolutely go for it, Grammaretto, taking into account that costs might rise and there might be frustrations along the way.
A splendid achievement in your seventies- that's to be celebrated.

I know of someone who spent months as a professional house sitter, could this be an option?
You could intersperse this with staying with your friend.

Thanks everyone! Your reactions reflect those of my friends and family. Some for and some against.
I want to pursue it until I either get PP or not.
The site belongs to me. It is part of my garden but can easily be separated from my house since we joined the 2 parts when we moved here 45 years ago.

It's in a conservation area and has to meet criteria which I think it should but the planners may not.

It is a wonderful experience and one learns a great deal. Frustrating sometimes, yes but definitely worth the effort.
We have not done this in UK but abroad, where the whole procedure took only 14 weeks before we could move in. Rented a little old house meanwhile - that was fun too. Not possible in 14 weeks in this country probably. DM if you need information

Sounds amazing, go for it, and very good luck.

Be as involved as you can, speak up if there’s things you don’t like or would like further quotes because some things are more expensive than you’d like.

Please keep us posted

Have you thought about one of those ‘preformed’ houses Grammaretto? Just the shell which can then be tailored, it would be quicker, I believe they provide many more options now.

My very close chum has done it twice.
It can take longer than you think to complete, due to building regulations, and planning office.
Depending on the plot and area which will dictate size of property.
The planning people will tell you, what you can build with certain aspects, minimum bedrooms etc
My chum couldn't have large windows in the bedrooms, as the planners wanted it to resemble a Barn to fit the area, she always said it wasn't quite what they wanted.
They even had to have the area survived by an Archaeological team before work started, who has to work with your Architect.
That costs are all yours, so ensure you have a big contingency.
Once that's all in place it's Go!
Best of luck hope it's plain sailing.

Wow! CountessFosco. Your experience sounds amazing.
It won't be quick. I applied for PP before Christmas and the council are only now dealing with it and giving us time constraints, so I'm having to have surveys now for the trees (once a tree reaches a certain height and girth it is automatically protected)
Also a topographical survey which happened yesterday. The site slopes away from the neighbouring building and I mustn't impinge on their amenity.
Another architect recently asked me if he could buy the site so he obviously thinks it's viable.

Well I’m quite excited by the prospect of your build and I’m hundreds of miles away😬

Getting plannng permission is no bad thing even if you decide not to go ahead with the build.

But I hope you do!

I was partly inspired by a disabled friend who built herself a house which she absolutely loves. She was about my age and is now in her mid 80s. It's warm yet with a big patio door/window and open views.
Another inspiration is my brother'0s summer cottage in Denmark. Small yet with 3 bedrooms and easy to live in. Mine would be a passivhaus as far as possible.

If it’s a conservation area it’s going to be very sensitive draw up plans and get the parish council to accept it if you can, your architect will negotiate with the planners. Materials and style of the house will have to fit in, there will be lots of opinions what does “fit in”.

We did it, and now my son is doing it. We lived in rented accommodation with 2 babies but his children are adults and have 'left home' so he's living in a caravan at the site. This is proving quite a good idea apart from the noise, as he can help with unskilled tasks, and make decisions quickly.
One snag everyone seems to find is the builder going off to another job for a week or two, its very frustrating.
We both suffered from planning officers putting up trivial unnecessary objections which hold things up, such as where to put the fuse-box, or even contradicting each other.
We built our house in 10 months but our son's is going to take longer than a year I think.
Its well worth it in the end.

My architect has experience with contractors and doesn't put the jobs out to tender. He knows tried and tested builders whom he approaches to quote for each project.
It will be expensive and I occasionally feel like a SKI parent. spending the kids' inheritance 😲