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Building a house

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fiorentina51 Wed 21-May-25 20:09:13

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.

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Grammaretto Wed 21-May-25 19:38:37

Has anyone done this? Are you able to offer advice?
I would like to have a house built for myself. It would be quite small, very well insulated and in a good position for access to shops and transport etc.

I have begun the process but am still at an early stage. I have a plot and have an architect who has drawn up plans.
We have submitted these for planning consent and after a few hiccups hope they might be accepted soon.

I would need to sell my house to pay for the building and I expect the process won't be straightforward. I will need to live somewhere while the new house is being built.
The architect suggests it could take a year. Is he being optimistic?

My DC think I am bonkers and are sure the project will be far more expensive than I imagine, take a very long time and will be incredibly stressful. They are probably right but I would like to pursue it as far as I can.

I'm mid 70s now, on my own and I would like to have a few good years to enjoy the dream!

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