The build schedule

Where to start if you plan to manage your own building project and hire all the trades yourself.

Project management costs run around 10 to 15 per cent of the total build cost and sometimes maybe more, not only because it involves such a lot of time and work but also because it requires a considerable breadth of experience and knowledge.

These are savings you could make by managing the project yourself, but they are by no means guaranteed. If you take control of building your own home, you become a project manager and you will have to start thinking like one. In addition to being the employer, you will assume the role of the principal contractor with all the responsibilities that these functions entail.

Some people thrive on the self-build challenge, others swear that they will never tackle it again. The first group are most likely to be those who set aside adequate time to learn and prepare, the second group probably did not.

Find out if it’s for you

It is virtually impossible to manage something effectively if the process is a completely new experience, so you should therefore have a good working knowledge of how a house is built before you start.

Take time to sit back and try to envisage the process in your mind, from start to finish, of a typical house building project. If you identify any gaps in your knowledge, perhaps try to get some time on site on another building project, or enrol on one of the many construction related courses that are available.

Try to get your hands on a really well detailed set of construction phase drawings, schedules and specifications from another project to give you most of the background information you need. It should go without saying that all of this should be taken care of well before the planned commencement date of your building work.

One simple rule of thumb suggests that, unless you have previous experience, you should spend as much time planning the build as it takes to build it.

If all this preparation and learning sounds too much, consider enlisting an experienced builder or site foreman who can coordinate the work for you, at least until the main trades have completed their activities.

You might be able to then step in for the finishing off phases once the structural work is done. This hybrid approach to the self-build process, or some similar arrangement, is perhaps the most commonly adopted approach today.

Just bear in mind that you will not make the same financial savings that you could have achieved by fully project managing the build on your own.

Get acquainted with the new normal

Building cost overruns are often seen as to be expected but they really shouldn’t be. The construction industry has all the skills, knowledge and technology to manage building projects with a high degree of accuracy. The trick is to know where to look for these assets.

That said, I have yet to meet a self-builder whose project came in on time and under budget, so it is always prudent to allow a 10 per cent contingency sum in your total price for unforeseen costs.

And of course, we’re now all too

Les O’Donnell Structural engineer and chartered architectural technologist, landmarkdesigns.org.uk

familiar with issues around building supplies. War, the pandemic and big cargo ships stuck in the Suez Canal, are all held to blame. Ruling out these and other types of unpredictable events beyond human control, a well executed programme will otherwise allow you to source and place supplies, labour, plant and equipment on site and on time.

Just as you don’t want products and materials arriving on site late, you also do not want them to arrive too early so that they have to be safely stored and secured until they are needed. This just-in-time approach can also help keep costs down by avoiding paying interest on staged payment loans before you need them. But do balance this with any opportunities that you might find for making purchases before their prices rise.

Remember too that building a house is a much more complex project than it ever was. The building regulations are frequently amended and updated, new products are continually being developed and introduced to the market and new or improved methods of building are being introduced all the time. With all of this comes an increase in the probability for errors, omissions and potential failures to occur over the duration of the build.

How to stay on track

As any builder who has had to shift a toilet or even just a door that was in the ‘wrong’ place will tell you, change is costly. Or to be more accurate, changes during the construction phase are costly whereas changes during the design phases are much less so.

This is why I always remind clients that it is far easier and cheaper to change things on paper than on site. So get your construction phase drawings,

Superstructure

blockwork complete, all flashings, damp proof courses, aprons & cavity trays pre-installed, roof structure and support work complete with all structural fixing components.

17 18

External plastering. Driveways, parking spaces, kerbs, paths, patios, fences, gates, access ramps, handrails or guardrails and steps,

Completion Stage:

• Soft landscaping, including tree and hedge planting schemes – especially where required under the planning permission. Do note that it is usually more economical to plant trees during their dormant season (i.e. winter) so this may become a post-construction task. Complete all groundworks.

• Finishes complete in accordance with the specifications and schedules.

• Remedial Works complete including all those on the Building Control final snag list.

• Certificates received from manufacturers, contractors, installers and suppliers where required.

• All outstanding written guarantees or warranties should be obtained.

• House ready for occupation and Final Certificates issued.