What are Building Regulations

Search Amazon.com for metal detector



What are Building Regulations?

The Building Regulations set standards for the design and construction of buildings, their main purpose is to ensure the health and safety of people in or around buildings. They also regulate energy conservation in addition to access in and around buildings.

Why Should You Comply with Building Regulations?

Anyone who is carrying out building work should understand and comply with the building regulations. If you are the owner of the building, it is ultimately you who may be served with an enforcement notice if the work does not comply with the regulations.

Planning permission may also be required and is not the same as Building Regulation approval.

For more information you can visit buildingbuilding.co.uk for free information, the Building Inspector would advice you seek expert advice before starting any Building project.    

Search Amazon.com for toys for boys

Photo taken July 2010.....some renovation projects require a little time

  

Building a home from a kit

Search Amazon.com for kit homes

 

Building your kit home

You will still have to go through the usual planning and building regulations procedure (for Building Regulation advice see buildingbuilding.co.uk ) and employ builders to carry out the construction of your home. The manufacturer of your kit home may also supply a service where they can arrange assembly.
Assembling the kit home yourself can be very time consuming and you will need the skills to carry out the construction. If you do have building skills but do not want to do all the work yourself, you can use sub-contractors. They can carry out more technical and specific jobs like electrical wiring and plumbing.
Always read the manual from the manufacturer and get professional help if you are unsure about any aspect of the build. Selected companies, who provide kit homes, may also provide workshops for customers, to advise about the construction process.
Remember - if you do not follow the manufacturer's advice and take short-cuts you may put yourself at risk and void the warranty contract on your home.


Photo...even the professionals have problems...digger ends up in excacation that it was digging 2010

Building your own home....budget

Search Amazon.com for building books

 

 

Working out your budget

You need to plan your budget carefully so that you know how much the project is going to cost in total. The mortgage lender will ask for this and you need to make sure that you have covered all your costs such as land costs, professional fees, building work, materials, etc. Make sure you know what you can take on yourself and employ an architect, surveyor, planning consultant and project manager if necessary.
You are probably going to borrow a large sum which you have to pay back whatever happens to the building. You need to make sure that you hire a good builder in order to reduce the risk.
Getting the right insurance and warranty cover is also vital so that you can be protected against some of the risk if things go wrong. You will also need to cover your legal expenses. It is essential to include an amount for contingency - to cover unexpected costs which might come up. The foundations will depend on ground conditions and even after a ground investigation survey you may find when you start your excavation that there is unexpected costs due to problems in the ground.

Self-build Mortgages

 

 

Self-build mortgages

More risks are involved in building your own home but self-build mortgages can help with the financial complications of managing such a project. The main difference between a self-build mortgage and a house purchase mortgage is that with a self-build mortgage, money is released in stages as the build progresses rather than as a single amount.
There are two types of mortgage which could be used. The first option is a traditional arrears-based mortgage released in staged payments on completion of each stage. The second option is an advance payment scheme which releases funds in advance of each stage of construction and removes the need for bridging loans. The stages can be fixed or flexible but there are usually five and these depend on the type of building work. Not many mortgage companies will offer an advanced payment, this is due to the risk involved.
If you want to stay in your current home while the new one is built, you will need to find out what the lender's attitude will be to any outstanding mortgage on your existing property. You also, need to ensure that you have enough income to cover both mortgages.
About 20,000 people build their own homes in the UK each year and this number is rising. Over 30 banks and building societies offer mortgages to self-builders. You may be able to get between 25% and 80% of the value of the building plot and between 65% and 95% of the costs of the building.


Digger ends up in own excavation, Photo taken 2010 during construction of extension to dwelling

How to Build a House

Search Amazon.com for lingerie

Building your own home

If this is the first time you have built a house, you may feel daunted by the prospect of turning your idea into reality.

Getting started

Building your own home can be both satisfying and stressful. So plan well ahead at the beginning of your project. These plans are crucial as most self-builds often change during the projects, for example you may decide to move a window or adapt a living area. Ideally any changes should be minimal and not impact too heavily on your budget. However, hurried or vague planning will lead to escalating costs and push back completion dates.

Remember that you will need to put in a planning and building regulations application, which can be made to your local council. You could also get alternative building regulations consent from a private company, such as JHAi Ltd Wigan office paul.pratten@jhai.co.uk 

Designing and building your house

Local solicitors can provide names and addresses of architects and building contractors. Yellow Pages also gives names of manufacturers and suppliers of 'kit house'.

Some building contractors and kit suppliers can provide a choice of house designs which, if suitable, may avoid or reduce the need to employ an architect.

However, an experienced architect can greatly reduce the amount of time and effort that you might otherwise spend climbing the hurdles involved in building a new house.

More information about finding an architect can be found in the leaflet entitled, 'Finding an architect', published by the Royal Institute of British Architects.

Considerations

Budget

Plan your budget very carefully. Work out what you can realistically afford to pay -   particularly if you intend to borrow money - and allow for:

• increases in interest rates,
• what you think the development is going to cost you
• allow at least 15 per cent extra for contingencies from the start

Also bear in mind that if what you are borrowing is on the security of the house, the amount you can borrow will be based on the lenders estimate of what the final value will be but won't give you the full amount until it is completed.

Project planning

Draw up a project plan, setting out what needs to be done, when and by whom from the earliest stages of finding the site to furnishing and moving into the finished house it will almost certainly take longer than you think.
Also think about:

• if you are going to sell your present home to help pay for the development
• where you are going to live while building is taking place
• what it is going to cost

Your skills

Consider realistically if you have the skills and experience to do some parts of the build yourself and whether you can rely on friends or relations for their skills or help, at the time you will need them to be done or just to help with the labouring. You will probably need to pay specialist contractors to do some of the work, so make sure you have made planned for this.
Remember - unless you have all the necessary professional skills, employ a qualified and experienced architect to design the house and make sure you provide them with a clear brief of what you want. Unless your architect also has a planning qualification and experience, you should also consider employing a planning consultant.

For Building Regulation advice visit buildingbuilding.co.uk

comments please

Any comments?

Gold Landing Beach taken July 2010 looking towards land

Search Amazon.com for military surplus

Photo taken on Gold Landing beach July 2010