Self Build and Renovation For Dummies

by Dr Nicholas Walliman

Creating your dream home is an exciting idea, but it's also a major project. This title takes you through every step of the process, from choosing and buying a plot of land, through to the building's design and on to the actual build - plus all the financial and legal aspects.

394 pages, Paperback

First published October 27, 2006

Reviews

[David Roberts · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book I read to research this post was Self Build And Renovation For Dummies by Nicholas Walliman which is a very good book which I bought from kindle. I think this book is a UK edition as much of it seems geared towards information that is relevant in Britain. Even though there has been a downturn in the British housing market which does seem to be recovering I think you can save a lot of money by either doing some or all of the work in building or renovating a property or subcontracting the work. The first step is usually hiring an architect and it should be someone who specializes in designing this type of property and also someone with a bit of imagination. Ask to see some of his work and bear in mind he will be supervising a lot of the work and making sure his design is interpreted correctly and also if there are any problems and something needs modifying he will design that. Usually the architect will hire people like builders and electricians on your behalf and it should be people he has worked with before and has a good working relationship with. You can also make sure they are registered with organisations like the better business bureau who if you have problems can be asked to intervene. You can buy plots in remote parts of Scotland & Wales for as little as £20,000 at least when this book was published. Bear in mind if you submit a design for a single building the planners like it to be similar to existing buildings and are happier if your proposal is for a group of buildings or an estate. It's usual if your proposal is likely to be turned down to withdraw it and resubmit a revised plan. It saves time and money and makes it more likely the revised plan will be accepted without much hassle. I think even if you aren't likely to do much of the work in building it, it's worth considering doing the project management. You can always get a book and learn as you go along. It involves things like monitoring what and how much materials are used and the work gets done in a given time period. This is especially if you intend building more than one property and selling it on for a profit. This is a really good book which I think is essential reading for anyone undertaking this kind of project and I really enjoyed reading it.