Self Build And Renovation For Dummies

Creating your dream home is an exciting idea, but it's also a major project and one where you need to be an expert on everything from planning laws to landscape design, and all that's in between. Self Build and Renovation For Dummies 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 stuff – using plain English in an easy-to-understand format. Here is everything you need to know to create your perfect home.

Keep construction on track with helpful checklists Turn your dream of a custom home into reality! Thinking about building your own home? This easy-to-follow guide shows you how to plan and build a beautiful home on any budget. From acquiring land to finding the best architect to overseeing the construction, you get lots of savvy tips on managing your new investment wisely -- and staying sane during the process! Discover how to: * Find the best homesite * Navigate the plan approval process * Obtain financing * Hire the right contractor * Cut design and construction costs * Avoid common mistakes

You deserve a home that meets your specific needs and desires! If you find yourself dreaming of the perfect patio, the ideal kitchen, and inviting rooms where you love to spend time, it might just be time to start building! With Building Your Custom Home For Dummies, you won’t have to feel intimidated as you plan, finance, and oversee construction on your new oasis. You’ll learn what it takes to build a custom home, including which pros to call and when. This updated edition also covers the latest in real estate and home construction trends, including smart homes, green building, and banking options. It's more important than ever to live in a home that’s truly how you want it, truly your own. Now is the perfect time to get started—if you’re still in the dreaming stage, this book will help you identify your style and articulate your vision. If you’re further along in the process, you’ll benefit from checklists and pointers on reviewing architects’ plans, evaluating contractor bids, flipping the home you build, and more. The latest guidance on building a beautiful home on any budget New ideas for high-tech homes with low carbon footprints Step-by-step instructions for securing financing, hiring architects, and finding reliable contractors Advice on how to invest your home-building budget wisely and plan for the future Building Your Custom Home For Dummies takes you from finding the perfect homesite through laying the foundation to framing and finishing—in the friendly Dummies style you can trust.

Do you want to renovate your existing home or build a new house but don't know where to start? This book has valuable tips and advice to help you. Building or renovating a house should be exciting. You can make it a success, whether you do everything yourself, outsource some of the work to experts, or leave everything to the experts. But, even experts need to be managed - and of course, make sure that they really are experts! How much you do and how much work you leave to experts will depend on your expertise, confidence, means and time. In this practical book filled with invaluable information learn who the various parties are in a home building project, discover different ways you could manage your building project, appreciate what to consider when renovating your house, understand common construction practices, know what to look for when selecting your contractor, learn how to manage your contractor and complete your building project successfully. Know your rights and obligations, avoid common construction problems, learn about construction contractual and financial issues, and understand the traps and pitfalls you should avoid. Armed with this knowledge your home construction project will be a success. Good luck.

If you’ve ever dreamt of designing and building your own home, this book is for you. Becoming a ‘self-builder’ doesn’t necessarily mean learning to build a house physically from scratch. Anyone can be a self-builder – you can do so without ever having to lay a brick yourself. Self-built homes can also be more individual, better designed and more economical than buying from a developer. This book is designed for homeowners and self-builders, whether aspiring or on the brink of starting a project. It provides a jargon-free, step-by-step guide to the process of designing and building your own home, distilling all of the practical information needed to make your dream house a reality. Carefully crafted to offer friendly, easy-to-understand practical guidance and packed with watch points, hints and tips, it also highlights the potential pitfalls and suggests ways of avoiding them. Including indications of costs and timescales, Self-build demystifies the process of budgeting, finding a site, gaining planning permission, designing your home and all of the surrounding issues to do with sustainability, planning, regulations, procurement and the use of building contracts. Beautifully illustrated with over 230-colour photos, diagrams and plans, it provides all the inspiration and ideas you need to bring your own project to life. Featured houses include: Amphibious House by Baca Architects Corten Courtyard House by Barefoot Architects Haringey Brick House by Satish Jassal Architects Shawm House by Mawson Kerr Architects Sussex House by Wilkinson King Architects The Pocket House by Tikari Works Architects.

Undertaking a building or renovation project can be a bit daunting. But with the help of this book you will be in control at all times, confident in your decision making, and sure of getting the job done on time and to a high standard. It includes proven and simple-to-use management techniques that would suit projects ranging from one thousand to one million pounds. Contents: Introduction; About the author; 1. Getting started; 2. Know your requirements; 3. Contacting contractors; 4. Establishing credibility; 5. Obtaining and agreeing quotes; 6. Starting the work; 7. Financial arrangements; 8. Operation and maintenance manuals; 9. Good working relations; 10. Record-keeping; 11. Professional and site teams; Index

*** SPECIAL OPENING OFFER PRICE: £13.99 (SAVE £5 ON FULL PRICE). NEW FOR SUMMER 2020: 151 THINGS EVERY SELF-BUILDER SHOULD KNOW. From cover to cover, this uniquely informative, eye opening book is packed full of facts, figures, advice, hints, tips, ideas, anecdotes, personal experience, contacts, and plenty of important warnings, all related to the exciting, daunting, addictive world that is SELF-BUILD. Written by Barry Sutcliffe (author of Self-Build Simplified), From beginning to end, across 151 concise, fact and information driven sections, it sets out to pass on to the reader, knowledge and experience gained by the author, during more than four decades working as a Project Manager in the UK Commercial, Residential and Self-Build Construction Industries (including completing five of his own self-build projects). Each section deals with a different aspect of the self-build process, from the first tentative steps researching the subject, asking questions, and formulating a plan of action, through to moving into your completed new home and claiming back the VAT. Written in a simple, friendly and easy to follow style, most sections should take just a few minutes to read, but the information, experience, and knowledge you will access during those few minutes could help you to better understand your own project and the self-build industry as a whole, simplify and speed up the design and planning phases, and manage your time and budget more efficiently. It could also help you to make more informed choices on a wide range of related subjects, shorten build times, reduce build costs and notice potential problems before they occur, helping to reduce your stress levels leading up to and during the build. Extra features include: 1) The author has published his personal email address at the back of the book, allowing readers to make contact directly, to ask questions, make comments, or offer suggestions. 2) Readers can book a "Consultation Day" with the author, where they can discuss and investigate their own active, or proposed projects. 3) Over 200 self-build relevant contacts are included at the back of the book, covering many sectors of the industry. There is no other publication that approaches the subject of Self-Build in such an enlightening and forthright manner. Once you have read the book, keeping it with you day to day will allow it to help you navigate your way through this wonderful, but challenging adventure.

Hundreds of thousands of us renovate, convert, extend and improve our homes each year, and one-third of all new detached homes are self-built. If you're looking to build your own property from scratch or work on your existing home, this is the book for you. Home building expert, and bestselling author David Snell draws on his expertise and personal experiences of building his own bungalow to bring together the essential information that you need when building your property. Covering everything from budgeting and finance, to evaluating the land and dealing with suppliers this comprehensive guide takes you through the basics to ensure that you are well-equipped to deal with any challenges or problems that may arise. Fully up-to-date and packed with authoritative advice, this practical handbook is essential reading for everyone from those building their own home, to anyone planning some home improvements.