Man with a plan
Thinking of building your own home? Grand Designs’ Kevin McCloud shares his top tips with Harriet Sime
he IS the man in the know — and if anyone has insider knowledge of the property market, it’s Kevin McCloud.
From houses made from shipping containers to straw bale homes and water tower conversions, he has been watching and advising amateur housebuilders for two decades on Channel 4’s Grand Designs.
And now, drawing on that experience, the presenter has divulged his top Dos and Don’ts for building a house.
WHAT TO DO:
PLAN, PLAN, PLAN: They say in the military that ‘if you fail to prepare you are preparing to fail’. Planning is such a primal requirement in life. Most of us rush into things, but building is a complex process.
Some people’s view on designing a house is that it’s just a case of choosing fabrics, but planning can take between two and three years before you even get onto site. You have to consider how you want to live and what you want to spend your money on.
BUDGET: Adding 20 per cent to your budget is a good way of covering unforeseen costs that almost always crop up. One of the areas where these costs appear is the preliminaries: all the extra things like temporary loos, scaffolding rentals and site insurance.
All this can eat up 5 per cent of your total budget so you have to be careful to consider all costs.
My advice is to design it to be modest at the beginning so you know you can afford it and the upkeep. Some of my favourite houses are small in size, but well designed.
GET THE PROFESSIONALS IN: They do this for a living, so employ as many as you can afford, starting with a great project manager and builder.
Use recommendations, and check references. Pay for a good architect who has the same world view as you. This is important as they are designing your future. Recommendations are key, as is seeing their work.
The beauty of the internet is that you can look at dozens of examples of work by architects in a few minutes. And the great thing about the building trade is that it leaves behind its bricks and mortar so you can ask if you can visit past projects.
You can then often talk privately to the owners.
GO GREEN: The building stage of a house is the best time to start cutting your long- term costs. Add insulation, incorporate solar panels, think about the sun in relation to your windows, where will you get the best light?
Could adding a skylight cut your electricity bills? Installing a water butt could also lead to savings . . . the possibilities are endless. ENJOY THE BUILD: This is many people’s dream, you get to plan your home from the ground up and live your vision. It’s also important to be a good client. Be available to talk and make big decisions. And remember to bring bacon sandwiches in the morning.
BUT DON’T:
... THINK YOU CAN DO IT
YOURSELF: I see this a lot, people who can put up a piece of flat-pack furniture think they can build a house, people who run their own business think they can run their construction project.
An experienced project manager will know the ins and outs of building. For example, that digging a trench for pipes and cabling will mean starting negotiations with utility companies at least a year in advance and that pipes and cables need to be ordered at least eight weeks in advance. ... GO FOR THE LATEST TREND: Instead, incorporate elements that you know will make you happy, and add value to your quality of life, not just value to the asking price.
At the moment, we’re seeing more bathrooms than occupants in some buildings. The other thing is that we’re still confusing size with quality. Once you’re in your new home, don’t throw away all your old furniture to buy everything new. You’ll be surprised what a bit of varnish or a lick of paint can do to an ancient piece of furniture. ... GO WILD ON THE EXTERIOR: Remember that the outside of your home is part of other people’s lives. Your dream home may be someone else’s eyesore.
The perfect quote for this instance comes from planner and building colourist Jean- Philippe Lenclos: ‘If you want to paint your front door, get your neighbour to choose the colour.’ ... RELY ON A COSTING BY YOUR BUILDER OR YOUR A RCHITECT: You will soon learn that the construction industry is occupied by idealists. Get the build costed by a quantity surveyor.
KEVIN McCLOUD will be appearing at Grand Designs Live at London’s ExCeL, from May 4 to 12. For tickets, visit granddesignslive.com.