SelF-build Project Planner

However you’re getting it built, you’ll need to know how a house is constructed. Here is our definitive guide to each stage of the process

Prepare Site ➳ Groundworkers create site access ➳ Clear site and strip vegetable soil; stacking material to be retained out of the way ➳ Set up site hut and equip with drawings and safety equipment ➳ Set up toilet ➳ Secure lock-up/lorry container (hired in or purchased) to be positioned ➳ Water board to bring supply to stopcock on boundary ➳ Plumber to connect water standpipe ➳ Surveyor marks out building on cleared site and transfers the lines to profiles well clear of any construction work ➳ Bring in bricks and blocks and stack clear of future construction ➳ Set up mixer station close to cement store and sand heap

Foundations/oversite ➳ Groundworkers excavate foundations ➳ Wait for approval of building control and warranty inspectors ➳ Position any reinforcement bars, mesh or cages in the trenches ➳ Position any compressible material or slip membranes required within the trenches ➳ Lay ducts for services to enter through the foundations ➳ Arrange foot scaffold if necessary and shutter for any steps in the foundations ➳ Pour concrete footings and tamp to level ➳ Obtain approval from building/warranty inspectors to proceed ➳ Bricklayers build up foundation blockwork to damp-proof course ➳ Install cranked air vents ➳ Install drainage exit lintels ➳ Fill cavities with lean-mix concrete to level with external ground level ➳ Bed and lay damp-proof courses, linking these with any radon membranes or barriers

Start the Superstructure ➳ Groundworkers to dig service trenches and lay pipes and ducts to proposed stopcock/meter positions ➳ Load out concrete floor beams to each bay and position ➳ Install drainage and vent pipes proud of the oversite

➳ Infill floor beams with blocks ➳ Lay coursing blocks and position ventilator grilles ➳ Brush grout ➳ Arrange for building control/warranty inspection ➳ Commence building superstructure ➳ Install templates for future windows and doors, etc.

➳ First lift of scaffolding required

Superstructure ➳ Bricklayers continue superstructure brickwork and blockwork, including work on any chimneys ➳ Install and bed lintels, including fireplace lintels ➳ Install flue liners as work proceeds ➳ Build in meter boxes for gas and electricity ➳ Electrician to install temporary consumer unit within electricity meter box ➳ Service suppliers to carry out their work to the boundary ➳ Plumber to reroute water supply to stopcock position ➳ Electricity providers to install meter and connect ➳ Second scaffolding lift required ➳ Arrange crane to lift first floor beams onto each bay and position (if required) ➳ Position the plasterboard batten clips ➳ Lay infill blocks ➳ Brush grout

Superstructure continued ➳ Continue building superstructure to wallplate ➳ Third and then fourth lift of scaffolding required ➳ Wallplate to be scarfed, bedded and tied down with proprietary wallplate straps ➳ Warranty inspection sometimes required ➳ Carpenters to build end trusses as templates ➳ Continue building up gable ends and chimney ➳ Additional lifts of scaffolding required at the gable ends ➳ Plumber to fit lead flashings, trays and skirts to chimney ➳ Plumber to install vent pipes and flashing skirts as they come through the roof ➳ Bricklayers to top out and fit chimney pot ➳ Bricklayers to point chimney flashings

construct roof ➳ Carpenters to sling roof trusses, and trusses to be fixed down to wallplate

➳ All roofing insulation to be installed

Second Fix carpentry ➳ Carpenters hang internal doors ➳ Skirting and architrave to be fitted by carpenters ➳ Bottom tread of staircase to be fitted, balustrading and handrails to be fitted, as well as linen cupboard shelving ➳ Fit of loft door and ladder ➳ Timber floors to be laid by carpenters or specialists and protected ➳ Ceramic floor tiles to be laid by specialist tilers and protected ➳ Carpenters/specialist suppliers to fit/build built-in bedroom and bathroom furniture ➳ Kitchen units to be fitted

Second Fix ➳ All wiring connected to consumer unit ➳ Boiler to be positioned, plumbed and then wired in ➳ Sink units to be plumbed in, earthed and cross bonded ➳ All sanitaryware to be fitted and plumbed in ➳ Radiators and towel rails to be fitted and plumbed in ➳ Underfloor heating loops to be connected to manifolds ➳ Electrician to check cross bonding and earthing to all sanitaryware, sinks, radiators, etc.

➳ Boiler to be wired in; control systems and room thermostats to be wired in ➳ Plumber and electrician to attend firing up and commissioning of boiler ➳ All pipework and connections to be flushed through and pressure tested ➳ Central heating to be left on ‘test’

decorating ➳ Worktops, made from the previously taken templates, to be fitted ➳ House to be thoroughly cleaned with all debris and dust removed to outside ➳ Decorators to snag any holes, blemishes or rough patches on walls, making good ➳ Internal timber to be sanded smooth or rubbed down with wire wool ➳ Decorators to paint all walls and ceilings, mist plus two coats of emulsion ➳ Internal timber to be knotted, painted, primed, undercoated and top coat glazed, or internal timber to be two-coat stained ➳ Specialist tilers to fix ceramic wall tiles to kitchen and utility ➳ Baths to be filled, in order to settle, before tilers fix any wall/ splashback tiles ➳ Water meter to be installed

landscaping ➳ Groundworkers or landscape gardeners to level the ground and prepare ➳ Topsoil from storage to be placed where required, with extra shipped if necessary ➳ Site hut to be removed or re-sited if intended for use as a garden shed ➳ Secure site storage to be sold off or returned to hirers ➳ Groundworkers to complete driveway surface ➳ Patio slabs to be laid ➳ Bricklayers to build any required dwarf/ decorative walling ➳ Lawned areas to be levelled ready for seeding or turfed ➳ Approved contractors to complete any bellmouth and kerbing to road

completion ➳ Whole house to be thoroughly cleaned out ➳ All windows polished and all labels removed from glass and appliances

➳ All polystyrene packing to be removed from cookers ➳ All stabilising bolts to be removed from washing machines/driers ➳ Site toilet and any remaining plant on hire to be off-hired ➳ Readings to be taken on all meters ➳ Central heating switched to ‘run’

➳ Telephone company to connect ➳ Contractors to install TV aerials and/or satellite dishes ➳ All trades return to work through items on the snagging list ➳Carpets to be laid ➳ Local authority to be advised of completion to arrange for council tax valuation ➳ Energy Performance Certificate to be prepared and sent to building control ➳ Building control final inspection and issuing of Completion Certificate ➳ Warranty inspector’s final inspection and issuing of warranty ➳ Arrange protective covering for floor surfaces prior to delivery of furniture ➳ Switch self-build site insurance policy to homeowners’ policy H

161m2+

Do you have a water softener, waste disposal unit, rainwater harvesting, or any appliance that will exceed the table limits?