Self-build projects: How to keep yours Running Smoothly

Once upon a time, most homes were built as self-build projects. In other words, homeowners physically pieced together their houses themselves. Of course, life got in the way of this approach. Most of us have jobs and therefore took the costly decision to entrust the job to contractors.

While the above method is by far and away the most common, it could be said that more and more people are considering their own self-build projects again. Aside from the obvious financial savings, there is obviously a great degree of satisfaction in completing a build of this ilk.

However, it’s not easy. This is what today’s article is going to focus on, as we take a look at the things you need to keep on top of as you bid to complete your self-build.

Keep an eye on safety

As you will soon find out, self-build projects are anything but easy. They are stressful, and they can quickly get out of hand.

Despite all of the above, make sure that you always have one eye on safety. This can be easy to forget if you don’t have a big, professional team behind you, but whether it is arming yourself with high-qualitysafety jackets or just purchasing the correct footwear, it’s worth the investment (even if it makes you go over budget).

Always future proof yourself

Everyone has a budget, but everyone has their own dream home. A self-build project is all about finding a happy medium. Like it or not, while you will save costs in some respects, it’s probably not going to be sufficient enough to give you that dream home.

It means that you need to future proof the house. Make sure it is designed so if you do decide to make a change in the future, it’s going to be easy to incorporate.

Never work to strict deadlines

We are all for deadlines; they are part and parcel of life (and essential in the construction industry). However, as we have already alluded to, self-build projects can be stressful. This stress will probably extend to your entire family, so setting deadlines which are bordering on the unrealistic is just going to boost these stress levels.

Make sure contingencies are built into every step of your project, and if you are targeting to move in by Christmas, or another key occasion, this might just add a little too much stress to the overall project.

Know your budget inside-out

We’ve talked a lot about budgets through the course of today’s article, but let’s revisit the topic again. In truth, it doesn’t matter whether it’s a self-build or you are hiring contractors, it’s still going to be a notable topic.

Of course, when you are part of a self-build, all the responsibility is on you to manage it. It’s for this reason that you need to know every cost inside-out – and be sure that materials are going to come in as you forecasted. The more initial cost analysis you conduct, the more chance you have of meeting your budget expectations.