Category: Architecture

The idea of building your own home has become increasing popular. This has been partly fuelled by the high price of existing property and partly as a result of the desire to build something unique and environmentally friendly.

Once you’ve decided that you want to build your own home then you need to familiarize yourself with the process.

Prep

The first step is locating the land that you wish to build on. It will need to have planning permission or you’ll need to be prepared to apply for it.

Before you apply it is important to be aware of the local planning rules and have a blueprint of your intended build drawn up. You’ll find it useful to enlist the help of an architect at this stage.

Of course you can choose to buy a home off plan but this may not give you the uniqueness you desire.

Finance

If you have enough capital to build your own property then that’s fantastic. All you have to do is create your budget and make sure you stay within it. Having said that it is a good idea to have a little in reserve; there are always good reasons why a project has gone over budget.

But, if you don’t have enough capital to finish the project you’ll need to consider getting construction finance. You’ll be expected to put down a 20% deposit and the funds will be released in stages. This keeps the risk at a minimum for both parties.

Get Staff

You have a choice, you can entrust the entire project to a builder or you can click here to find the best available trades people in your area.  This s a great option to keep your budget down and if you want to do some of the building yourself.

You can simply hire the people you need as and when you need them. They will take care of all the specialist parts of the building process while you concentrate on the construction.

Choose Materials

You can do this before the build or during but be aware that any material which is hard to get hold of could slow down your build.

While it is traditional to build with wood or brick you may prefer a more environmentally friendly route. Equally if this is your choice it may be necessary to confirm it’s acceptable with planning first.

Finishing Off

It’s your job to complete any section of the build you can and to supervise the trades people you have employed. You need to make sure they are all working on the time scales you have given and that they are performing all the right details of the job.

Ideally every trades person should know exactly what job they are being asked to do and how long they have to do it.

This will help to keep your build on time and in budget.

Once the shell is built you’ll have to start looking at the internal furnishings. This is when personal taste comes into play and you can easily blow the remainder of your budget without finishing the build; choose wisely.

Don’t forget you’ll need to have our property inspected and certified when it’s finished.

There’s a serious trend these days with people designing and building their own shipping container modular homes.

You don’t have to to look very far to see these trendy house designs all over social media platforms like Pinterest and Facebook.

Most people think the main appeal to building them is a the ease and speed of construction as well as the low building costs along with the fact they use sustainable materials, especially if you use second hand shipping containers for the main structure of the dwelling.

But there are actually several other benefits that are commonly overlooked that will not only benefit the homeowner but the planet and your bank balance too.

Shipping container houses can have extra bedrooms or sections added on easily

Most people who buy their first home start off small. They buy a place usually big enough for themselves, say you and a partner and then as the family starts to grow they need to sell and find a larger home. When your home is built out of containers adding new bedroom is easy.

The containers are built with steel sides and roofs and the steel can be cut out of any of the four walls or ceilings. This mean you can have additional containers placed next to the existing containers and all you need to do is cut holes where you want entry to be and you’ve just extended your house. Extending your house is not only limited to the putting the container next to each other on the ground but you can also stack them on each other. So adding more stories to your home can happen quickly as well.

It’s not uncommon for people to actually work on extending their homes themselves. This is because you don’t have to be skilled in many different trades you’re only going to be working with steel. We do recommend that anyone who does attempt to work with steel shipping container homes is wearing the correct safety equipment including welding work boots, hot work gear and and eye protection.

Containers can be arranged in almost shape you like

One of the main reason architects and homeowners are swinging more and more to the idea of building with containers is the fact that they can be arranged quickly in many different shapes. Shipping containers are like large lego blocks usually 40 ft long and have a square foot land coverage of 320 square feet per container. This mean that you can simply pick these up and arrange them which includes stacking them on top of each other too.

5-6 shipping containers equate to the size of an average dwelling. It’s common for houses made from containers to be substantially smaller in overall size but taller than most dwellings of the same internal square foot size. The reason that they can be built so much taller without going wider is because of the strength of the steel walls. This allows more imaginative designs in terms of height vs width and can give the occupant views from the second level even when building on a relatively small piece of flat land.

Container homes can be moved with ease

Really let this idea sink in for a second. If you liked the design of your shipping container home but no longer liked the area you could simply have your house picked up and moved.

That’s a huge advantage in terms of giving the homeowner ultimate freedom to live where they please.

Another upside to being able to move the design is you can sell the house without selling the land. This can be beneficial for both the buyer and the seller. Picture the idea if you’ve been living in your container design for the last few years and you think you’d like to upgrade to different size containers or a whole new design all together. You could simply put your current design up for sale and once you have a buyer then have it moved to the new location and then start working on your new house design.

Without a doubt working and living in shipping container homes is one of the most versatile and practical modern ways to design a home.

The possibilities when it comes to design are endless and the benefits extend long after the building is complete.   

One of the considerations when you are building a house or any building concerns the internal walls.  It is easy to forget that there are two main purposes for a wall – as a divider and as a load bearing wall.  So how do you know which is which and whether you should choose stud or solid walls for your self build?

Many times, self builders don’t think about how internal walls should be built.  If you have involved an architect or a designer, they will complete plans and you will follow them.  Often, they will suggest a system such as using timber frame or SIPs (structural insulated panels).  This will mean taking the package on offer from the company you are using to source materials and simply putting them in place.

But is it worth giving the topic more consideration?

Is a wall loadbearing?

There are two simple categories of walls inside a property – loadbearing and non-loadbearing.  Visually it is often difficult to tell the difference between the two but from a structural viewpoint, there is a big difference.

Loadbearing walls are the support system for the roof, for a floor above, a beam or even another wall.  This means it needs to be much stronger than a non-loadbearing wall.  It also needs the right support under it, usually in the form of a foundation trench.

When you are building a new build property, structural issues will be handled during the design stage of the process and this means that there isn’t too much to worry about when actually doing the self-build.  But during renovation projects, the subject is even more important because you have to be aware of the purpose of a wall before you remove it.

For example, you need to know if a wall is load bearing:

• If it is, you will need another means of support in place of the wall and this often means having a professional building survey done to see what options are available
• If it isn’t, then you can remove it as you want without any additional work

Image: https://www.homebuilding.co.uk/internal-walls-stud-or-solid/

Stud or solid

The other big question surrounding the walls of a house is the way that they are constructed.  There are a number of ways these can be made.  For example, in block built homes, it is common for blockwork to be used for load bearing walls and timber studwork to be used for other walls.  So, you might have blockwork walls on the downstairs of the home and timber studwork upstairs, especially if the roof is constructed with trusses that transfer the weight to the side walls of the house.

Studwork can also be used for some load-bearing walls.  In timber-framed homes and buildings, for instance, timber stud walls are used for everything.  And studwork doesn’t have to be timber – some builders use steel channels because they are lightweight and quick to put into place as well as being ideal for partition walls which aren’t loadbearing.

Blockwork is a more straightforward option for loadbearing walls than studwork which requires more effort and often the use of doubling up of uprights.  However, there is a downside of using blockwork – it is much heavier, and this means you need support at the floor level to ensure it can handle this weight.  

This often means extra work is required.  This might mean adding foundations or beams to make the floor strong enough to support the blockwork wall.  Or there may be a reinforced flooring system used to ensure it can handle the weight.  It may be that the design is simply switched to studwork instead because the work cannot be done on the floor.

Soundproofing walls

As well as being strong and loadbearing, blockwork is popular for internal walls for another reason – it offers good soundproofing.

Soundproofing levels between the rooms of a house come under the Building Regulations – Part E2 in Wales and England and Part 5.2 in Scotland.  These both call for a minimum sound reduction of 40 decibels between rooms – but in reality, this isn’t too hard to achieve with most of the main construction methods.

Blockwork will achieve this naturally, but studwork does require a little help to get there.  This is normally done by packing it with acoustically enhanced wool insulation and finishing it with 15mm or acoustic grade plasterboard on the walls.  This ensures it meets the standard, but you can add a second layer of plasterboard if required.

Cost is a consideration when building a house.  Studwork is cheaper than blockwork but does require extra spending to get the insulation levels.  However, even with this, it is usually cheaper.  Other steps can be taken to add to the soundproofing of a room including:

• Adding an acoustic door set (these are expensive but an option)
• Placing built in cupboards between rooms that you need to isolate
• Placing switches and sockets away from noise sensitive walls

En-suite bathrooms can also be a problem but are exempt from Part E.  However, it is often worth having their walls reach the same standard to ensure the insulation of the entire property.

Wall hangings

One final consideration is when it comes to adding wall hangingsand features such as radiators, basins and mirrors.  One way to deal with this is the addition of timber known as noggins that go between the vertical studwork and are able to carry weight.

Other options including using loadbearing wall boards at the plastering stage of the building.  These cost a lot more than normal plasterboards but allow heavy objects such as radiators to be fixed to them.  They also help with soundproofing the property.  You can also fix lighter loads such as pictures or wall hangings with the use of plasterboard wall plugs.

It can be a good idea to photograph studwork before it is covered to ensure you can easily located studs afterwards.  Some self-builders even record where studs are located but often a stud finder can be used – a special type of metal detector that can also pick up on nails and screws used to fix the boards in place.