Mr and Mrs Williams - New Self Build home Near Newbury
Mr and Mrs Williams have moved house several times over the years, and eventually grew tired of all the housing estates looking the same. They decided to create a house of their own, one that would be different to anything they could buy on the existing property market.
They found a plot in East Ilsley, near Newbury whilst visiting the village, and snapped it up in early 2006. Although their plot came with outline planning permission, the William’s had to wait a total of 14 months to get their plans approved by the local planning authority.
Building work started in March 2007 and as soon as the National Self Build & Renovation Centre in Swindon opened, Mr & Mrs Williams paid a visit. It was at the Centre that the couple were introduced to the BuildStore TradeCard, which enabled them to take advantage of exclusive offers and discounts with some of the top manufacturers, suppliers and merchants.
The couple spent around £25,000 with their TradeCard, at Bath Store, Jewsons and Carpet Right, and saved themselves around 40%. Mrs Williams commented: “Having access to trade prices certainly made a difference to our project – we saved a lot of money, and still got great service, and the products we wanted.”
As a project planner by trade, Mr Williams devised a proper project plan, which he split each section of the build into a manageable work package. This helped Mr Williams manage his overall budget, and the purchase of materials, and worked brilliantly alongside BuildStore’s stage-release Accelerator mortgage.
Mr Williams has thoroughly enjoyed the challenge, and is pleased with his new house, which is designed around his family’s lifestyle. He adds: “I thoroughly enjoyed managing our self build project, and was very impressed with the level support I got from BuildStore. The TradeCard was very useful, and the service and choice of quality of products was excellent. Of course, we saved money, around £10,000 in fact, but the advice and guidance we received from the TradeCard team and the suppliers was invaluable.
After buying the materials and talking to BuildStore about my project, I was inspired to do some of the work myself; I learned some new skills, by assisting with the groundwork’s, electrical work, drainage and landscaping. When I began to see the bricks going up and the roof going on, that’s when it really started looking like a house, and for me, that was the highlight of the project.”
| Plot Cost: | £100k |
| Build Costs: | £150k |
| Length of project: | 12 Months |
| Estimated value of property? | £400k |
- Why did you decide to self build or renovate?
Mr Williams and his wife have moved house several times always staying in housing estates which he found all the same he really wanted to do something different. - What were the first steps you took?
Visited the Home Building & Renovating Show at Shepton Mallet and subscribed to PlotSearch. At the time of visiting Mr & Mrs Williams were seriously considering the idea of self build. They then commenced their search in for their perfect plot in East Ilsley, Newbury. - What stage are you currently at in your project?
Second Fix - How did you find your plot of land or property to renovate?
PlotSearch featured a few plots in the area they were looking in. However they saw another plot on their travels, which was the one they ended up purchasing - How did you find this process?
Planning was the most difficult, needed to learn how to play the planning game. Plot came with OPP, took a total of 14 months form start to finish. When the groundwork’s was due to start, his builder died suddenly. Mr Williams then employed his workers directly and has managed the whole project. - Did your plot / original building include any interesting features?
No not really, they were looking for a project which had level ground which they purchased. - Who managed the build, and how did that work out?
Mr Williams has been managing the project. He has thoroughly enjoyed the project as it is different from his normal working life. He found that some of the building trade are very much backward in their approach to modern day building, for example plumbers would not touch anything that was not to do with their trade. Mr Williams has found this one of the most frustrating parts of the build
Mr Williams also found that finding decent tradesmen are hard to come by. He found an excellent bricklayer however he had to put him up in as local B&B whilst he carried out the works - Did you do any of the work yourself?
Mr Williams did what he could but has learned a lot during the process, he has assisted with the groundwork’s, electrical, drainage and landscaping. - How did you manage the “money” side of things?
Mr Williams is a project planner to trade; therefore he completed a proper project plan where he broke each section of the build into a work package, this helped with the overall budget. BuildStore’s accelerator mortgage - Did you stick to your budget?
Yes in most areas however some have gone over budget and some have come in under budget. - What were the highlights/difficulties you faced
When you see the brick and the roof going on and when it really started looking like a house that is the highlight of the project.
One thing that the books don’t tell you is that speak to your neighbours from really early on and can cause you issues with planning etc. All Mr Williams neighbours have been very supportive apart from one. The other problem was his main builder passing away suddenly but these are things that happen and no matter how much planning you can plan for unforeseen things. - What lessons did you learn, and are there any little nuggets of information that you could pass on to other self builders/renovators?
Read and understand the NHBC manual as this not an easy manual to understand and when it comes to inspections you must know your stuff
With regards to builders ensure you know how ‘good’ they are, don’t be afraid to specify someone to come back from your main contractor as you know they did the last job well. - How would you sum up your self build / renovation experience?
Thoroughly enjoyed the change of lifestyle. Would definitely consider doing another self build project and Mr Williams has learned a lot throughout the process and feels a great sense of achievement. Using Tradecard he has found Wolsley to extremely helpful and patient.
