House build - what do you wish you had done (or are really pleased that you did do!)?

[Oinkmooquack]

Hello,

We are planning to buy a shell of a house and we have never done anything more than paint a bathroom... Basically I would love to know what you wished you'd done if you've built or renovated a house, or what you're really glad you did. Hoping it will help us with ideas as we need to get building quickly so not too much time to ponder and watch 25 eps of Grand Designs!
Thanks

Ah, then you may not like my reply much which is - lots of pondering!

Basically, spend as much time there as you can now. Get a feel for the way the light falls on the interior, which way the prevailing wind blows, whether the house will fit the type of decor you currently like, or whether it might 'force' you to think differently.

In terms of the practical - spend money on professionals where serious skills are required (electrics/plumbing/damp/plastering type jobs) and save on ones that, while still time consuming for an amateur, aren't terribly difficult (basically the 'cosmetics' - getting a good finish when painting, fitting the kitchen, updating light sockets etc).

Also, when considering how much for professional vs DIY, remember to include the time cost.

When hiring builders, only hire those you are comfortable discussing possible issues with, or, more likely, comfortable asking questions of. As important is they have to be able to raise possible issues with what you're asking to be done - a 'yes man' is no use.

Never assume - even the best builder doesn't know what's in your head - write things down so everyone is clear on what's want.

Finally - have fun - it really is one of the best roller-coasters you'll ever go on!

Much more mundane suggestions from me :)

Outside power points! So handy.

water underfloor heating throughout. we installed pipes ourselves and got plumber in to connect. much nicer than rads

I used to be a design journalist and judged quite a famous annual award and it was always strange things that the finalists were really pleased they had done: central vacuum cleaning was very popular; eco measures such as heat exchanges but also tons of insulation, getting the windows absolutely right.

I would second thinking it through as much as you possibly can, buy a ton of magazines - a job lot second hand ones on ebay would be a good investment. The most successful houses I saw were always the ones where the owners had thought through the details and worked out what was really important to them rather than just done the obvious. Very clever storage always impressed me. Good luck.

Oh thank you so much! Great tips. Keep them coming :)

We have underfloor heating, a super efficient boiler, tonnes of insulation, triple glazed window and a heat exchanger. They keep us really warm and costs us very little to heat a big 4 bed house.

I really wish we had the space to fit a few more eco items in like ground souce heating/wastewater collection.

I love the look and layout of my house. Achieved after months of obsessionally drawing, re drawing, watching GD, looking at magazines. Plus it is our 2nd self build and I am house obsessed.

However, what I am disappointed with is that although the house looks great outside and in and flows well. I didn't maximise the outlook from within. If some windows were in different places, slightly bigger etc they would capture a better view.

Previewing the outlook is not always practical umless you can climb up a ladder in the middle of nowhere.

• more insulation than you ever think you will want / need
• good sound insulation in all internal stud walls
• natural light in every room
• underfloor heating so all walls free
• anything you can to make it cheaper to run in years to come - solar thermal, PV, rainwater harvesting, greywater harvesting (both the latter easy to incorporate at the building stage)
• think about how people will move from room to room esp if you like entertaining
• think about how the sun will shine into rooms right through the seasons from winter to summer solstice so vertical and horizontal changes

I always make copies of the house plans and doodle ideas on them until I'm happy with the outcome - outdoor electrics and even built in outdoor kitchens can be fun - but also working out exactly where you want your furniture to go - can allow the electrics to be placed correctly ! so plan plan plan !! everywhere - as most rooms have a knock on effect on the next - this is something that you really need to think about and if you can't imagine in 3D then have the plans CAD into rooms you can see - even simple CAD like on Sarah Beeneys telly programme can make you see the space better ! or try 'interior designer for iPad ' it's about £8 and it's easy to use ! or if all of this is too much, consider hiring in done in to help !

hiring in * someone to help

We only built half a house (mahoosive extension)
But be ready to adapt.
The wall that all the main steels were due to sit on turned out to be crumbly rubble when opened up so we had to swiftly insert a pillar strong enough to support the upstairs - before the existing part of the house collapsed
( by swift I mean 48 hours from opening the wall up to getting building control to sign the amended plans to laying the blocks )

Have a boot room for Wellies, coats, wet dogs etc

We just did up our house for the past year and there are plenty of things we are happy with and plenty which we would have done differently in hindsight. We did it on a budget though and were under time pressure as we lived in the house whilst most renovations were taking place.
Ok, one big regret: we did not knock down the wall between kitchen and dining room. We did not even think about it as there was another wall to knock down to an old lean-to which already made the kitchen quite big. But now we keep thinking how nice it would be if we had just gone all the way to convert it to a kitchen diner.
Then we are still not 100% happy with the position of the boiler (the decisions you have to take...). It's in the kitchen right by the patio door. I wish it had its own room but i think this would be asking for too much. But worth considering your options in case you need to make this sort of decision.
Things we are happy with:
Knocking down the wall between loo and bathroom to create a spacious bathroom.
2 outside taps on the patio, one hot one cold. Brilliant idea, thanks to our plumber!
Our new windows. I never thought i would love PVC windows so much (replaced ugly old aluminium frames, the original ones had long gone). We researched them and found a brilliant upmarket German brand (Rehau) and made sure we researched lots of suppliers as the price differences can be vast.
Try to find the best tradespeople you can afford. We found this amazing guy to sand and varnish our floorboards. He absolutely loves his work, does a brilliant job and his prices were still reasonable. Trawl local forums for recommendations!
I could think of plenty more things. Have fun with the work!

Imme.
Great idea about the hot and cold tap outside.
I'm nicking that one!

Watching with interest

If you are not happy with how something has been done, push and push until it is perfect, however much you think you are annoying the builder. I didn't, and have been left with crap finishes. My friend is far more assertive and hers is perfect!

If you can afford someone to oversee the whole project, it is worth it. It is easy to make snap decisions on which light switch or tap to have, but if someone pulls it all together, the finish will be much better. Again, we didn't and I got bogged down with millions of small decisions, instead of looking at the whole package.

Will keep thinking...

imme
you are right about walls.
We did take the wall down - we reckoned each of those steels cost us an extra £10k all up - but by golly it was worth it.
In my kitchen/diner the old kitchen wall would have ended at the left corner of the island (in the picture).

Hot tap outdoors - hmmm jealous!

Brilliant! Really appreciate these ideas...my oh will love idea of outside kitchen! Even if we'll only use it twice a year ;)

Try to establish a relationship with your builder early on ie make it plain you want to be treated like a customer as that is the hardest part of my build ..... I tell builder, he has question and comes back to dh, dh asks me and then dh relays to builder. Really dh has taken on the role of a human puppet in all this .... :(

And the week they trashed my work clothes EVERY SINGLE tradesman waited an extra week for their money. Only once did they try to go to DH to contradict me. I kicked the chap who did it off site.