Anyone built their own house?

[Asleeponasunbeam]

Not literally, we don't have any construction skills, but would project manage it ourselves.

I'd just like to hear of resources, forums, workshops, exhibitions etc that have been helpful to people.

We're at the thinking/ waiting for a plot phase right now. Our starting point has been visiting nearby self builds and just beginning to talk to people.

We demolished an old cottage and self-built a 4 bed 3 storey house. We lived in a 10ft by 26 ft mobile home on the site for 3 years - hell.

I agree with most of the above but would stress be on site everyday to check what is going on and to help with deliveries. We are in a rural area with a low railway bridge up the road so every order was accompanied by delivery instructions and contact phone numbers. I also learned to stop/direct traffic to assist lorries - always waved acknowledgement to drivers

We we very hands on, I spent weeks cleaning old bricks and every afternoon at 4pm I cleaned out the cement mixer so the brickies could continue working on the building.

The shows are useful for contacts for certain items. I can recommend a guttering company, heat pump firm, timber windows and roof tiles. Please PM me for details.

I will not bore you with the hassles we had dealing with the utilities. Never mind the expense!

We have ended up with a high quality build in a conservation area and we have got the house we wanted. I have given up watching Grand Designs as it is so contrived and far from reality.

Please PM me if I can help

Renovated one, built the one we live in now and am in the process of building 5 more.

It's a huge learning curve and as someone said up thread you do need to have planned for every detail before you start building. Don't underestimate the amount of time it takes to manage a build and remember that every time you divert from a spec it costs ££. Word of mouth recommendation is usually best.

It is amazing to build your own house though

Oh, yes and if you have to bring water/sewerage/electricity to the site do it early - utility companies are horrendously slow and inefficient!

Yes, also went to Ideal home show in london and got nothing out of it!
It was very stressful, we built too big but with an emphasis on energy efficient (super insulation, heat-recovery ventilation system, solar panels) which have all been great. We went against Sarah Beeney's consistent advice to know who you are building for and built with an eye on re-sale when we should have focused on us and our needs.
Our house is lovely but I would build again (in the garden if I could!) only smaller and even more energy efficient this time.