Self-build: what kind of house could I build for £1m?

[ProfessionalPirate]

DH and I have always dreamed of doing a self-build, and a plot has come onto the market that has got us interested. It already has a very run-down bungalow on it, so we’d be looking at knocking that down and starting again.

After land purchase our build budget would be around £1m. But I’m struggling to work out if that would be enough to build the sort of house we want. We’ve contacted an architect who we’ve worked with before for his opinion, but I know it’s going to be a difficult question to answer without actually going through the planning process and talking to a QS! So I’m wondering if anyone here who has been involved in a self build recently could share their experience with me?

Our minimum requirements would be 5 bed, 3 bath, dressing room. Large kitchen/diner/living. Separate sitting room. Playroom. Office. Plus landscaping / driveway. We favour fairly traditional- looking stone houses with modern touches. In the north of England, in case that makes a difference.

For a build that has a decent budget like this PLUS he has worked with you on the past… he will make the 90 minute journey I reckon

The issue will be his availability

Yes I’ve been through major renos before where I’ve blown the budget on everything top spec and the costs have spiralled, realise I definitely won’t be able to do that again. I’m more savvy now and would be happy with ‘medium spec’ but not really cheap stuff. I know that’s still a bit vague though. Definitely an option to leave some bits for a later date while we save.

Yes there’s no harm in asking at least. I’d be happy to wait for the right team, we wouldn’t be in a massive rush. And from previous experience I’m expecting the planning process would take a loooong time

I had to wait 10 months for my builder
worth it though

I can’t understand then why you don’t have loads of contacts to pull in and get a professional view point then. You must have quite extensive experience if you’ve worked on multiple including an office build

Will you be allowed the type of new build you want on a small holding? There are usually all kinds of restrictions on such sites especially if there are existing agricultural buildings

My experience of the professionals I’ve dealt with is that they are very reluctant to talk costs when it’s still at the ideas stage. Architects in particular - we’ve on several occasions asked architects to draw up plans with a specific budget, only to discover that they were way out when it went to QS. I wanted to get some real-life experience from people that have been through the process. The office build has been a good learning experience, but as you can imagine the internal fit-out etc has been very different from anything we would do on a domestic building. And that’s where a fear our budget may fall a bit short.

We did self build. Visit the Potton centre in Cambridge. They have loads of advice

We live in a border oak cottage in suffolk. Look at their website - they design and build oak framed houses from cottages up to manor houses/farm houses. They were featured on grand designs about 25 years ago.

https://www.borderoak.com/

There are barns on-site - in fact it’s the site of the barns rather than the house that we would want to develop. DH has looked into applying for class Q which we understand would be an easier route to then getting replacement planning permission for what we want to build.

I’m not talking costs
I’m talking feasibility, access, foundations, difficulty of build

There was one of these on Grand Designs & it was erected in four-and-a-half days! Kevin McCloud was very effusive about it.

Because once you have an idea of above.. it will make estimating costs a lot easier

German Kit houses are worth checking out
www.hanse-haus.de/en/prefabricated-houses/haus/villa-142/

Oh yes we can get someone to look at that. I’m not expecting any major barriers as it’s basically a farm with good road access, good land, no neighbours etc. but obviously will need a professional opinion. I guess I’m trying to gauge whether what we want to build is possible on our budget, even if all the variables go in our favour. If it’s definitely a pipe dream, then I don’t want to waste time and money on it. Or maybe I can at least modify my expectations of the type of house we could build.

has the existing property been lived in? Ie is there water? Sewage? Electricity? Etc?

quite simply Op… we can’t give you an idea. Even a vague vague estimate

Yes it’s not derelict. It’s being sold as a habitable house. I realise we’d have to factor moving utilities, although it’s not a huge move as the barns are adjacent to the house. I’m not looking for an estimate. I’m looking for examples of what people have built on a similar budget. Have you any to offer?

OP, people posting in the thread are genuinely giving you things to think about and consider. They are also asking you questions eg extra information that it would have been beneficial for you to have put in your post at the beginning. It may be you didn’t think was necessary or maybe you hadn’t considered. This is one of the most supportive threads I have read on MN for a while. It’s encouraging you to think about what’s required and what you want and you are now, for some reason, being defensive.

Nobody can give you direct examples, because there are too many unknowns about your proposal and plot.

No op
No one does
because it is so dependent on so much
You just want… this is what I got for a mil
bit that could be utterly meaningless to you on literally every level!
anyway I’ll leave you to it
i hope at least I have encouraged you to get a professional around

And you have done multiple major renos and an office block so you know better than most what a budget gets you

Thank you
exactly this

I appreciate that, and it has given me a lot of food for thought. But even my architect can’t give me an estimate at this stage and I’m not expecting one. In my experience, a lot of the unexpected variables in building come to light after breaking ground, and that’s what the contingency is for. I’ve been ‘shopping around’ on websites for houses that I love, obviously none of them ever have a budget attached to them! I imagine most of them are way out of our budget. I was just wondering if anyone had gone through it recently with a house spec similar to what we are hoping for. I have had a few replies to that effect, but most are from decades back and I know that building costs have sky-rocketed since then 😩

OP, I’m feeling that the lack of clarity and comprehension you have of what’s involved is suggesting this is too big a project for you. Too much of a dream. I’m not saying you can’t, Im saying I have no confidence you will pull this off on a tight budget.

I don’t know better than someone that has actually done a domestic house build recently to a similar spec to what we are looking at. Seems like there aren’t any of those on this thread (yet) though so not to worry. I was always going to get a professional around if it gets that far, I’m hardly going to buy a plot without doing so. But as I say, still just pondering at the moment while waiting to hear back from our architects.

Goodness. It may well be too much of a dream, but I’m sorry to hear I lack clarity and comprehension as well. The office build seemed to go ok. Although to be honest, there wasn’t much ‘pulling off’ involved on my part. I worked with an architect to design a new building with a set budget, plans were changed when QS said no (several times), architect then project-managed everything from there. Would a self-build domestic property be very different?