Articles published in 2006

In my last two articles we have seen how government reports have been encouraging the building industry to move away from a reliance on contracts, and the litigious culture that ensues. Even the use of the word ‘contractor’ for ‘builder’ shows how embedded the contract culture has become in the construction industry. But the government is now encouraging long term partnering between clients and builders. Unfortunately this is irrelevant for selfbuilders, for whom their builds are one-offs. So contracts are still very relevant, but the attitude of mind of the selfbuilder is also important.

Last month we looked at a couple of Home Owner contracts published by the Joint Contracts Tribunal (JCT). Either of these could be used if you intend to engage a builder to build your house (ie, you will not be managing the build yourself). The simpler of the two contracts involves only a builder and a customer, but for people who want the guidance of a professional, the other contract also involves a ‘consultant’ to oversee the build.

The great majority of selfbuilds proceed harmoniously to completion. The builder may even remain on Christmas card terms for years to come. But alas, there are a few builders who are incompetent, irresponsible or downright dishonest, and they fail to deliver their side of the contract. So what should the selfbuilder do when the build seems to be going awry?

The practical expression of the Building Regulations is given by 14 Approved Documents, which range from Part A (Structure) to Part P (Electrical safety). If your house design conforms to all the Approved Documents then it will comply with the Regulations.

If your new home is being designed by an architect, then he/she will doubtless supply a SAP rating with the plans. Alternatively, you can get an official SAP rating based on house plans for £50+ from an accredited specialist. But if you are taking a hands-on approach to design, you may wish to produce your own SAP rating, especially if you want to try out ‘What if’ scenarios.

There was a lot of publicity over the summer about the need to conserve water, and there were hosepipe bans in southern England. Mains water is not an unlimited resource.

Now autumn is here, the time for getting in the harvest. But there is one harvest which we can get in all year round – rain. When you selfbuild you can take the opportunity to greatly reduce your future demand for mains water by installing a rainwater harvesting system.

1. Find a plot before it comes to market. Keep an eye on the outline planning applications made in you area and make early contact with the applicant if you are interested in the plot. You can view details of applications at the planning office or on the local authority’s website. 

Last month, we took an overview of the theory of contracts and saw that an informal contract reached verbally was just as binding as a printed one. When you project manage your own build and engage subbies yourself, an informal contract is usually sufficient, especially if the subbie has submitted a written quotation to be part of that informal contact. But if you are engaging a builder to build the whole house, then you may wish to use one of the pre-printed contracts that are available.

Last month I started to write about the JCT Minor Works Building Contract, a contract often put forward by architects when their clients want them to oversee the work of a builder. I had thought that one article would be sufficient, but there are so many points covered in the contract’s 36 pages that by the end of the article I had only reached halfway through the document. 

For selfbuilders, the big event of the year is the Homebuilding & Renovating Show held at the NEC in March. This year, the show was bigger than ever, and covered three halls. Some people find that there is too much to see in one day, and return for a second viewing. It is a four day event, and if you can, visit on the Thursday or Friday, rather than the crowded weekend. The show is the place to see the latest innovations and the trends, as well as the traditional products.

Last month, we looked at one of the Building Regulation’s Approved Documents, Part L, Conservation of Fuel and Power. This was updated in April, and now the only way to show compliance with Part L is through SAP2005. ‘SAP’ stands for Standard Assessment Procedure, which is a procedure for calculating a rating of the energy cost for a dwelling – SAP2005 is the latest version.

Selfbuilders are invariably at the forefront of innovation in housebuilding, and that applies to green building too. After all, Robert and Brenda Vale’s pioneering autonomous house, built in 1993, was a selfbuild in that it was for their own occupation – and since they were both architects, they designed it, too. Nowadays there is a wealth of information available for people who want to build green...For a fee (£120), they can also attend the association’s annual EcoBuilding Conference, which I would say is the highlight of the year for green building enthusiasts.

Selfbuilding is widespread in Ireland, both north and south. Every year there are more selfbuilds in Ireland (population 6 million) than in England, Scotland and Wales added together (population 58 million).