by: Murray Armor, David Snell
Topics include:
Book Description:
Each year thousands of people realise their dreams and build their own home. Written by the acknowledged expert in the self-build field, Building Your Own Home has for twenty-five years been the readers' essential reference, helping them through a minefield of conflicting advice and legislation. Building Your Own Home evaluates all the available choices. It helps you to find the right plot, choose the right design, make the right financial choices and shows you how to sort out the planning and other consents. It gives valuable information on how to go about building with either builders or subcontractors and illustrates this advice through real-life stories that highlight the experiences of self-builders.Packed with over 100 colour and black & white photographs, designs and plans, Building Your Own Home contains everything a self-builder needs to know and is the ideal companion to The Home Plans Book by the same author.
Each year thousands of people realise their dreams and build their own home. Written by the acknowledged expert in the self-build field, Building Your Own Home has for twenty-five years been the readers' essential reference, helping them through a minefield of conflicting advice and legislation. Building Your Own Home evaluates all the available choices. It helps you to find the right plot, choose the right design, make the right financial choices and shows you how to sort out the planning and other consents. It gives valuable information on how to go about building with either builders or subcontractors and illustrates this advice through real-life stories that highlight the experiences of self-builders. Packed with over 100 colour and black & white photographs, designs and plans, Building Your Own Home contains everything a self-builder needs to know and is the ideal companion to The Home Plans Book by the same author.
From the Publisher Of all the books currently in existence on homebuilding, Building Your Own Home has, for over 25 years, been widely regarded as the benchmark title for the self-build movement in the UK. It is now in its seventeenth edition and has been fully updated to include the latest developments in the self-build world. About the Author David Snell has been in the property and building industry for four decades. He first built his own home in 1971 and then met and worked with Murray Armor, the acknowledged expert within the self-build industry for over thirty years. Following Murray's death in 1998, David took over this mantle and has become well-known for his many articles on self-building and for his appearances on the seminar platforms at self-build shows, courses and exhibitions. He is contributing editor to Homebuilding & Renovating Magazine and is The Daily Telegraph's expert on their Saturday property clinic, Bricks & Mortar.
Reviews:
A must for any first time self builder: Anybody who is contemplating building their own house should read this first, there is a broad overview of the whole process and advise on many difficult decisions, it also answers many of the questions that whose (me) with no knowledge need answered. The book is easy to read and flows well from section to section, an index makes referring back simple, something you will want to do both as you read the book the first time and as reference afterwards. Probably the best book you can buy on the subject
Basic background (non-practical) book on building: ...It gives almost no practical advice on how to build your own home, which is in direct contradiction of the title. It gives case studies and details of how to organise and manage, but on a very superficial level .... a bit like the Blue Peter approach. i.e. here is one I did earlier .... tempting you with the finished product but giving no real help or ideas in how to achieve it. On almost every page Murray mentions how mush was saved by a particular self build, or cost per sq. ft ...... but if you think this book will help you achieve this you'll be disappointed. There are some sample plans which give ideas, and sample specifications and costings that helped bring out the details a bit. Maybe worth considering if you want a background book to see if you want to dip your toe into the self build game.
The definitive manual for the aspirant self-builder: Certain fields of endeavour seem to have a book that is "the definitive guide." This appears to be the one for self-building in the UK. Now in the sixteenth edition, the book covers everything from finding, evaluating and buying a site through all the aspects of designing a house, dealing with planning and building regulations and managing the project. It is written in a wonderfully clear style and is larded with real case studies illustrated with diagrams and colour photographs. It is also full of useful contacts and references to other sources of information. I would also recommend this book to anyone who is building a large extension.
Self build project here I come! I have just received the book this morning and am already tucking in to a feast of delights (?!) about planning, design and finance and so much more. The style of writing is simple, easy to grasp and very friendly. I feel as though I'm actually talking to the writer personally. Not yet 30 and organising my first selfbuild project I have wondered about the sanity of it all, but now I feel armed with knowledge and experience will come soon enough when the project gets started. If a book can create such an impression after less than 2 hours of its possession, then it has to be good in my view! In fact I'd recommend it as essential reading if you're planning to build your own home (and I've not yet finished the book). Happy building to all you self-builders out there...