The Self-Build Guide Next Steps: 4. Pre-start checklist

Now you have secured finance for your self-build, selected your project team and worked out timescales for your self-build project, it’s time to run through your pre-start checklist.

There is a lot of paperwork involved and if you are managing the project yourself, you need to be sure you have completed every step.

Preparation for Planning and Building Regulations

Do you have all the right drawings and do the drawings for Building Regulations match the ones for Planning? It’s very important that everything, such as boundary distances and heights, are the same. This avoids falling foul of regulations further down the line, when rectifying mistakes can be expensive and time-consuming.

Once you have planning permission in place, as a self-builder you need to make sure you fill in the paperwork for Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) exemption.

Make sure your Building Regulations plans and SAP assessment have been submitted and approved.

If your planning permission involves any planning conditions, they need to be cleared if needs be before construction commences. These could be things like supplying details of manufacturers for particular materials.

Are there any specific Planning-lead Building Regulation issues you need to be aware of?

Building Control

Building Control helps keep building standards quality high by ensuring that building work complies with the building regulations, a set of standards intended to protect people’s safety, health and welfare in and around built environments. Have you decided who you are using for Building Control? You will need to make an application before you start work.

If you are going down the replacement building route, check whether you need to submit a demolition notice to Building Control.

Health & Safety

You need to let the Health & Safety Executive know that you are starting on your construction project. Any project that is going to take more than 30 days is notifiable.

Warranty and insurance

Remember to make sure you have a structural warranty for your new home and, as soon as you have exchanged contracts on your building plot, you need to make sure you have insurance. You can get a comprehensive policy that’s tailor made for self builders. It will cover you for public liability, building works, employer’s liability and personal accident.

Services to site

Don’t forget that you will need to bring services to your site via the relevant suppliers. This may require a wayleave if you need to get access to private land or digging on public road. Either way, you will need electricity or gas eventually, and a water supply as soon as construction starts.

A place to live

Unless you are one of the minority who can stay in your current home while your self-build project is under construction, you will need to arrange for a place to stay for the duration of the build. Be realistic about how long this might take, particularly if you are renting accommodation.Contractors and materials

If you are managing the project yourself, you need to issue invitations to tender and select your main contractor and trades.

Remember to make sure that your products and materials are ordered correctly so the lead in times work for your schedule.

Budget for self-build

Right from the start, keep track of what you are spending to stick to your budget. If you are managing the whole process yourself, remember you will need to allow for costs of an architect’s drawings, legal fees, insurance and full build costs. It’s wise to have a contingency budget of around 20% in case you come across any unforeseen issues.

Turnkey package

There’s a lot to think about, long before construction starts. Our fixed fee, turnkey self-build package includes our completion on your behalf of all these preliminary planning requirements, regulations warranties and complete build costs.

Our architects provide planning drawings which we can submit alongside all the other supporting documents for planning. Once planning permission has been secured, we can work with you to make sure all the conditions are satisfied. We prepare all the pre-start documentation too. This includes drawings for building regulations, structural calculations and energy assessments. We can also register your new home with the NHBC and the appropriate local authority too.

Talk to us to find out how we can help you turn your self-build dreams into reality.