I was exhibiting recently at the Home-building & Renovating Show at Sandown Park and met many potential Self-Builders. There seemed to be a common theme which was “what does a Project Manager actually do, how do I know that I need one, and how can I justify the cost?” Now, the majority of people considering embarking on a project; be it a complete house build,refurb/extend/conversion, using building contractor or sub-contractors, have this underlying feeling that they can man

So you have decided the scope of works, found the builder at the right cost and are going to protect yourself by placing him under contract. In theory, this is all going in the right direction, but there are banana skins that you need to consider. If you have specified everything completely, and are asking builder for a turn-key operation where he supplies everything, then to be fair the process should be reasonably straight forward. It’s just a case of using the correct cont

So you know what you are building, how much it will cost, and to a large extent how you are going to build it. What about “how long will it take”? The next logical task is to create a programme of works, and if you are employing a main contractor, whether under contract or not, such a document is imperative. If going down the main contractor route, by and large it is the responsibility of the builder to submit an agreeable programme, which forms part of the contract documents

It is many peoples dream; to either build your own home or to change the one you have, but there is so much to learn and understand, “so where do I start”, I hear you cry. I have written two books and compiled an ever evolving Ebook store on the subject, all to be found in my Ebook store, so below are a few snippets to help you on your way. 1.Planning permission and finding the right Architect The important aspect for you before deciding on the best architect is to first unde