Tag: budgets

HPH303 : What does it take to project manage your house build? – with David Arrenberg
David Arrenberg explains why he wanted to project manage his self build, what the work entailed and how much of his time it took.

Interview with David Arrenberg

Originally a civil engineer, David was just starting to get into project management in his job at Scottish Water when he started his self build. With the skills and training he acquired in this role, he wasn’t daunted by taking on the job of project managing his own self build.

Project Management is about being organised

David says that project management as a profession isn’t complicated: it’s just a case of being very organised and making sure that you know the order of things. In his professional capacity, he is used to working with programmes, understanding the need to allow for space in them, and appreciating what things might cost and what could cause delays. Compared to a big, multi-functional project at work, taking on the logistics of his house build seemed quite straight forward and just a case of breaking it down into its parts.

They didn’t have to search for land

David and his wife Jenny were fortunate in that the plot of land was available to them, even before they had a desire to build their house. It was owned by his aunty, and with his mum already living in a listed building there the opportunity was gifted to them to build in the woodland that surrounds it.

In the two years it took to transfer the title deeds over and arrange finance, David worked on clearing the site where the house was to be built and spent time getting ideas from magazines and the internet about the kind of house they might build.

Protecting the woodland was the main planning concern

During that time, David also worked through the rules that were relevant to getting planning permission. With Invergarry House being listed, they had to make sure that their plot was at least 150m away and also had to overcome issues of overlooking other houses. But of biggest concern to the planners was how to protect the woodland. David had to pay to employ a specialist arborist to oversee the whole project from start to finish, working out how to get a driveway through the woodland without damaging tree roots. He also put together a woodland maintenance plan for its future upkeep.

With those issues out of the way, and having appointed Kirsty Maguire as their architect, getting the design of the house approved was relatively straightforward.

They had a budget of £300,000 for the build

Working with Kirsty on what it might cost to build their Passivhaus, they worked on a basis of £1,700-£1,800 per square metre, which also incorporated a little extra for risk. Based on the planned area of their building, this gave them a predicted cost of £300,000. The final cost of the build actually came in at around £315,000 which included all fees and landscaping.

Being able to borrow against Jenny’s business and using savings meant they were able to avoid having to formally borrow money.

David brought in his own sub-contractors

Kirsty’s experience of Passivhaus was what drew them to her, and they had a good relationship working together, taking each other’s ideas on board. She took them through the outline and detailed planning stages and provided ad-hoc advice when required with minor issues and details on site.

Being local, David had many more contacts than their contractor Craigs Eco, so they had what they called an ‘open book policy’. This involved Craigs Eco providing a full Bill of Quantities breaking down every item, and within reason and where possible, they were happy for David to bring in his own sub-contractors and materials if he was able to get them cheaper. This did come with the risk that if he delayed another part of the works with his own sub-contractor then he would be liable for any additional costs incurred.

Many of the sub-contractors were family members or had connections with their family, but David ensured he only brought in people who he thought would be able to fit in with the Craigs Eco team.

Savings came through price negotiations, not sweat equity!

David was aware of the limitations of his own skills, so felt it was far better to save money by negotiating on prices, rather than tackling any of the trades himself!

The flexibility to be able to negotiate prices of materials himself, actually gave David big savings. Having been alarmed at the initial quote of £105,000 for the zinc cladding, David managed to eventually find a supplier who could provide it for £55,000.

Buoyed by how much he’d saved on this first item, he admits he became slightly addicted to going back and forth between suppliers to try and get the best prices. He says it was just a case of having the confidence to ask, and when it’s your own money then you find you have plenty of enthusiasm to ask for discounts! The results he says were massive savings, while also ensuring they didn’t forfeit quality.

It’s about keeping on top of things

Access arrangements were something that David had to keep on top of in his role managing the project. The approaching track is only three metres wide so they did have the issue of deliveries arriving 300m away, without any way of being able to get them down to the site. For a time they had a small forklift helping ferry things across, but there were other occasions when, even though he had provided the track dimensions, he’d worry that he had a big delivery arriving and was going to have to take it piece by piece on the roof of his car!

Although not directly involved in the construction, David felt able to help out by keeping the site tidy and clean, and by making sure that everyone was able to get in and out unhindered.

The quality of finishes suffered a little towards the end

In general, David was really impressed with the quality of work on-site, particularly from the joiners and the zinc contractors. The only problems with finishes came towards the end:

“It’s getting towards the end so maybe some of the money’s running out a little bit. And the main contractor, starting to eat into his potential profits if you get them to do too much for what they have agreed.”

David’s proof that it doesn’t have to be painful!

The start of the project was a lot less time-intensive for David than the construction stage, as much of it was about waiting around for other people to do things.

He says he can’t be quite sure how much time he spent working on it once the building work was underway as your enthusiasm takes over, but it was generally every night that he would be making calls and thinking things over. He estimates this was probably 20-30 hours per week, but it’s not something he found painful.

With David and Jenny being in their mid-30s, they felt their energy levels were a definite advantage in managing the project relatively stress-free.

Even with their first child being born as the foundations were being laid, and approaching her first birthday when they moved in, they didn’t find themselves being hindered by their change in circumstances at all.

You’re not on your own

There’s often a conception that project managing the build yourself means doing it alone, but David is quick to stress that’s not the case:
- Having a good architect is important, as they are able to help with the contracts with the builder.
- The contractors have also been through the process before so you’re not on your own there either.
- And as frustrating as the planning process can be, the council are able to provide assistance.
“Project management is the name for it but you don’t have to be a project manager. It’s just being organized. That’s all it is, trying to think of every element.”

Find out more

Visit the website of Kirsty Maguire Architect Ltd

Listen to our podcast with Kirsty: Progressing your house build plans before you have your land

Transcript

Download a transcript of the interview with David Arrenberg

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Subscribe, rate and review the podcast in iTunes

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May 12, 2021
HPH278 : A beginner’s guide to self build – with Geoff Stow

Having worked on his own hands-on group self build project, and site managed others, Geoff Stow shares his experience on where to start when it comes to self build.

Interview with Geoff Stow

Geoff’s involvement with self build started years ago when he worked with a community arts project in south London, making a video with a group of self builders who were promoting their scheme in Lewisham. So when Lewisham decided to do another scheme he put his name down, chairing and being part of a group of 13 that built their own houses on a Walter Segal project. From there, his involvement continued with working as a site manager for other group self build schemes, including the Hedgehog project in Brighton.

“My background isn’t as a builder really but I think in some ways that’s quite interesting because it’s actually coming at it as a novice. I’m sympathetic with people who are trying to get a scheme off the ground.”

Geoff also runs courses on timber frame self build, and self build project management at the Centre for Alternative Technology in Wales.

Hope Wharf

Hope Wharf

It’s likely to be harder than you’re expecting!

Geoff says he’s never met anyone who said they wished they hadn’t done it, but does stress that you should be prepared for a lot of hard work. He thinks there is actually very little in place to make things easier, with the majority of things at the beginning like planning and finding out how to connect services, being geared up to failing.

Whereas most people spend their time at the beginning sketching designs for a plot they don’t yet have, he recommends instead taking that time to research and understand the issues involved. That could be around planning, environmental issues, insulation, ventilation etc.

Take the opportunity to go to the exhibitions to grow your understanding and help you talk the same language as the experts, but bear in mind that a lot of it is sales focused.

Understand the issues around claiming back the VAT, and get yourself organised with a good accounting system so you can keep track of staying within budget.

Build your knowledge by checking out some of the self-build books around, like Mark Brinkley’s Homebuilder’s Bible. They’re worth reading for finding out about things like health and safety requirements, working out how you’re going to organise your project, whether you might be able to site manage it yourself, and understanding what the relevant issues around that might be.

Use your suppliers by asking for detailed information, and if they can’t provide it then don’t use them. Geoff gives the example of a window supplier, where you should be providing wall designs and asking what’s the best way of fitting them.

Have a sensible budget

Keep in mind that things rarely come in under budget or ahead of schedule, so have a sensible budget that is based on real costings, not just how much you’d like to spend or how much other people have spent. Be wary of the figures that people quote when they say their house cost X amount per square metre, as you never quite know what has been included and what has been omitted.

Budget high for all of the initial stages. Things like the foundations, services and access roads can have plenty of unknowns and it’s much easier to price up more accurately for the above ground works. Add on a good contingency once you get quotes in as this should free up money later on.

In addition to budgeting for the overall cost of the build, if you’re using a self build mortgage you will need to consider your cash flow. They work by releasing money once a stage is finished, so although you might have enough money in total, you might find the project grinding to a halt if you do not have it available at the right times.

Finding land will probably mean making compromises

Geoff’s key piece of advice for finding land is to be flexible, as there’s not that much of it around. He thinks it best to spend time in the area where you’re looking as quite often word of mouth can be helpful.

Take the time to understand your site

Geoff estimates that, depending on your skill base and level of organisation, around a year is a good length of time to spend on your research. As part of this he recommends spending time on your site and understanding how to place the house so you can get the best out of it. This will include things like orientation, window placement and learning how the sun falls on the site at different times. During this period you can also be going to exhibitions and talks, doing courses, going on Passivhaus open days and speaking to other people that have built their own homes.

Focus on getting the fabric of the building right

Geoff says you’re never likely to hear someone say that they wish they’d put in cheaper windows or used less insulation! So concentrate on getting the insulation, windows, detailing of doors, heating systems etc right, and getting it to the best quality that you can afford. It doesn’t necessarily have to be the perfect house straight away, and you can always retrofit your dream kitchen or build a second stage later when finances allow.

Speak to other people for advice

Get as much information as you can from suppliers and manufacturers about their products and their detailing. Also speak to builders’ merchants who might be able to suggest alternative products that you might not have come across.

Geoff follows a couple of Facebook groups which he says, if you filter through a lot of the rubbish and sales pitches, can actually have really good information and experience that people are willing to share.

“There’s no right way of doing it…what there are is a lot of wrong ways!”

Geoff stresses that there is no right build system to use, and the method that you choose will be based on a lot of criteria. Whatever method you do choose, just make sure that it’s of the highest quality you can afford.

A lot of it will be down to personal preference, and whether you like timber, stone, brick etc.

Geoff’s preference is for timber frame, partly for the accuracy and speed which it affords. He personally would also avoid very innovative systems by very small companies as there can be a question of whether or not they can actually deliver.

Also consider what kind of products you want to be using. Some people might want high performance foam insulation, whereas others will want to go as natural as possible and use sheep’s wool or Warmcel type insulation.

“Whatever building method you go with, you just need to really understand what the issues and the criteria are. The good points and the bad points. And ignore what people say about their method being the best, it’s modern or it’s developed by NASA or something ridiculous. Just understand what the issues are with all of them and base it on real costs.”

Decide how much involvement you’re going to have

As a client there are options as to how involved you will be on the project, ranging from paying huge sums of money to a building company who will do everything for you, to getting hands-on and doing practically everything yourself.

Probably the biggest deciding factor is thinking about what skills you have, but not necessarily assuming that because you can do something yourself it will necessarily be quicker or cheaper.

“So, if a job that a skilled person can do quickly and well and you can do fairly well and take a long time over, that might mean that it’s longer before you move in and you’ve got more mortgage repayments, more insurance, if you’re renting a house then there’s the rent that you’re paying while you’re doing it. So, you might think you’re saving some money but actually, are you really?”

You might also find that by doing a job yourself and taking longer about it, you might be holding up the next trade that can’t come in and do their job until you’ve finished. Instead there might be jobs that you can do which won’t involve holding anyone else up, like prepping and putting up cladding for example.

When it comes to managing the project, you have the choice of paying someone else to do it, or doing it yourself. Obviously doing it yourself in theory should save you money, if done well, but consider whether you have the expertise to: keep things on track and on budget, get prices and employ subcontractors, nudge people when needed, make sure the work is being done to a high standard, check health and safety standards are being adhered to, keep neighbours on side etc.

Do it on the terms of what you can afford, what skills you have and what you want your level of involvement to be.

Being too fixated can be a common pitfall

Geoff sees people that might become completely fixated on building a straw house for example, when actually the site they have might not actually be ideally suited.

“It’s just understanding the issues around those sorts of things and not necessarily getting very fixated on one thing where you end up making your build really complicated because you’ve got this one fixed idea that you saw somewhere on television that you want.”

He also says that no matter what you do there will be people saying that you shouldn’t have done it that way. And maybe even you yourself will look back and think you might have done it differently, but just try to get as much right as you can based on the knowledge and research at the time.

People always say they want to be in by Christmas!

Geoff suggests when it comes to how long a project will take, that if you’re planning to do a lot of the work yourself then try and avoid it going over two winters, as the second is always particularly tough (especially so if you’re living in a caravan!) Realistically you could be looking at 12 to 18 months on site, but less than that if you have builders.

He also recommends trying to get as much finished as possible before moving in, even if that means throwing money at some good contractors to speed things up. Finishing off works once you’re living there is much harder to do and becomes less likely to ever get done.

To help keep on track with the budget and schedule, try not to make changes as you go along. You can make minor changes but you don’t want to be deciding to change window placement or move walls once work is on site.

Work with an architect who is on your wavelength

Keep a scrapbook of ideas and images that you like and can show to a designer or architect, and make sure you work with someone who is going to design the sort of thing you want.

Although it’s not necessary to employ an architect, having a good one on board that is sympathetic to your ideas can elevate your plans and give you a wow factor, rather than simply being a series of rooms joined by a corridor.

Having an architect involved could just be paying someone for a simple check over your plans and offering advice, to a full package of designing the house, getting it through planning and building control, and seeing the whole project through to completion and sign-off at the end.

A key consideration in choosing who to work with is finding someone who is on your wavelength that you feel you can work with. Ask for proof that they really understand the issues that matter to you, as some might claim to be providing a sustainable and energy efficient building just because it complies with current building regulations.

Participants on a timber frame course

Find out more

Visit the website of the Centre for Alternative Technology

Join House Planning Help’s Facebook group

Transcript

Download a transcript of the interview with Geoff Stow.

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February 19, 2020
HPH109 : How project management helps your build – with Cesar Abeid
We’re exploring project management, what it all means and whether becoming a project manager of your house build is actually a good idea.

Interview with Cesar Abeid

Cesar Abeid is a project management professional, author and speaker. He hosts two podcasts – Project Management for the Masses and The Construction Industry Podcast, and has recently written a book called Project Management for You which talks through the step by step stages of bringing an idea to reality. Cesar claims to be a naturally disorganised person but found that the things he learnt from project management he was able to transfer into both his personal and professional life.

Based on the methodologies of the Project Management Insititute (PMI), Cesar offers a framework for you to take something complex, like building a house, and breaking it down into manageable parts, sequence the activities into schedules and make estimates for budgets and resources.

“It just basically takes a complex project like the building of a home and turns that project into a sequence of smaller parts.”

We’re going to be looking in depth at just a few of these principles and seeing how they can apply to tackling a self-build project.

The ‘composing phase’

Cesar would break this down into two parts – the design project and the actual build project.

For the design project you’re going to need to engage with stakeholders (business partner, team, husband / wife etc) and consider what the building will look like, what features it should have, and what you want the project to do. In the composing phase you may not have all the information right at the beginning but you need to define the project as best you can and arrive at a set of requirements. By brainstorming with your stakeholders you might be alerted to things you didn’t realise that you needed to know! The experts can help by asking the right questions which will guide you through the process of defining what it is you actually want.

By the end of the composing phase you can produce a single page ‘scope of work’ document. This document outlines what it is you want to do, the resources you have to work with, and perhaps even a rough idea of budget. At this stage you’re not thinking structurally or about how things are going to fit together.

The ‘decomposing phase’

This is when you can start thinking about how the project can be broken down into more manageable parts, and how those parts will fit together.

Cesar recommends breaking each element (such as roof, walls, insulation, foundations etc) down into a sequence of actions. That way you’re being locked into a way of doing things, instead of the thing itself. He suggests continuing to break these elements down until you reach a point where that one thing you need to deliver can either be done by you or handed over to someone, and that person can deliver that part in a period of time of between a day and two weeks, or a day and a week. It’s at that point that you’ve broken it down enough. If you take it to the point of that thing is only going to take a couple of hours, then you have probably broken it down too far. Likewise if you’re at the point where that element would take a month, then you’ve not broken it down far enough.

Example of the decomposing stage for the writing of Cesar’s book

The advantage of this method is you’re able to hand these work packages over to others who can then provide you with an estimate of their time and cost.

“You plan the work then you work the plan”.

Decision-making time

Once you have completed the decomposing stage you will have a rough idea of what’s going to be involved in terms of time and costs. At this point you’re able to make a decision about whether the house is going to be too big, too costly, take too long etc, and even whether you still wish to proceed. This isn’t a case of giving up due to being overwhelmed by the project, but is an informed and conscious decision that could only have been reached by working through the planning stage.

Defining Activities

When you have your work packages, you can take each one and determine what activities need to happen for that thing to be delivered. This might be a case for example of sitting down with a roofer and compiling a list of tasks that will be necessary to complete the work package.

By being broken down into work packages it strips away the complexity of how everything fits together and you can focus on those things that take about a day or a week to do. Working your way back up your chart (that has been divided and subdivided further into smaller parts) in this planning project, once these work packages are done then the levels above them will be done and the project will ultimately be complete.

Managing risk

You need to sit down with your team / stakeholders and come up with a list of risks which are potential issues that could arise in your project.

You can start by brainstorming and writing a long list of what could go wrong, before then trying to narrow it down by considering which ones are probable, and of these probable ones, which are the ones that are of the greatest importance and impact. You can come up with a contingency plan for what needs to be done if that risk did occur, and assign that risk to someone in your team to watch out for and flag up if they see it coming.

Delegating and team building

By going through the process of composing and decomposing it will become clear which tasks will need to be delegated, either because you do not have the expertise for them yourself or perhaps because your time could be better spent elsewhere.

This isn’t about handing over control, because as the project manager you have done all the planning and are overseeing this process. The information you receive back from your delegated tasks will provide you with what you need for costings and scheduling. If your roofer tells you it will take them ten days and they will be starting on a certain date, you can set yourself a reminder to check in with him around that time and ensure it’s progressing as planned.

“It gives you all these tools to not only know what to delegate but to delegate better and to also control and monitor it’s being done better as well.”

Estimating duration and cost

If you have your work packages you are able to add the information together to give you an idea of overall cost of the project.

Working out the duration can be more tricky because you will need to sequence your activities. Some of the activities can be worked on concurrently and some you can take a view on whether to for example bring more people into the team on certain elements to work your schedule more favourably and deliver your project earlier.

Communication and leadership

Cesar estimates that 90% of the job of a project manager is communication. He points out that the construction industry can be a particularly tense one with most projects being based on lowest bid mentality, and when things go wrong fingers get pointed. There can be other delicate topics that need to be addressed such as safety and regulations, so if you’re a good communicator it will work to your advantage.

Reviewing, managing change and lessons learned

Reviewing is a simplification of the monitoring / controlling aspect of project management. A number of project management tools can help with this, to compare how well your schedule of costs and time is marrying up with the progress being made and the invoices being received. If you are falling behind your schedule you will be able to make the objective decision based on what you know to be the critical elements of the project, of whether to throw more money in to speed things up.

Hire a professional!

Cesar admits that he probably wouldn’t project manage his own self-build.

“I think experience says a lot. If you hire a person and they’re able to do it faster, to do it cheaper, I find that it’s worth the investment.”

Particularly with a project such as building your own house which can be so specialised, time consuming and expensive, Cesar recommends hiring a project manager who has experience of the subject matter who can deal with any feelings of being overwhelmed so that you don’t have to! There is still the option to oversee that process or perhaps co-manage it with them, depending on what level of involvement you’re keen to retain. It might even be a case of just hiring a project manager as a consultant in terms of the planning stage, rather than the build, so that they can direct you towards the things you should be doing and looking out for.

Cesar suggests it is wise to “just work with someone that can provide you with this level of detail and planning so you can sleep at night and enjoy your new home when it’s done!”

As a special offer Cesar is offering a free audio version with any purchase of his book.

Find out more

Follow Cesar Abeid on Twitter

Check out Cesar Abeid’s website

Project Management for the Masses

Buy the book!

Transcript

Download a transcript of the interview with Cesar Abeid.

Dean and Hannah blog

Dean and Hannah are loyal listeners of the House Planning Help podcast and have been with us since Episode 1! They’re hoping to embark on their own self-build project and are writing a blog about their experiences. You can follow their progress.

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November 25, 2015
HPH101 : 5 Common Traits of Self-Builders – with Dr Michaela Benson from Goldsmiths
Following a recent exhibition of her research project, sociologist Michaela Benson talks us through the traits that self-builders commonly have.

Interview with Dr Michaela Benson

Michaela Benson is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Sociology at Goldsmiths, University of London. She has spent the last three years working on a research project called ‘Self-Building – The Production and Consumption of New Homes From the Perspective of Households’. She wanted to understand the diversity of the houses people build, their motivations for doing it and their experiences of the process. Her interviews with twenty individual self-builders and five group projects during that time have led her to notice characteristics that these people share. She explains five of them to us.

1. Having Two Different Skill Sets – Practical and Organisational

Michaela explains that this could be within one individual self-builder or shared within a couple where one person has the practical abilities and the other has the organisational skills. Many of the people in the study were engineers, while often they also had experience of managing other people too.

Self-awareness of their organisational skills was often a reason why people chose to project manage the process themselves, and to try and save money. Michaela stresses however that the size of this challenge shouldn’t be underestimated, as it’s not just about managing the budget, but also about having your procurement and tradespeople lined up at the right time. The times when this worked most successfully were when the self-builder already had experience of the construction process, usually from working in related professions.

2. Acquired Knowledge Through Previous Projects

In many cases, the self-builders had built up their knowledge by undertaking extensive renovations or extension projects. Michaela particularly noticed this in a number of the 50+ age group, who had worked their way up the housing ladder by taking on properties which had needed considerable work. “So they built up their property assets that way, but they’d also built up their practical experience of working on houses.”

From a sociological perspective it highlights the role that property assets play in self-build. Michaela states that it is very difficult to embark on the self-build process unless you already have significant property assets or savings, perhaps explaining why it can be more difficult for younger generations. She often came across people who, not through being unrealistic about their budget, had periods of financial difficulty throughout. This was more to do with having a cash flow available at the same time as being needed for procurement. “It’s to do with the fact that the cash flow on a project often requires more money at a point in time than you actually have in the bank at that moment, because of the draw downs on the mortgage.”

3. A Heightened Level of Involvement and Understanding of Their Project

Michaela explains that for many people there was a fascination in knowing exactly how things worked and proudly demonstrating it to others. Being so heavily involved in their build they would tend to have a keen attention to detail.

“It’s not just building a house, it’s actually a learning process that they’re engaging in.”

And for some, it was learning on a professional level that would assist in their careers. Michaela tells of one self-builder who was a planner wanting to become a consultant in energy-efficient buildings. For her the project was about building a house for herself, but also developing her professional identity and learning through her own experience so that she could help to advise others.

Many of the buildings operated at a high level of energy efficiency, with some motivated by a desire to be conscious about the planet, while for others it was more future proofing their house against higher energy bills.

4. High Levels of Determination and Motivation

A lot of the people in the research project were very highly motivated. And they needed to be! Without their constant pushing to drive their builds forward they wouldn’t get to the end. Michaela explains that even with sufficient time and funds the process can be extremely challenging and demotivating, and a lot of emotional support is required.

Michaela feels that something a lot of people underestimated in their self-builds was the importance of managing social relationships, within families and also with the management of people coming onto the site.

“You can understand if you’re building your own house you’re building your home, you’re highly invested in that and when a series of little things go wrong it’s quite painful.”

The custom-build sector can offer some of the support by taking away many of those people management jobs from the self-builder. Michaela explains that some of the people working in that sector have experience of community projects so have had to learn to maintain relationships with the wider community in the past.

5. A Keenness to Trace Back The Routes of Their Skills and Ambitions

Michaela explains that often people would trace back the desire to build their own house stemming from having an interest since childhood, whether that be through building Lego or Meccano houses, or drawing their dream home.

Also she would hear people describe how they learned practical skills from their family members while growing up, bringing them to the point where eventually they would self-build. In both cases, they were very clear that their interest in self-building related back to something.

The Process can Taint the Outcome

Some of the people in the research had been exhausted by their self-build experience and felt that moving in was an anti-climax. While being pleased with their house they had been unhappy with elements of the process. Some talked of having decision-making fatigue. Generally they were building houses that they were happy to live in, though perhaps because of their involvement and in-depth knowledge of the projects they sometimes came across with negativity about some aspects.

“But overall I think that people are quite positive about the houses, if not the experience.”

Find Out More

Follow Dr Michaela Benson on Twitter

Read Dr Michaela Benson’s Blog

Transcript

Download a transcript of the interview with Dr Michaela Benson.

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September 30, 2015
Google+ Hangout Schedule for 2014
Our debate sessions are back for 2014 and we want YOU to be part of them.

We experimented with Google+ Hangouts last year and it turned out to be a great way to discuss some of the issues surrounding building a house or renovating an existing property. It was also an opportunity to see how approaches vary around the world and to share the best information.

Here’s an example of what it looks like (in case you’re not familiar with the concept of Google+ Hangouts):

Topics for 2014

1. What makes an aesthetically beautiful house? (Saturday, February 22 at 12.30pm GMT)

2. Why are more people not retrofitting (or weatherizing) their homes? (Friday, March 14 at 8.00pm GMT)

3. Getting value for money when buying land (Wednesday, April 2 at 8.00pm GMT+1)

4. Should my house be off-grid? (Saturday, April 26 at 5.00pm GMT+1)

5. Passivhaus principles or Passivhaus standard? (Friday, May 23 at 8.00pm GMT+1)

6. Getting a house through planning (Monday, June 30 at 8.00pm GMT+1)

7. Is the cohousing movement significant to self-builders? (Saturday, July 26 at 1.00pm GMT+1)

8. How is the internet changing house building? (Wednesday, August 20 at 8.00pm GMT+1)

9. How can you stick to your budget? (Sunday, September 28 at 7.00pm GMT+1)

10. Uniting the team on your build (Monday, October 20 at 8.30pm GMT+1)

11. Do I need renewables on my project? (Saturday, November 15 at 12.30pm GMT)

12. Self build advice from those that have been there done it (Friday, December 5 at 8.00pm GMT)

Although we’re booking some of the guests for each Google+ Hangout, we will leave the other half open to any of the House Planning Help community. On the whole we’ll also aim to have an even mix of a couple of self-builders and a couple of construction industry professionals.

You Need
- A computer with a webcam and access to the internet (preferably a high speed or fibre connection).
- To have a Google+ account (but this only takes a few minutes to set up if you don’t have one).
- Opinions! You don’t have to be an expert but you do have to be passionate about building a house (even if you are just beginning your journey).
Ideally you will also have an external mic to plug into your computer so the sound quality is as good as possible. We recommend the ATR2100 but the price does really vary according to which country you’re in.

Get Involved

If you would like to take part, please email us stating which event you would like to attend.

While we can’t guarantee that we can include you on a specific hangout, hopefully we can accommodate you in a future event.
February 6, 2014