How to Save £10,000s on your Self Build Project

If you’re in the early stages of planning a self build project, you’re probably focused on one thing: finding and buying the ideal plot of land at the best price you can.

Creating your own home from scratch comes with many budgeting benefits, including the fact you won’t have to pay VAT on most of the materials and labour. Yet there are some fees and costs that first-timers, especially, may not be aware of – and which could have an impact on the success of your scheme.

Here, I’m highlighting some of the most significant hidden fees that can creep up on you before you’ve even got your home building project out of the ground.

When you’re hunting for land, you need to think about how suitable it is for the kind of house you want to build. You may well have a designer on board already who can help you make some top-level assessments; but at the very least  you should consider the general ground conditions.

1. Plot appraisal

Clay soils, trees (especially protected examples – see point three), sloping sites and the presence of any nearby mining/extraction activities could all add to the cost of groundworks and foundations, for instance.

Distance to services may also be a factor (generally, the further away the connection is the more you’ll need to pay; and in some circumstances it may  be better to switch to renewables).

That said, the figures will often still stack up in terms of overall plot and build cost versus the value of the finished house.

Digging trial pits and testing soil aren’t really jobs you can tackle yourself. The local building control officer may be able to give you a heads up on what you’re likely to find beneath the ground; but in some cases you will need to arrange a site investigation with a professional surveyor or engineer.

Plot appraisal cost implications

• Site survey: around £500-£700
• Trial holes dug by JCB: around £300 per day

2. Sloping sites

Self building on a plot with a steep gradient will always cost more than working with a flat piece of land, due to the need for deeper or specialist foundations and/or site levelling.

There are advantages to challenging plots, however: they can lead to distinctive architectural solutions, for instance, and finished homes often benefit from fantastic views.

One design feature that can work well for a sloping plot is to include a basement in your plans by building into the gradient. This may not represent a huge additional outlay compared to the cost of digging deeper foundations, and of course will increase the amount of living space.

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