Welcome to the latest self build news, ideas and opinions from Houseplansdirect.
Looking for the latest self build news, or just interested in what we’ve been up to in the last week? Check out our round up below.
Browse by topic: Planning Permission & Strategy | Self-Build Costs | Design & Layout | Process & Planning | Expert Insights
November 10, 2017
We probably all dream of living in a home that looks out over the water, either by the sea or by a lake, river or canal. In the UK we have extensive waterways to choose from so building a waterside home not an impossible dream. There are definite emotional and(...)
Read MoreOctober 20, 2017
What would you look for in your “forever” home? A survey of 2,00 homeowners has been carried out by Origin, window manufacturers, as to what type of home they would want to live in for the rest of their lives (Homebuilding and Renovating Magazine, November 2017) Perhaps not surprisingly, when(...)
Read MoreOctober 5, 2017
Reclaiming building materials can give your new self-build home a unique or personal touch and often goes down well with local planners. Here’s how to do it right. Photo: Jonathan Billinger Reclaiming building materials or furniture certainly isn’t for all of us but it is definitely an increasing pastime and(...)
Read MoreSeptember 26, 2017
Are we seeing a return to the days of multi-generational living in the UK? It gets more and more difficult these days for young people to leave their parents’ home and get themselves on the property ladder because of continued property inflation over the last couple of decades. At the(...)
Read MoreOctober 27, 2015
Use our New Home Specification templates to establish a good standard for materials and workmanship on your self build project. When building your own home, it’s not just the visible elements such as doors, windows and wall finishes that you need to consider. Setting and maintaining desired standards of workmanship from(...)
Read MoreOctober 13, 2015
Do you know what to look for when assessing a building plot? Here’s our guide to the things you need to consider. Your initial judgement of the plot should be as follows, and will allow you to dismiss unsuitable sites fairly quickly: Is the land suitable for my plans? Will(...)
Read MoreSeptember 23, 2015
Finding a building plot that suits your needs will be a decision that you want to get right from the outset. You need to take into account what you can reasonably afford, you need to assess whether any land available is suitable for your specific needs and you need to do(...)
Read MoreJuly 20, 2015
A UK self build market report has suggested the sector will double by 2018 as local councils do more to help those wishing to build their own home. A survey conducted by the National Custom & Self Build Association (NaCSBA) found that one in five councils had started a custom(...)
Read MoreApril 16, 2015
For many who aspire to one day build the house of their dreams, the actual financial side of things is a harsh reality that can wait until another day. But with developments in construction methods and a competitive labour market, it may not be as expensive as you think. So, how(...)
Read MoreMarch 17, 2015
The styles and finishes shown on our website are just examples – if you’ve found a house type that you like, here’s how you go about designing your own home. You may have noticed that our house plans now show the same home finished in several different ways, to give(...)
Read MoreAt Houseplansdirect, we are constantly involved in the latest developments in the self-build industry. We speak to local authorities, developers and suppliers on a daily basis. This gives us great insight into the challenges facing those wanting to build their own home.
This page collects all of our thoughts on what’s new in self-building. We look at the latest news to see how it might affect planning laws or funding. We’ll share opinions from industry leaders, and articles which may be of interest to anyone looking to build their own home. At the same time, we also keep you updated as to what’s been going on at our offices and any interesting or unusual projects we’ve been working on. There are also new designs constantly in the pipeline, so we introduce them here when they’re ready.
Not everyone is in a position to build their own home right now, of course. With this in mind, we also look at improving your current home, and how to go about it. Our team are happy to share tips and articles which may be of interest to our customers. We appreciate that the world of self build can be daunting but we hope we can make it easier to navigate!
Please let us know what you think of our news and blog posts. We are always interested in feedback from visitors. If there’s a subject you’d like us to look at, email admin@houseplansdirect.co.uk or send us a message via our Contact Us page. Thanks for reading this far down the page and we hope to hear from you soon!
