[8] 3 early errors that can wreck your budget
Every change you make after breaking ground carries a price tag. The Glass-House started with loose plans and open-ended ambitions, but each early uncertainty multiplied into cost, delay, and design drift. For self-builders, the lesson is simple, lock in your big-ticket choices before the first trench goes in, or be prepared to pay the “evolving design tax.”
[7] 14 lessons from a city straw-bale house
If you’d like to understand the Philosophy behind these Grand Reviews you can read it here. Case Study Snapshot In the late 1990s, architects Sarah Wigglesworth and Jeremy Till transformed a disused Islington workshop into a large live–work home right beside a mainline railway. The house combined experimental systems: straw-bale walls for the bedroom wing, […]
[6] 5 hard lessons from a 44% overspend
If you only take one thing from this case: staged lending and loose costings can sink even the most determined self-builders. Gavin and Jane’s chapel shows what happens when an old building is renovated while the finance sequencing goes sideways. The lesson is not to fear conversions, but to over-prepare for cashflow gaps and hidden issues.
[5] Eco-house on a tight budget
This Suffolk build set out to prove that a warm, low-energy family home can be made from lightweight timber I-beams on pad foundations with solar hot water and on-site waste treatment. The real risk was not the eco kit, it was cashflow. Planning went to committee after reed-bed objections, funding got bumpy when employment changed, and the family lived on site in two caravans while they pushed on. If only one thing carries forward, ring-fence a finish fund early so the last stretch does not ruin the project.
[4] The Water Tower: How New is Quicker than Old
A decommissioned water tower in Amersham becomes a family home by pairing a clear planning story with commercial-grade construction. The case hinges on arguing liveability to unlock permission in the Green Belt, then using Beco ICF walls, a concrete-slab roof and curtain walling to deliver speed, insulation and a low visual profile within the landscape.
[3] Segal co-op lessons: sweat equity without burnout
The cooperative build in Brighton showed an impressive display of collaboration, as friends and families joined forces to construct their dream homes and escaping social housing. With unconventional build methods and a focus on sustainability, it served as a remarkable example of communal self-building, inspiring in its shared vision and determination.
[2] Oak frames and confidence: how experience changes the risk profile of a self-build
Denys and Marjorie Randolph embark on their second self-build project after being inspired by a television programme about Oak-Framed Buildings.
Proving that age is just a number when it comes to following your dreams this review picks out the best bits of the build.
[1] Timber frame playbook: why deadlines bend quality and budget
On a hillside North West of the town of Newhaven in East Sussex, Tim Cox and Julia Brock purchased an old dilapidated property and were granted planning permission to knock it down and erect a new 3-bedroom building within the existing envelope.
The Hero’s Journey – Reframing Yourself as the Protagonist
Find your “self-build why?” by using The Heros Journey.
7 Levels To Get To Your Why
Find your “self-build why?” by asking Why.