MISSION

Renewables

SELF BUILD

People who build their own homes are called self-builders. They buy a plot of land, make all the arrangements for a house to be built on it, and provide all the impetus to make it happen. Many use a builder to erect a shell and use sub-contractors to fit it out, limiting their own involvement to managing the job. Typically they make a saving of up to 25% against the market value of the finished property.

The type of self build we are interested in as a group is one where a collection of people band together to build a series of homes, with each person contributing their labour on each other's house build (many hands make light work) to cut even further the costs of building the house.

Self Build Facts
A recent report entitled "Self Help, the First World's hidden housing arm", shows that between 1980 and 1989, self help (which includes self build as well as renovation and rehabilitation of existing buildings) accounted for nearly 60% of housing provision in Belgium, West Germany, Austria, Italy and France with levels of 40% for Norway, Finland and Ireland.

The U.K is bottom of the list. In the UK last year, 16,000 people either built or managed the building of their own homes. This may sound like a lot but in fact it accounted for less than 10% of the total house provision in the country. Although this represents more than that built by any single house-building contractor, it is still less than the self builds provision in almost any other Western European Country.

When it does take place in the UK, the major proportion of this form of house provision is undertaken by those either with the resources to do so or with access to those resources. On average, they build at least four bedroom homes with a double garage. These are mainly people on middle incomes who already have a home of their own or could afford to raise a mortgage to buy one. They often use self-build to obtain a much better and larger house than the one they already own at less cost than would be possible through the normal market.

Can I do it ?
The concept of people building their own homes is an idea considered impossible by the majority of the people in the UK. Most people simply do not believe that it is possible for them to do so. This belief is reinforced by the demarcation of the various trades within the building industry and the conservative nature of financial institutions. However, like all problems there are solutions. There are many alternative methods of building a house besides the bricks and mortar approach most common in the UK. Adobe, Cob, Bamboo, Rammed Earth, Straw Bale, Thatch, Wattle & Daub and Wood are just some you may have heard about. Add to this concepts like living roofs and natural plaster finishes and you can begin to see just how individual a self-build can become. To see some of the most original homes on the planet, check the GALLERY section of this site.