The A-to-Z of building a new home... D

D - DIY - Is DIY an option or is it better to call in a professional? DIY can take many different forms and is more commonly known of in the building industry as Self Build. If using the DIY/Self-build route you could potentially reduce your project costs by 25%. Building on a largely DIY basis, substituting a proportion of labour costs with DIY, and employing subcontractors to undertake the rest of the building work. You will be acting as project manager in place of a building contractor. You will be buying most of the materials, supplying tools and hiring plant scaffold etc where necessary. You will undertake some trades on a DIY basis like second fix joinery, plumbing and electrics, landscaping, general labouring, decorating, tiling and flooring laying to name a few. If using the DIY Project Manager route you could potentially reduce build costs by 20%. Building using subcontract labour with minimal DIY involvement but full DIY project management. You will take on the role of building contractor, hiring subcontract labour, supplying plant, machinery and tools, and most of the materials. And, lastly by using the Builder Plus Subcontractors route you could potentially reduce build costs by 10%. Building using a main contractor or package supplier to complete the structure to a weather tight stage, with the remaining work being undertaken by subcontractors. You take over from the contractor as DIY Project Manager from the weather tight shell stage, hiring subcontract labour as per the DIY Project Manager route outlined above through to completion. No matter which route you use you will need the time to do the work and the skills to see it through to the end.D - Design - 'Design is what links creativity and innovation. It shapes ideas to become practical and attractive propositions for users or customers. Design may be described as creativity deployed to a specific end.’ Quote from The Cox Review. Design in Architecture is the precise realization of a concept or idea into a configuration, drawing and/or model, which helps achieve the item's designated objective - ultimately a building! What is good design? How do you tell if a building is well designed? The best way is to see how many of these questions the building can answer satisfactorily...What effect will the building have on the environment?Does the building give more than was asked of it?Does the building meet the test of time?Does it delight and engage passers-by as well as users?Does it represent value for money?