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~ Our Professional Services ~
No two clients are alike;
nor are any two projects ever the same!
We are always mindful
that our role is to use our particular 'expertise' to help our clients
achieve whatever outcome they want for the proposed project or
development. Whether you have just found a possible 'plot', have a
few ideas of what you want to build or already have full planning
permission and/or Building Regulations/Warranty granted; whether you
want to build some/all of the house yourself or simply want to
sub-contract everything; as 'Hands-ON' self-building professionals with
fifteen successful projects of our own ~ we have been there and done it, so you're in
safe hands!
1 :
Planning Options & Development Feasibility ~
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2 :
Detailed Planning Applications ~
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Probably the least
understood but most important aspect of any self-build project
or housing development. Get this part wrong and it will
have huge repercussions on your proposals; financially and/or
physically! Planning considerations and the site itself
WILL directly affect every aspect of
what you intend building AND impact upon
both the construction costs and the 'open-market' value of the
finished house(s)! Getting this part right is the
essential first step towards ensuring you have a successful
project or development and that is the only option that we
consider to be acceptable!
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Whether there is a
valid 'Outline Planning Permission' in existence awaiting the
'Approval of Reserved Matters'; an existing 'Detailed Planning
Permission' that doesn't meet your requirements or no planning
permission at all; 'Full Planning Permission' is required
before any work can legally start on site. You may
also require a separate 'Demolition Permission' if the project
or development involves the removal of an existing building.
If you don't have, or seemingly can't get, full planning
permission to build the house or development that you want to
build; it is something that we will happily undertake for you!
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3 : Building Regulations/Warranty
Applications ~ Details
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4 : 'Bespoke' Structural
Timber-Frame Design ~
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In theory; you
don't have to submit a full set of plans or wait until you receive an 'approval' before you
can start work on site; however, apart from small scale projects,
most Building Control authorities will insist on seeing detailed
plans and drawings so that they know what to expect! It is
also very comforting to have an approved set of drawings to work
from! Of course; it is impossible nowadays to receive an
unconditional "approval" based upon the submitted drawings; as
always, it is the building itself that has to comply with the
statutory requirements and these days that includes several
areas that can only be approved after inspection and/or
testing on-site has proved actual compliance!
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It is always amazing
to see how
much unnecessary timber gets built into the typical timber-frame house; timber
wasted that simply isn't needed! The 'root' of the problem is
the dependence of most timber-frame design-work upon standard
'industrial' design programmes which try to cover every
eventuality irrespective of the actual needs and location of the
houses. There seems to be a cosy presumption that as
long as customers carry on paying the 'inflated costs'; nobody
need
bother to actually design any individual house.
Unfortunately; such
attitudes can more than double the cost of the
timber-frame for the customer by the time it is erected and
weather-tight on-site!
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5 : Framing Layouts & Erection
Specifications ~ Details
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6 : Bespoke 'Self-Assembly' Timber-Frame
'Kits' ~ Details
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Historically; over
200,000 'DIY'; i.e. 'Hands-ON' Self-Built; timber-frame houses get
built every year in the USA alone; another 2,000,000+
houses get built by framing sub-contractors and commercial house-builders!
Even in Canada; the vast majority of timber-frame houses get
built on-site, despite the severity of the protracted winter
weather. It isn't just the attraction of building
high-quality houses much more cheaply than can be achieved by
using a 'flat-pack'
package-kit; it's also the sheer speed and simplicity of
the work involved. NO technical
knowledge is required; NO practical experience
is needed ~ just a set of 'Framing Layout Drawings' and the
'Nailing Details' that empower building workers, 'DIY'
enthusiasts, etc. to do a 'professional job' of building a house
quickly and cheaply. Insulation and 'airtightness' can
match or better anything 'SIPS' can do too!
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One of the
perceived attractions of using proprietary products such as
'packaged-kit' houses or 'SIPS' built houses is that it only
involves choosing the 'house' design; everything else is then
done for you! Unfortunately; it isn't without huge
(up-front)
financial risk, nor is it ever cheap! That probably
wouldn't matter too much if the end-product was actually
superior in performance and/or quality or if the alternatives
were even more expensive. In fact; they are significantly
cheaper and can easily match or exceed the performance of 'SIPS'
and 'packaged-kits'. Our unique service combines the huge
potential to save money with the convenience of just choosing
your design and sitting back; AND
there is NO financial risk involved
whatsoever! (Competitive 'net trade price' quotations are
obtained for materials to be supplied and delivered by Builders
or Timber Merchants; usually with the option of using extended credit
facilities too!)
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7 : Service Installations ~
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8 :
Practical Training ~
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'Services' can be a
very substantial part of the entire construction budget and yet;
whilst great efforts are often made to detail the construction
of a house to the 'n'th degree; a 'blank cheque' approach often
gets
used for 'services' with 'specialist' sub-contractors provided
with little more
than a 'layout' drawing indicating 'positions' and a generic
'specification'; i.e. the design of services is
left to 'commercial interests' with little or no means of
controlling and/or checking the quoted installation costs! As 'Hands-ON' self-builders with a background which
includes working as chartered quantity surveyors; we are very
aware of how profitable such arrangements can be for the
'specialist sub-contractors' ~ even worse; we also know
that when houses are properly designed, much of the need
for such expensive service installations just simply disappears!
It's yet another area where our services can save clients many times
more than the cost in fees!
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What price can
you put on the ignorance of 'experts'?
We have lost count of the number of times over the decades that
we have seen so-called 'experts' advocating evening classes in
bricklaying, plastering, etc. as the best preparation for
anybody thinking of undertaking a 'DIY' self-build. Then
there are all the featured self-build projects in the magazines,
'Grand Designs' type programmes, etc. where the clients have been
physically 'labouring' on-site in an effort to save money.
Fortunately; we have always managed to avoid such stupidity
ourselves
otherwise we would never have tackled another 'self-build'
project nor advocated it to anybody else; let alone undertaken the other fourteen that we have done over the
years! Huge sums can be saved by tackling some or most of
the work yourself; but it isn't achieved by doing what all those
clueless armchair 'experts' advocate or by busting a 'gut'
working as a labourer! When, like us, you have actually
been there and physically built your own home using an
efficient, sensible & pragmatic approach towards doing things; it is immediately
obvious that most so-called 'experts' have never done so
and haven't got a clue how to!
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THE NEXT STEP?
Irrespective of
what point you have reached; whether you are ready to start
planning your project or housing development; or want to move things
forward onto the next stage; we are happy to discuss your proposals with
you. If you have 'sketched out' ideas, formal plans, existing
'DPP' drawings, etc.; please post or e-mail copies to us together with
your contact details, as it is always extremely useful to be able to see
your proposals before discussing your project or housing
development with you!
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Our Guiding Philosophy ~
To appreciate what our clients want and to provide an unique
response that will create great 'added value' for them.
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