24 Nov 2016

Charlie Luxton offers some top tips for self-builders

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Charlie Luxton first opened his eyes to the world of architecture at the age of 13. After contemplating a career in sculpting, architecture took over and Charlie took off to the Royal College of Art to undertake his Masters degree. Here, Charlie explains where his passion for sustainability stemmed from and offers his top tips for self-builders.

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What do you believe is the biggest challenge for self-builders today?

Skills. The market is small, actually 10% for the UK and higher in Scotland and Wales. In England, approximately 5-7% of new houses are self-built. So, the biggest challenges are the planning system, talented skills, the fact the network is underdeveloped and land supply – which is probably the biggest challenge for self-builders. Everything is set up for large-scale house-building. Eight house-builders deliver 60% of UK houses, which isn’t healthy in my mind. There’s not enough competition and house-builders are too focused on land banking, planning and profit.

What did you learn during your time filming Building the Dream?

A lot about people’s amazing stamina, ambition and drive, and that ordinary people can do pretty extraordinary things. These people are normal people, not earning a packet, doing everything they can to build a home and they throw themselves into it with such energy, stamina and ability and I’m amazed; I’m constantly amazed. Building a building is really hard and they do it; they get a building.

What is the most outstanding example of a self-build that you have seen?

One that springs to mind is a cottage extension in Cornwall completed by a couple called Andrew and Vicky. Andrew did an amazing job, his extension was really well-built and was of a great quality. He then went on to build a project for us, Tara and Dimitris’ house. I designed the house and oversaw everything and Andrew built it beautifully, he did a really amazing job.

What advice would you offer those considering undertaking a self-build?

Budget, budget, budget – like location, location, location. Be realistic with your budget. Commonly, people do not give out the precise figures and sums for their self-build; they bend the truth slightly and don’t add in all costs. If you get stuck halfway through a self-build and run out of money, that’s absolutely the worst thing you can do – just don’t put yourself in that situation!

What do you believe has been the biggest innovation in the self-build market?

The Conservative Government will be launching a self-build register which will require the local councils to assess self-build demand in their area. This is the same level of protection they have for social and general housing. What the Conservative Government are doing – slowly, but it will gain momentum – is they’re now saying as a local council you will have to supply land for people to undertake self-builds. That will be the single biggest change in the self-build market in generations. So many people want to take on a self-build; if a survey was to be taken, 60%, or over 50%, of people would like to undertake a self-build project. This is because land gets snapped up by the big developers who get planning permission. We’ve made the bar so high to get planning permission, that the only people who can get it are those with very deep pockets and this will change the entire playing field.

What advice would you offer to those when hiring an architect?

Get a good one! If they cost more, pay the fees. Fees are some of the best money you’ll spend on a self-build and if they’re bad, it’s the worst money you could spend. Good architects, and there are some out there – but not as many as you’d hope – are really, really helpful and can bring an enormous amount to your project. My advice is to, one, be very careful about the one you select and, two, take your time; make sure you get along with the architect. Don’t go for the cheapest; all that means is less time will be spent on your self-build. You’re going to have rough and smooth roads; it’s not all plain sailing. Listen to what your architect has to say, work with them and talk to them.

What self-build projects are you working on currently?

A personal project of mine currently on the go is being used as a trial. I like to trial things out on my own project and, if it’s successful, use them on clients' projects. It’s a two-bed, ‘annexy’ house with all pre-cut timbers; so the timbers were delivered to site pre-cut and it was assembled on site, like giant Lego. It’s a wooden structure, covered in wood with wood fibre insulation and timber cladding and it was quite affordable, at around £1200 per square metre. We took the idea that you don’t have to fully prefabricate timber frame. In my opinion, sometimes it’s good. Every time you cut a piece of timber, it slows you down, whereas, factories have the software to maximise efficiency of cut – in around five to six days, two people can have the frame up.

Where do you think it’s important for self-builders not to make compromises?

Fabric; when we design buildings we use a ‘fabric-first’ approach. We try and get the floors, walls and roof as high-specification as possible in terms of sustainability, then everything else in the building can be compromised, because, over the years, things will change. A boiler’s life cycle is around 15 years, a bathroom is around 10 years and, lastly, the walls will last as long as the building is standing. You should prioritise the things that aren’t going to change and assign as much resources to these as possible.

Secondly, and this goes back to the architect, self-builders really need to think about thermal modelling. This is used prior to construction where self-builders can optimise and analyse the way their self-build will work thermally and to deal with overheating, which becomes a big problem with highly-insulated buildings. This way self-builders will know how their self-build will perform before it’s built and can adjust the design to benefit from natural sunlight as they need it.

Do you believe there is a ‘best’ building material for a self-build?

There is no right or wrong material to use and there are no right or wrong ways to use them. I tend to try and use non-VOC compounds. Try and use as much low-carbon, low-cement content concrete, these are really important, basic things everyone can do – try not to use exotic materials that may contain toxins.

People are often too focused on “what should I build from?” It all depends on the building and its location; nothing is right or wrong, it’s all about where you use it and that’s where an architect, project manager or builder will really help.

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