How it all began

My husband and I bought a property in a small village in Cambridgeshire which contained a house and barn. Whilst living in the house we applied for planning permission to convert the barn (well - 2 storey coach house) into a dwelling. It was an ideal situation to be in it as it meant that we did not have to live in a caravan, which was lucky as we had a baby on the way!

We chose an architect to draw up some plans which fitted our requirements for the finished house ensuring that they were sympathetic to the original building. That sounds like a conversion rather than a new build I hear you say, well yes and no. The barn is still there however we extended it quite extensively and put up a brick outer skin around the existing walls because 1, the barn was not really big enough for a four bedroomed house and 2, the bricks weren't really that exciting to look at. I assure you that the heart of the original barn is still there though!

We were very impressed with our architect. He was based in Barnsley and has never seen the property, before or after the build. We chose him because he had drawn up plans for other family members (which included self-builds) and we had therefore seen evidence of his work. It is important that you like the architect's work and that you are confident that you are going to get what you want (outline planning permitting of course).

Since we had our plans drawn up I believe the local planners have changed and now prefer to deal with a local architect. I also understand that they like to deal with architects as opposed to the 'self-builders' directly (only heresay however as our build is now complete) . There is a great deal to be said for good working relationships between the planners, building control, contractors and architects etc. That is the advantage of using locals as they are likely to already have a working relationship established.

Once the plans (outline and building regulations) were approved we then set about finding the money, the insurance, the surveyor and the trades to carry out the work - definately not as easy as it sounds...

Tip- It is worth driving around and having a look at new builds/ conversions in progress as often there is a board displaying the trade's name outside. It also doesn't hurt to knock on a few doors and ask for recommendations - we discovered that most self-builders were more than happy to show you around their property and to recommend people. It also gives you ideas on styles for your build e.g. bricks, slates, windows etc. It is much easier to look at them in situ them on a board or photograph in a builder's merchants.