If you’re planning on designing your own custom-build home, then you’ve probably considered a wide range of factors - from materials and costs, to suppliers and timeframes. But for eco-conscious individuals, building an environmentally friendly home is at the top of the list. In the UK, the best way to go green with your home is to build it yourself – allowing full control over a range of different factors and elements to make your house more ‘eco’.

Drawings are the first step taken towards making your construction project a reality - they're the foundation on which everything else is based. Naturally, if you have poor quality drawings it's going to result in an unsatisfactory final build.

There are several knock-on effects to consider when it comes to bad drawings.

Space can be limited in the average UK home. Whether it’s down to a growing family, your interior aspirations or simply catering for your tastes, a bigger house or property is the goal for many homeowners. But while moving into a pre-existing, larger property is a solution for some, for others leaving your first home – or ‘forever house’ – can be a challenge. That’s where extensions come in, providing an ideal way to expand your space while keeping all your comforts close to home.

When planning any build, it is important to maximise the use of available light. This needs to be an integral part of the planning process, taking into account the use and placement of windows, doors and skylights, alongside the design of the internal layout.

Are you looking for the perfect home? As BDS Architecture, we can make your dream your reality!

We are a small, local family business, and we’ve been transforming homes in the Derbyshire area for over 15 years!

We’re an all-inclusive home development company and we work with you from the very beginning to create and build your ideal home.

First established 20 years ago by Tim Foster, an experienced designer with a construction background, BDS Architecture employs a team of dedicated, expert architectural designers, and works with a wide network of planning teams, builders and surveyors - all aspects of your home development plan are covered by BDS!

Building your own home can be a satisfying and cost-effective way to get a foot on the property ladder in today's saturated market. However, it's not easy, and it's important to be thorough in everything from planning your home to building it. One such step will be creating working drawings for your new home; these are different from the original designs in that they contain much more information than a simple visual sketch. While traditionally working drawings were created by hand, today they are usually drawn using BIM (Building Information Modelling) software.

Planning permission is an essential consideration in a large percentage of self-builds. Generally speaking, there are two types of planning permission you'll encounter as a self-builder: outline and detailed. But what is the difference between outline and detailed planning permission? And which is best for you?

If you’ve made the exciting decision to build your own home, you will need to hire a contractor committed to delivering the results you desire. Indeed, once the working drawings and supporting plans have been completed and finalised, a contractor will need to be enlisted to carry out a high-quality construction job.

Planning permission is a requirement for anybody who intends to carry out developments or major improvements to existing structures. It is imperative that a self-build planning policy is watertight in order to gain planning permission prior to the commencement of any construction – however, the process can be confusing, particularly when different planning policy tiers are taken into account.

The planning stage is vital to any build project, and self-build home plans deserve serious consideration. By using self-build home plans UK property owners can solve potential issues before they even arise. Knowing the right questions to ask is essential to making sure your project runs smoothly. So, what do you need to know?