A short glossary of commonly used terms in self-building

Break ground
To begin work on a building project; a common term used in self-building.

Blockwork
A wall built from blocks, widely used by self-builders and in the home-building industry.

Brownfield land
A piece of land that has been previously used or become vacant or contaminated.

Cavity
The gap between the external and internal walls of a house, often filled with insulating material such as expanded polystyrene.

Completion certificate
A certificate issued by the local authority after the final visit by the building inspector, confirming that a structure/self-build home complies with building regulations.

Completion notice
A certificate issued by the architect to authorise a payment to a main contractor, which establishes the value of retention money to be held over a defects period.

Contaminated land
Land with a history of having toxic substances, chemical waste or manufacturing by-products contained in the soil structure.

Contracts Works Insurance
Protects against losses through theft, vandalism, structural damage, fire, flood, storm damage, damage by delivery vehicles, etc.

Conveyancing
The legal process involved in buying and/or selling land or self-build plots, or property.

Custom build
Self-build homes supported by a developer to an individual’s specifications.

Employer's Liability Insurance
This is a legal requirement if you are employing anyone. This can also be a factor if any sub-contractor working for you has an accident on site where your duty to provide a safe working site could be called into question.

Foundations
This is what sits under the building to evenly transfer the weight of the building to the earth.

Fabric first
A way of lowering the home’s energy consumption by careful consideration of the design and construction of a building.

Greenfield land
Undeveloped land in city or rural areas.

Joist
A beam that supports a ceiling or floor.

Landscaping
The planning and designing of outdoor spaces.

Main services
If you have purchased a plot of land that is not already connected for mains services like electricity, gas and water, you will need to budget for these to be provided. These charges can be considerable, but it depends on the distance to nearest services.

Planning permission
Authority granted by the local council for land to be developed or additions made to an existing property, usually with certain conditions attached.

Planning fees
Fees for drawings and plans prepared by architects or other professionals.

Public Liability Insurance
This covers legal liability for claims made by any other person or body in respect of death, injury or loss arising from your building operations.

Renewables
Technology that generates energy such as wind turbines and photovoltaics.

Snagging
The final touches to any build such as touching up paintwork and adjusting appliances.

Strip foundation
A shallow, concrete filled trench to support a building.

Topographic survey
An inspection made by a qualified surveyor to gather a detailed scaled plan of the natural and man-made features of the land.

Structural Warranty
An insurance policy designed to protect against defects in new buildings, normally for a period of 10-years after completion. Whilst a structural warranty is purchased by the builder before construction starts, it protects the homeowner from structural damage that may occur during the first 10-years after it has been completed.

Valuation fees
Mortgage lenders will conduct a survey and valuation of your land for their own records and, even though they charge you for this you will normally find that this valuation is not passed on to you. You may therefore also wish to have an independent valuation carried out by a professional surveyor for your own use and purposes.

U-value
A way of measuring how thermally conductive a component (wall, glass, or roof) is. It is the rate at which heat travels through. The lower the U-value, the better it is.