How would you fancy moving 35 times in 39 years of marriage, self-building or renovating 12 houses as you went?
That’s the record notched up by DIY expert David Snell, author of the self-build bible Building Your Own Home and The Telegraph’s new House Doctor columnist. He tells the paper today that his chief aim will be discouraging keen but not necessarily experienced DIYers from jumping in at the deep end when they should be calling in professional help.
The interview offers some great insights for anyone interested in self-build or property development:
House Doctor: David Snell’s DIY career
Despite having planned and supervised the construction of a dozen new homes, David is very much not the brawny-armed, drill-wielding DIY type.
“Self-build isn’t about laying the bricks yourself, it’s about managing the people who are doing it for you,” he insists. “When it comes to quality of finish, there’s a world of difference between a job done by a professional and a job done by an amateur.
Make a mess of it and you can seriously devalue your home.” Read the full story here.
He’ll be appearing in the paper regularly to answer readers’ questions – submit yours by following the link above.
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