Grand Designs Handbook The Blueprint for Building Your Dream Home

Packed with tools and tips, this essential guide provides the instructions any aspiring self-builder needs to ensure that their vision becomes reality. Organized into three main sections—Thinking, Dreaming, and Doing—guidelines are provided that cover every aspect of the build, from finding a plot, obtaining planning permission, and commissioning and briefing architects and builders up through implementing the build itself. Structured around fundamental locations—urban, suburban, and rural—a host of successful projects are featured, including, a reinvented violin factory, a converted barn, and a glass pavilion on a beach. Suggestions for using green design and building techniques are also provided.