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Build It is the UK’s no.1 self build, renovation & extension magazine. Head to www.self-build.co.uk for inspiring real-life projects & expert advice

Build It is packed full of inspiring case studies, build advice, cost and finance guidance, expert Q&As and planning tips. If you're planning to build your own home, renovate or convert an existing building, Build It magazine is essential reading!

28/11/2025

Congratulations to all of our 2025 Build It Award Winners! Here’s a roundup of this year’s Build It Award-winning projects, products & services (in order of announcement)…

(4/4)

• Best SIPs Home – JML SIPs (Baligrundle Croft House)
• Best Cladding or Roofing System or Product – CUPA PIZARRAS (Readyslate)
• Best Windows – Brookeswood Joinery (Heritage Flush Casement Window)
• Best Oak Frame Home – Westwind Oak (Wayside)
• Best Insulation Product – R-Wall (Insulating Concrete Formwork (ICF) System)
• Best Self Build or Renovation Project – Leonard & Yvonne Rose

Congratulations to all those shortlisted, and thank you to our headline sponsor, BuildStore, and our individual category sponsors:

• The Unico System
• IDSystems
• 21 Degrees
• Stovax & Gazco

28/11/2025

Congratulations to all of our 2025 Build It Award Winners! Here’s a roundup of this year’s Build It Award-winning projects, products & services (in order of announcement)…

(3/4)

• Best Architect for a Conversion or Renovation Project – Paul Archer Design (Hebron House)
• Best Heating Innovation – The Unico System (Unico 1218 SDHV)
• Best Staircase or Joinery Product – Handrail Creations (Continuous Curved Timber Handrails & Metal Balustrades)
• Best Plumbing or Drainage System or Product – Below Ground Solutions (Biorock - Ecorock 5010 Non-Powered Treatment Plant)

Congratulations to all those shortlisted, and thank you to our headline sponsor, BuildStore, and our individual category sponsors:

• The Unico System
• IDSystems
• 21 Degrees
• Stovax & Gazco

28/11/2025

Congratulations to all of our 2025 Build It Award Winners! Here’s a roundup of this year’s Build It Award-winning projects, products & services (in order of announcement)…

(2/4)

• Best Turnkey Home – Pelham Structures (Helegrene House)
• Best Home Technology Product or Installation – Airflow Developments (Adroit MVHR Range with Enthalpy Heat Exchanger)
• Best Heat Pump – Mixergy (iHP X Heat Pump Cylinder)
• Best Self Build Mortgage Lender – Mansfield Building Society
• Best Eco Home – ARCO2 Architecture (Curve House)

Congratulations to all those shortlisted, and thank you to our headline sponsor, BuildStore, and our individual category sponsors:

• The Unico System
• IDSystems
• 21 Degrees
• Stovax & Gazco

28/11/2025

Congratulations to all of our 2025 Build It Award Winners! Here’s a roundup of this year’s Build It Award-winning projects, products & services (in order of announcement)…

(1/4)

• Best Architect or Designer for a Self Build Project – Roderick James Architects (The Cabin)
• Best Timber Frame Home – Fleming Homes (Reul-Bhad)
• Best ICF Home – R-Wall with Westhaven Developments & ARCO2 (Ebron)
• Best Architect or Designer for an Extension Project – Studio BAD (Brockenhurst House)
• Best Glazed Doors – Origin Doors & Windows (OS29+ Sliding Door)
• Best Brick Home – Turner & Hoskins Architects (Kentish New House)
• Best Stove – Onyx (Athos & Olympus Woodburning Stoves)

Congratulations to all those shortlisted, and thank you to our headline sponsor, BuildStore, and our individual category sponsors:

• The Unico System
• IDSystems
• 21 Degrees
• Stovax & Gazco

28/11/2025

This evening is the Build It Awards 2025, where we celebrate the best of the self build industry – awarding homes, products and innovation. You can catch a live feed of the winners over on our X account – click here now to follow: https://x.com/BuildItMagazine

Tag us in your posts & stay tuned to find out who takes home this year’s trophies…

Congratulations to all of those shortlisted and thank you to our headline sponsor, buildstore.co.uk and our individual category sponsors:

• The Unico System - UK
• IDSystems
• 21 Degrees
• Stovax and Gazco

27/11/2025

From the floor up, every element of your bathroom design should be carefully considered to create a space that feels both functional and like a true sanctuary. The type of flooring you choose plays a key role in setting the tone and atmosphere, shaping the room’s feel and functionality. While there’s plenty of room for creativity in your floor selection, it’s equally important to weigh the factors that affect both comfort and aesthetics in your bathroom renovation or self build.

So, which bathroom flooring option will best suit your project goals and design preferences? Over on our website, Amandine Lefevre speak to the experts about the pros, cons and costs of the most popular options. Click here now to read more: https://ow.ly/qUXM50XuBmX

📷: This bathroom, designed by House Nine Design, features Chaunceys Timber Flooring’s 180mm wide, character grade Bristol Tectonic oak planks with a Dry Biscuit finish. Tile transition details create a seamless transition between the bedroom and bathroom zones. Photo: Robin Quarrelle

26/11/2025

Build It’s January 2026 issue hits the newsstands this week. This month, get inspired with some fantastic projects, including the extension and renovation of a former water mill in rural Aberdeenshire and the replacement of a 1960s bungalow with a contemporary two-storey property. Elsewhere, Scarlett Deamer shares a selection of amazing oak frame homes.

Our new build eco home special covers everything from windows and doors, renewable power, heating and ventilation and design. Get valuable advice from the experts on creating a more environmentally-conscious build and upgrading the performance of an older, solid-wall building with various insulation options. Plus. Architect Opinder Liddar shares his advice on creating a sensitive barn conversion that works for modern living.

Click here now to find out more about our January 2026 issue and subscribe to Build It magazine today: https://ow.ly/PIxp50XwMWk

📷: The Tonks is a stunning countryside home by Welsh Oak Frame. Photo: Nikhilesh Haval

26/11/2025

What makes a “good” building project? Answering that question led landscape architect Toby Diggens and his partner, Bella Lowes, to converting a derelict barn on a tight budget, as well as a change of career. “We had been planning to set up a design studio in Gloucestershire and were looking for a little plot of land to build on and grow plants for our landscape business,” says Toby.

But then, Bella’s parents bought a former farm in Devon and gave the couple the opportunity for both a home project and a change of direction. This new lifestyle would mean raising native breed cattle while restoring the native habitats and landscape.

It was already a tempting offer for Toby and Bella, but coming with the opportunity to convert a barn on the land into a tailor-made home clinched the deal for them. “We realised it was a sensible choice as it would save us the price of a plot elsewhere,” says Toby. They decided to run the conversion project under the Living Building Challenge – an international accreditation embracing a building’s wider setting and ecological impact. “It’s about innovation, not just hitting a standard,” explains Toby. “I loved the idea of doing more than ‘just enough,’ and it was great to tell assessors how we overcame individual problems. For example, our timber was non-FSC, as it came from our woodland.”

Click here to take a tour of this fantastic project and read the full story: https://ow.ly/CXNg50Xxowq

📷: Simon Burt

25/11/2025

If you’re considering building a house, it’s highly likely you’ve researched the options and the processes involved in some detail so that things progress as smoothly as can be expected. After all, this is probably the biggest investment you’ll make, so you want it all to work well.

To help you get it right, over on our website, self build expert Mike Hardwick has collated 10 things you should consider before you start work on your self build project – from working out the kind of home that’ll suit your plot, through to talking to neighbours and sorting out insurance and warranties.

Click here now to read: https://ow.ly/wnJg50XxoiG

📷: Jonathan Boyne and Karen Anders’ contemporary take on a barn was an absolute dream to build, thanks to a top team and plenty of planning. The couple worked with DP Architects to create a high-spec, modern home with sleek interior finishes. Photo: Mike Couch & Paul Craig

24/11/2025

Renovating an existing home can throw up a wide range of complex choices – not the least of which is getting your heating system right. If you’re taking on a major project, chances are you’ll be keen to make a significant upgrade here to keep your energy usage in check and reduce running costs.

Together with your heating engineer, you’ll need to decide on the best source of warmth (boiler or renewable, such as an air source heat pump), the distribution system and the optimum size of the equipment. Your choices may, however, be slightly constrained by the characteristics of the existing building.

So how can you unravel all of this? Over on our website, Nigel Griffiths reveals everything you need to know to achieve a setup that's good for both the environment and your budget. Click here now to find out more: https://ow.ly/eBtu50XtqMl

📷: On the hunt for a fixer upper, Build It reader Ian Turkington transformed a Victorian property in East London with a contemporary extension and sustainable upgrades. The house has been upgraded with recycled jute and carbon-negative natural h**p insulation, sourced from Ecological Building Systems. Photo: Whittaker Parsons

21/11/2025

Designed by OEB Architects for a South London Victorian property, this loft conversion’s staircase plays a central role in the interior architecture, marrying bold, modern aesthetics with the home’s historic context. The new roof level was constructed as a contemporary palazzo with the staircase acting as a sculptural bridge between the original structure and the newly created spaces. The flight curves gracefully between the two symmetrical, colonnaded bay windows, leading to a luxurious master suite. The clients, inspired by their memories of Italy, sought to create a home that blends classical beauty with modern functionality.

Looking for advice on loft conversion staircases? From Building Regs through to design options and costs, over on our website, Scarlett Deamer is speaking to the experts about what to consider when specifying the flight for your loft project. Click here now to read: https://ow.ly/80Lc50XsA3n

📷: Taran Wilkhu

20/11/2025

After self building a holiday home on the Isle of Wight, Murray and Lucy Humphries were looking for a new project in the countryside, opting for the conversion of a steel frame barn under Class Q permitted development rules. This offered the couple a blank canvas to create what they were after, plus having planning permission already approved was a huge positive.

Enjoying the freedom, energy efficiency and speedy construction time that comes with the timber frame route, the couple met with Frame Technologies and bought a structural package that took the house to insulated weathertight shell stage. It took just seven weeks for the building and roof structure to be up, ready for Murray to take over as project manager.

He used a spreadsheet to stay on top of spending. Having self built their holiday home, the couple had a reasonable idea of what to budget for this project, even though this was a much bigger house. “With build costs having gone up, I was out by about 20% – but I’d been warned and had factored in a contingency fund,” says Murray.

The house features floor-to-ceiling glazing across both storeys and bright rooms, including the airy open-plan centre of the home, which hosts the entrance with its wow factor staircase. For Murray, it’s the outdoor spaces that offer something extra special in this house. A sheltered patio below the cantilevered first floor is a pleasant place to sit outside, plus a pergola hosts an outside kitchen – great for entertaining.

Click here now to read more about this stunning project: https://ow.ly/YTAm50XtobQ

Words: Emily Batesmith 📷: Alistair Nicholls

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