ANDY STEVENS
Andy is an award-winning builder (www. eclipseproperty consultants.co.uk), broadcaster, and host of building podcast Build:It.
We all love saving money, and you can save a significant amount on your build by thinking outside the box. There are many ways to keep your spending down; many of them involve shopping around and being savvy about what you buy, but without a doubt, the first thing you should concentrate on is saving materials at the demolition stage. Waste disposal costs like skips and grab lorries can run into the thousands. By planning to repurpose as much ‘waste’ as possible you can save money twice over: once on getting it taken away, and again on the materials you would otherwise have to buy in. You don’t even always have to repurpose materials; you can often save money on your build by simply reusing them. You can sell them, too. A simple check online to see the value of something or a chat with one of your trades could pay dividends.