As well as the opportunity to try out products and materials in person, Build It Live will bring you free clinics, each designed to help you make a success of your project. Each one is led by an expert in their field, so you can quiz them and find the answers to your burning questions. Drop by any time to have a chat!
Our Heating Advice Clinic is there to help you decide on the best heating system for your home. Do gas boilers still make sense? Are heat pumps low-carbon? Can woodburning stoves be eco friendly? Get the answers to all these questions and more.
Building a basement is a cost-effective way to create high-quality space without eating up prized garden space – not to mention beat the planners. Yet it’s all-too-often overlooked in the UK. Head to our Basement Advice Clinic for impartial advice on what you need to know to successfully build, extend or convert a basement.
If you love your current home, but want to add more space, then an extension might be the right route for you. When executed properly, extensions can add thousands to your property’s worth. However, sometimes obtaining planning permission for your extension can be tricky. Visit the Extensions Clinic at the show for professional one to one advice!
Book an appointment to discuss your project with one of our qualified estimators, to better understand how much it will cost to build the home of your dreams. They can also talk you through Build It’s Estimating Service, whereby your house plans will be converted into an accurate estimate of labour and materials, even down to the last roof tile!
David is a renewables and ventilation installer, with over 35 years' experience. He is a member of the Gas Safe Register, has a Masters degree in Sustainable Architecture, and is an authority in sustainable building and energy efficiency, with extensive knowledge in building fabrics, heat recovery ventilation, renewables, and also conventional heating systems.
Jake is a Chartered Architectural Technologist with a passion for creativity in residential architecture. He has a great understanding of client needs and responds with innovative design ideas. Jake has an up-to-date skill set, using all the latest technologies to inform the design process.
Managing director at Western Building Consultants, James is a Chartered Architectural Technologist, an Associate RICS Building Surveyor and a member of the Faculty of Party Wall Surveyors. He acts as the lead on a variety of different projects, including architecture, development and specialist surveys. He has designed hundreds of homes, work spaces and sustainable projects over his career.
Joanna is the Managing Director of the HBXL Group. The multi-faceted business provides award-winning construction software tools for the small to medium sized building firm, as well as construction-related training through the government’s Skills Bootcamp programme, and operates an Estimating Service for builders, directly and via builders’ merchants. HBXL has, for a number of years, managed the Build It Estimating Service exclusively for self builders and homeowners. Joanna also regularly hosts Build It Live workshops on managing a self build budget.
John is a specialist in new build and retrofit basement projects, and a certificated surveyor in structural waterproofing. He is director of Surrey Basements, which completed the waterproofing design and installation for the basement at Build It’s Self Build Education House.
Steve is a structural waterproofing engineer, and was the hands-on installer for the waterproofing solutions at Build It’s Self Build Education House. He has over 14 years’ experience delivering high-quality basement living spaces.
Simon is Senior Estimator for the Build It Estimating Service, having had his own home extension building business in the late 90s. For over 15 years the HBXL Estimating Service has benefitted from Simon’s extensive building knowledge, which more recently is also being shared with users of the Build It Estimating Service. Like all the estimators in the team, he certainly knows his way around a plan and will very quickly point out any anomalies.
