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Building Ideas - with Mark Millar

Mark Millar has joined Fix Radio to host our brand new property development show!Every week the show offers practical advice, shares real-life experiences and introduces ‘out of the box’ thinking, designed to help working tradespeople develop their property.Mark and his panel of guests take a look at all the big questions, including financing, project management, finding the right partners, planning permission and embracing new building techniques and technologies.

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Episodes

  • Will 2025 Be A Good Year To Build?

    Sunday, 1 December 2024

    28 minutes

    As we come into the final month of 2024, Mark Millar invites a range of guests to join him and discuss what 2025 might have in store if you're planning to build. Guests include: Paddy O'Hart (selfbuildconsultancy.co.uk), John Newcomb, CEO of the Builder's Merchants Federation & Katy Ashcroft from the National Self Build & Renovation Centre 

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  • Colour & Design Options For Your Walls

    Sunday, 24 November 2024

    27 minutes

    Mark Millar invites artist, designer & decorator Claire Noble to join him and give you a guide to colour choices, design options and mural creation for the walls of your self build, new home or existing property

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  • Building With Timber

    Sunday, 17 November 2024

    18 minutes

    Mark Millar invites some champions of wood and timber framed construction to join him and discuss the benefits of using timber in your building practices. Andrew Waugh from Waugh Thistleton Architects talks about the possibilities and sustainability with regards to timber frame structures and Carpenter/Builder, Garvin Morey (Sterlingdale) discusses a notable build he completed with wood at the center of his building methods

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  • A Chat With Architectural Technologist Angela Rossi

    Sunday, 10 November 2024

    25 minutes

    Mark Millar is joined by Achitectural Technologist, Angela Rossi so that Mark can ask her about her approach to design and about her building ideas

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  • Avoiding Running Out of Money On Projects

    Sunday, 3 November 2024

    30 minutes

    Mark Millar is joined by guests so that he can get both expert advice and the experience of the self builder with regards to running out of money on self build projects. Guests include: Tom McSherry from Buildstore, QS Tim Phillips & Charlotte Gowers 

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  • Product Knowledge For Self Builders

    Sunday, 27 October 2024

    28 minutes

    Mark Millar is joined by industry expert and TV personality, Roger Bisby to discuss product knowledge. Mark has found that this is one aspect of construction that can trip up self builders, particularly those with little to no trade experience. Mark asks Roger a range of questions from where and who to get advice from to specific product knowledge, warranties and more.

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  • A Look At The History & Future of Heat Pumps

    Sunday, 20 October 2024

    28 minutes

    Mark Millar is joined by Dan Roberts, Technical Manager at Kensa to discuss the history of heat pumps, stretching back 25 years and is joined by Kimbo Betty. Kimbo is well known for his work training installers in plumbing & heating and has been at the forefront of training in renewables. Kimbo discusses some of the naunces of how heat pumps work and his experiences training people to install them

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  • What's The Hardest Aspect of Self Build?

    Sunday, 13 October 2024

    32 minutes

    Mark Millar has invited two previous guests with self build experience to join him and explain what they felt were the hardest aspects of self build to get right. There's insight, tips and advice on how to approach your self build project from those that have been there and done it. Guests include: Nicky Marcus & Lucy Hutchings

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  • Building Regs & Compliance with John Ryan (Symterra)

    Sunday, 6 October 2024

    34 minutes

    Mark Millar has invited John Ryan from Symterra (symterra.co.uk) to join him and give an overview on current building regs and compliance

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  • Mark Millar & Robin Clevett Discuss Domestic Building Methods

    Sunday, 29 September 2024

    39 minutes

    Mark Millar has invited accomplished Carpenter, well known on social media and for his show on Fix Radio, Robin Clevett to join him and discuss his building ideas. Mark runs a range of domestic building options past Robin to get his thoughts on them and he also discussing the house building market and construction industry as a whole with Robin

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  • What is Going Wrong At Some New Build Sites?

    Sunday, 22 September 2024

    31 minutes

    Mark Millar is joined by Mick from MTB Construction, who has had first hand experiences working at some bad new build sites to discuss his experiences. Mark then talks with Kelly Cartwright from Core Recruiter about how they bring tradespeople onto new build sites and the issue of rogue recruiters

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  • Why Sustainability Matters When Building

    Sunday, 15 September 2024

    34 minutes

    Dr Joe Jack Williams, Sustainability advocate and expert, who has done some great work here in the UK around sustainable building practices, joins Mark Millar for a discussion. Mark asks Joe about how we would bring sustainable practices into focus when building houses, what different materials and ideas you could use in self building. There's also discussion about sustainability, retrofitting, building methods and listed buildings

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  • Mark Millar Q&A!

    Sunday, 8 September 2024

    26 minutes

    Mark Millar takes the oppertunity without any guests joining him, to answer some frequently asked questions about his thoughts on self build, experiences in the trade, the UK house building market, his media work and much more

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  • Young People Getting Into Self Build - Part 2

    Sunday, 1 September 2024

    20 minutes

    Todd Glister, host of the Heating & Plumbing Show talks about getting into self build at the age of 26 and his second ongoing build. Andrew Smith, Chief Customer Officer at Addland - joins us to explain how the 'help to build' scheme is a great tool/starting point to finance self build projects for young people

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  • The Importance of Putting Quality Into Your Builds

    Sunday, 25 August 2024

    32 minutes

    What materials should we and shouldn’t we be using? What isn't fit for purpose and should be avoided for your self build projects? Guests include: John Cooper from New Home Quality Control, Award Winning plumbing & heating engineer - Chartered Institute member, Jimmy Hendry & Well known domestic based electrical contractor Nick Bundy

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  • A Look At The Sheiling In Loch Lundie

    Sunday, 18 August 2024

    16 minutes

    Martin Matheson joins Mark Millar to discuss how he created The Sheiling in Loch Lundie during Covid. Martin talks about the plans for the build, the building process and the end results of all of the hard work and skill put into the project

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  • Harvey Fremlin Talks Self Build Trends, Retrofitting & New Technology

    Sunday, 11 August 2024

    25 minutes

    Harvey Fremlin from The National Self Build & Renovation Centre joins Mark Millar to discuss all the current self build trends, the marketplace, retrofitting, new technology and why it makes so much sense to self build if you have the means and demand quality 

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  • Julian Owen On Getting Started With Self Building

    Sunday, 4 August 2024

    31 minutes

    Mark Millar talks to Architect Julian Owen about how to get started with self building. Julian has literally written the book on the subject with his book Design and Build Your Own Home

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  • This Episode Could Save You A Fortune!!

    Sunday, 28 July 2024

    42 minutes

    Mark Millar is joined by The VAT Man, Andrew Jones to discuss how you should approach claiming back VAT on your self build projects and renovations. Andrew explain what is and isn't VAT exempt, Who should and shouldn't be charging you VAT, how to seperate out purchases so that you can claim VAT back on them, how to deal with HMRC after the build is complete and more

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  • Architect Robin Callister Discusses Extensions, Renovations & Planning Permission

    Sunday, 21 July 2024

    32 minutes

    Robin Callister (Urbanist Architecture) joins Mark Millar in the studio to discuss extensions, renovations and how you can create plans and designs that are most likely to obtain planning permission

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  • How To Create A Pub In Your Back Garden

    Sunday, 14 July 2024

    31 minutes

    Mark Millar is joined by guests to discuss how you can create private pubs, pub sheds and bars in your back garden. Mark looks at everything from how the professionals approach it, Award winning pub sheds and sustainably created bars costing only £300!

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  • A Look At Basements And What You Can Do With Them

    Sunday, 7 July 2024

    24 minutes

    Mark Millar talks to Architect and Self Build Author, Julian Owen about how we can approach creating an interesting or useful space in your basement. They also discuss adding a basement to an existing property, limitations, creative ideas for basement spaces and what the planning and building process is like for the wide range of things that are possible for your basement

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  • Re-Roofing Domestic Properties

    Sunday, 30 June 2024

    22 minutes

    Mark Millar gives the lowdown on how to get a domestic property re-roofed, when to get work done, how much time, money and effort this might cost and more

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  • A Look At A Fantastic Passivhaus Project & The Passivhaus Standard

    Sunday, 23 June 2024

    37 minutes

    Mark Millar is joined by Paul Mallion, a Passivhaus Designer & Chartered Suveyor who explains the concept & building requirements of the passivhaus standard (https://conker.cc). Paul also discusses his work on a notable domestic project for Charlotte Gowers, who also joins the show to discuss what the project has been like from her and her partner Wayne Taylor's perspective. You can follow Charlotte's journey on her Instagram - @maytree_passivehouse. 

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  • Converting Domestic/Commercial Spaces Into HMOs & Multiple Flats

    Sunday, 16 June 2024

    31 minutes

    Mark Millar looks at HMOs as well as turning a commercial or domestic space into multiple seperate flats. Mark looks at the approach to converting and managing HMOs and also how you go about the design phase

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  • Approach To Barn Conversion Design With Jenny McIntee

    Sunday, 9 June 2024

    21 minutes

    Mark Millar takes a first look at barn conversions and starts with the architecture, design and floor layout. Jenny McIntee (www.jennymcintee.co.uk) an Architect with decades of experience, who has created some amazing barn conversion designs, joins Mark to explain what considerations go into creating a plan and what is possible when converting a barn into a living space

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  • Swimming Pools For Your Self Build

    Sunday, 2 June 2024

    31 minutes

    Mark Millar looks at options available to self builders with regards to swimming pools. Mark talks to fellow Fix Radio presenter, Robin Clevett about his own experiences building an indoor pool in his garden room. Ben Bonsor from Orbro Pools gives you options and ideas for outdoor and indoor pools, and Mark gets some rules, regulations and maintanance information from SPATA 

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  • Are You Ready For The Life Upheaval That Comes With Building A House?

    Sunday, 26 May 2024

    33 minutes

    Mark Millar is joined by two guests to discuss how day to day life changed as they took on a self build project. Lucy Hutchings, who runs shegrowsveg.com - talks about how her self build experience was an emotional rollercoaster with a successful outcome. Claire Faulkner - @thatcotswoldclaire on Instagram, who is 4 years into her ongoing self build experience, talks about the life upheaval and change of living circumstance as well as the continued stress throughout the different phases of the project.

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  • A Look At Salvaging & Sourcing Materials Sustainably

    Sunday, 19 May 2024

    27 minutes

    Mark Millar is joined by two guests who have experience sourcing materials for self building projects in a sustainable fashion. Fix Radio & TV legend, Clive Holland talks about his discoveries of what you could reclaim, save and use from dumpsters after doing research for a TV show 'Your Extension is Rubbish' and Mark is also joined by Kenton Jones, who sources fantastic sustainable timber and has worked with Mark for TV previously

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  • How To Think Like A QS When Planning Your Build

    Sunday, 12 May 2024

    38 minutes

    Mark Millar has invited Tim Phillips, a Senior Quantity Surveyor, with more than 30 years experience in the building trade to join him and give you a complete guide full of invaluable advice about how to make purchases and plan orders of materials for your domestic self build projects

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