Our Authors
Mark Brinkley
Mark Brinkley is best-known as the author of the Housebuilder's Bible. The book is based around his experiences and observations as a builder and developer.
He began building in 1980 when he carried out an eco-renovation on his first house. In 1992, he built a new home for his growing family and this project gave him the impetus to start analysing and writing about the building process and selfbuild in particular. He has spent the past 30 years studying the way we build homes in Britain.
He lives in Cambridge in a selfbuild completed in 2018 to a design by Mole Architects. He keeps the Housebuilders Bible updated and also now runs Ovolo Books.
George Baxter
George has been an Architect for over 40 years. He has written widely, including contributions for Terence Conran's design manual, for Kevin McLeod, and for Homebuilding and Renovating magazine (series on DIY design and interior design.)
He has always been fascinated with the design process and encouraging people to understand it, create homes that 'work' and are enjoyable to live in! This led to his book ' How to design and plan a house or extension ...be your own architect!' He was one of the first architects to develop and serve on a local authority design panel. He is now a consultant to his old practice (georgebaxterassociates.co.uk) specialising in 'one off' properties all over the south east, with a reputation for solving challenging design problems.
Mike Dade
Mike is a Chartered Planning and Development Surveyor, with a degree in Estate Management. Together with Roy Speer, he co-founded planning consultancy Speer Dade Planning Consultants in 1991. He has a particular interest in rural planning, and undertakes planning assessments, applications and appeals involving a wide range of projects, with an emphasis on residential development. Co-author with Roy of four books on plots and planning, he has a long association with Build It magazine where he writes and speaks at self-build shows.
Roy Speer
Roy is a Chartered Planning and Development Surveyor, with a degree in Estate Management, who worked in the West End, before founding a planning consultancy practice with Mike Dade in 1991, which thrives to this day. Based on his 35 years' experience in planning permission and building plots, Roy advises clients on applications, appeals and related planning matters. Communication has been a theme in his career and he speaks and writes on planning. In addition to his four planning and plot books, co-authored with Mike, Roy has contributed articles to self-build magazines regularly for the last 30 years.
Tim Pullen
Tim was the eco-expert for Homebuilding & Renovating magazine for much of the past 20 years. He wrote three books on sustainable construction and renewable energy, including The Sustainable Building Bible.
Tim, who died in 2023, lived on a small-holding in South Wales where he became involved in property development and renewable energy installations. He went on to provide advice and guidance on sustainable design and renewable energy for numerous clients in various countries.