Crofter

@billt that's very good going and shows that the original units must have been good quality. Our softwood windows are 40yrs old and on at least one the sills are rotting away. Admittedly I've not kept up the maintenance because I am replacing them later this year (they are only single glazed!) When I was researching replacement windows, I was surprised how big a difference in cost it made to reduce the number of individual panes- if you can get away with it from a planning perspective, go for fewer/larger individual panes every time. It cuts the cost, increases the light, and also improves energy efficiency considerably.

I've got plenty of old marine charts that would be perfect for this- fewer folds in them than an OS map. Could you apply some sort of protective laquer finish over the top?

I'm definitely up for doing anything that makes the place idiot proof. I've worked in tourism/hospitality; people up here joke that the tourists must leave their brains behind when they cross the bridge. Biggest bugbear is single track roads and the utter ineptitude of people who cannot understand the concept that sometimes you have to stop your car. They'd rather drive into the ditch if it meant not stopping to use a passing place. I'm actually going to write a little leaflet to explain how the road work, which may not change anything but will be good for my sanity. But I digress! Any suggestions for particular makes/brands that will be better in terms of ease of use? I have some experience of some quite high end Neff stuff in a relative's house, and whilst it is very nice and I would be very happy to own it myself, I did need some things pointed out to me about both the hob and the oven. I will try to keep an eye on Gumtree and eBay but one downside of low population density is that a 'local bargain' might be five hours drive away on the other side of the country, so I can't let myself be too picky.

I've been told that PAT tests aren't necessary, although a friend of mine does them as a sideline so I may get him round anyway if he'll do me a wee discount/favour. It's a while since I looked into it, but there are some significant differences between an ordinary let/tenancy and a Furnished Holiday Let. Not least being that I expect my customers to turn up with nothing but their suitcases. Some of my neighbours run very high end lets that are fully equipped with posh crockery etc, but they have almost no breakages/thefts. If I can get into that sector of the market I'll be very happy- I like to think that if you show people some trust and respect, you'll generally get it in return.

Oh I absolutely agree with the need for simplicity! My yardstick is "would I have to show my Mum how this works?" It's actually my main reservation about going for a touch control induction hob- the only ones I have used myself needed ten seconds of explanation in how to operate, and that fails the test I'm afraid. Can't beat a nice big knob... but they can be harder to clean. Hopefully there are some more intutive touch control hobs out there. Bottom of the range from a posh brand is exactly what I'd like to go for. Anybody got recommendations for suppliers of seconds or graded goods?

Some great ideas and feedback, thanks all. Obviously a huge variation in people's habits, from the out-of-a-suitcase types to the unpack-everything-even-for-one-nighters. I'm sensing a strong assumption about how outdoorsy my visitors might be. This is is something I will look into, but from my existing experience of the sector up here, it's not as likely as you might think. Skye has always been attractive to the hillwalking set, and the smaller markets of mountain bikers and kayakers. But the huge boom over the past three or four years has been more general than that. Big increase in visitors from SE Asia, and the vast majority of people are in hire cars and not encumbered by outdoorsy kit. I guess they are driving around looking at the scenery, visiting castles, etc; the Americans like to 'trace their roots'. I used to skipper a tourist boat and was surprised how urban most people were- climbing off the boat at the foot of the Cuillins and asking where the nearest public toilet was (the answer is, four to six hours walk away on the other side of the ridge). I'm not saying that I won't try and provide facilities for the outdoorsy crowd, but I really doubt that they will be a big part of the market, at least at the present time. I also have a hunch that they are all far too tough to bother forking out on luxury accommodation anyway and would rather sleep in a bivvi bag

Now that I have your attention... I'm just doing a last check on what furniture I need to fit into the bedroom before I commit to door positions etc. First off, this is a holiday let designed for weekly lets to the couples market. So quite different requirements to a normal house. The bedroom is fairly compact at only 2.9m wide, and there will be a double door on the centreline, leaving about 800mm for furniture either side. I am working on the assumption that most people barely bother to unpack their suitcase when on holiday, and for those that do, they aren't going to be bringing enough clothes to fill the usual complement of wardrobes and chests of drawers. So it would be silly to clutter up the small bedroom with clunky items of furniture that are going to be empty for most of the time. What I'm thinking is that on one side of the double doors there should be a chair (for general dumpage) and I could have a hook on the wall for anybody who has come to Skye on holiday and needs to hang up their ballgown. This will be much more compact than providing a full length wardrobe. On the other side, I'm thinking something half height- could be drawers, could be a short wardrobe, or some kind of combination of these features- and this provides a space on top for the makeup, mirror, hair straighteners, etc. The space in this unit would be useful for those folks who actually bother unpacking their suitcase, or maybe as somewhere to put said suitcase. And in addition there will be drawers under the bed and in the bedside cabinets. Most of these assumptions are based on what I/we would accept in a holiday let- but perhaps we are a bit unusual in our tastes. I don't really like unpacking everything because I think I'm far more likely to end up leaving things behind! It would be great to get some feedback from other people on what furniture/storage they would expect in a holiday let.

And I presume at that point they start charging you council tax? Not much incentive for them to delay you

After a bit of thought and a lot of Google image searches, I've decided I'll go for white linings/arcs/skirts after all. It can actually look pretty smart and is going to keep me on budget. What are the pros and cons of timber vs mdf for this? I'm imaging that with MDF you avoid issues of cracks, twists, knots etc.

Just a wee tip in case it helps anyone else- whilst I was looking around for something to use as support on board joints that didn't have a batten under them, I came across what seems an ideal material: offcuts of 22mm chipboard flooring. My cavity is 25mm so it's a snug but easy fit, the chipboard is pretty stiff, and I had a pile of offcuts that were going to end up in a skip otherwise.

I also looked at the Vortex although it transpired that in Scotland discharge to a dry ditch is basically not allowed by SEPA, no matter what the manufacturer says. So in the end I went another route. What I do remember is that all the manufacturers tended to claim that their products were the absolute best and you would be mad to consider anybody else's. So definitely worth looking widely to compare. At the end of the day the only thing that really matters is the three magic numbers (BOD, SS, NH3), as that's the only way you can really compare. And of course some tests are done at mean and others at 95%, just to confuse matters further. I gave up and went with the same system my neighbour had installed a couple of years ago

Thanks for all the replies- useful stuff. My requirements here are maybe a bit odd, in that I am very much looking for 'bling' rather than what I would do in my own home where I would be quite happy to find good quality at a low price regardless of the label. So I'm looking for Audi, not Skoda, if you see what I mean. A bit sad maybe but the place has to be dressed to impress. From the little use I'm expecting any of this stuff to get the actual quality or longevity isn't my primary concern, and my own experience is that most stuff you can buy nowadays is fit for the job (my own house is decked out in Beko and that has been absolutely fine). I don't think I should have any problems in matching things, as the fridge and DW are integrated anyway, and the hob will be touch control, leaving just the oven. I can imagine it would be difficult if I wanted say two ovens or an oven and microwave that all matched. However the keen observer will notice if the brand names don't match- I'm not sure whether that is a big deal or not. It's proving quite easy to find ovens secondhand, hobs less so, and fridges and dishwashers seem much more elusive. I wonder why that is?

I'm still a few weeks away from having to choose my kitchen appliances, but it has crossed my mind that I could start keeping an eye out for things on Gumtree etc. It's a small kitchen in a high-end holiday let. So all it has is an under-counter fridge (pref with ice box), dishwasher, single oven, and hob (and extractor). With everything being integrated, only the oven, hob, and hood are really on display. So my thinking is that I could spend a bit on brand names here to give a good impression, whilst the dishwasher and fridge could be cheaper. One way of getting better brands is to go second hand. I've seen ovens from Neff, Bosch, etc going for an absolute song- would this be a high risk approach though? The last thing I want is something to break and my customers ending up unhappy (not that I expect much actual cooking to be done, there are two pubs within walking distance). The other thing is that I might struggle to get everything from the same brand, or otherwise matched, if I go secondhand. I overspent slightly on the actual kitchen so it would be great to get the budget back on track somewhere, and if I stick to brand new I'm looking at Beko etc (nowt wrong with them but hardly going to impress anybody). As usual I might be totally overthinking this, and people don't give a rat's ar*e about the make of cooker in a holiday let

The OP said that the build was intended to achieve a 7 on the airtightness, but that he thinks he will do much better. IMHO you can't really 'design' a building to achieve that sort of number, you are taking pot luck with how many holes are left behind by each trade. It's just an assumed number and probably bears little relation to reality. Even very very draughty houses get bad condensation- my own being a good example. I've got bare floorboards in much of the house and the wind whistles through the gaps, yet I still end up with windows streaming with condensation in the morning.

+1 to what @Temp said- sometimes a plot might be cheap for a reason. E.g. impossible to get planning, or very restricted permission only, or other headaches like it's a swamp, it's miles from any services, or conversely it's right on top of a bunch of services like gas mains. All things to avoid! Have you considered 'bungalow gobbling'? No not a new fad diet but the process of buying a wreck of a house, knocking it down, and starting again. It has its own plus and minus points. Another book to consider is The Self Builder's Bible.

Osmo oil seems to get a good write up. I've got exposed beams which are just dressed pine from the BM, so I'll probably go with oil there as well. I have to say that thanks to this thread I am leaning towards doing the doors myself as I now know what mistakes I made last time, and thanks to all the advice on here I'll be able to do a much better job in future.

That looks really good- and I'm surprised how well the softwood and oak work together. Your arcs are pinned and filled I take it?

And another newbie question... When you are leaving an opening for a door, I take it you ought to leave a bit of clearance all round, just like you do for windows? So I'm thinking door width + 4mm + 2x lining width (@33mm?) + mystery amount for packing. I left 15mm each side when I did the windows, which was just enough to get the foam gun in. Obviously not an issue with an internal door. Or do I just do my best to build the walls plumb, and fix the linings directly onto the studs?

Use of foil as an insulation component is complex and its efficacy is at times disputed. I've found it hard to pin down a U or R value for foil, making it impossible to know whether the foil would be better or worse than filling the required void with further insulation. My understanding of the purpose of foil facings on insulation boards is that they are primarily for vapour control- but I could be wrong about that.

So simple, yet so obvious now you say it- thank you

@Gorlando did you mean foil faced polyurethane? E.g. Kingspan, Celotex, etc. The need for a gap isn't so much about what insulation you use, it's about the breathability of the wall or roof buildup itself. There needs to be a pathway for any moisture within the structure to get out, either by passing through a breathable material or via a vented cavity.

And you deliberately don't fit the arc flush with the edge of the lining why? Pic is hugely helpful but I'm still a bit confused about where the rebates would come in.

Does that affect what thickness doors you can have?

Thanks as ever Nick. Can I really run 3x5kw loads simultaneously off a normal domestic supply? I thought you were normally capped at 80A so there's not much left there in case someone puts the kettle on, or in the fairly likely event that the heated towel rail is on at the same time. Twin 6kw should be safer perhaps? I presume the use of E7 swings the balance towards a larger tank heater mostly at off-peak times. But of course a larger tank costs a few hundred more so you start looking at payback times, as well as space issues.

Just the ticket, thanks!