Search the Community

I wanted to build a garage/workshop that would be comfortable to work in year round and also keep the cars, bikes and tools that are stored in there in good condition so I decided I would insulate the slab and eventually settled on Geocell Foam Glass as it looked like it was going to be a pretty straightforward way of achieving an insulated foundation. We dug a hole and took the spoil to a local farmer on a Transit tipper, lined the hole with Geotextile Membrane and then bought the Foam Glass in. Access is a real problem for us so I had it delivered to a nearby builders merchant and then I trailered it in, two 2 ton bags at a time. We pushed the bags over into the hole and spread it about. Foam Glass doesn't really like being spread about, it has a coarse texture that grabs hold of everything, but it is very light and we got there in the end. Once filled to the required level I whacked it down. That was quite a difficult task as well as when I turned the whacker it would lift up the Foam Glass that I'd just whacked down. Again, I got there in the end though and covered the compacted Foam Glass with the membrane. It may actually have been easier to cover the Foam Glass with the membrane and then whacked it. Next time I'll try that (there won't be a next time!) I then built the formwork for the slab, lined it with DPM and set out the steel work following the very comprehensive plan provided by the SE. Concrete was poured and power floated as I was going for a painted floor finish (that changed...) The concrete was covered and left to cure following more comprehensive instructions provided by the SE and that worked well, not one crack has appeared in the circa 7m x 7m slab. The walls were going to be single skin blockwork so wind posts were required. I resin anchored those in place and then awaited the arrival of a highly recommended bricky. If the bricky had known how to use his laser level he would have been dynamite... Unbelievable really. I took the inaccuracies in the block work out with the wall plate so that I had a level starting point for the roof.

Over the years, 24 and counting, as a couple we’ve never settled, bought a house needing doing up, renovated it, lived in it, whilst bringing up our son. Sold, moved to rented, bought and renovated others. Sold and moved on, but never settled. Thought about emigrating, a disastrous foray into overseas property and we still found ourselves unsettled. The thought of doing something different with our lives and possibly working together was always there. Over the years I’ve built extensions for families and seen the positive impact I’ve had on them. The want to build my own house was strong, and when I say build my own, I want to do it all, and luckily Mandy’s onboard. Fast forward a few more years, we re-model our house and sell. Move to rented with the plan of moving to the Highlands. We’ve got a very modest budget i.e. not enough (remember the overseas bit). So the land needed to help, we found a croft for sale with no buildings or services, and too expensive, but with a bit of negotiating made an offer with clauses for planning and services. More on the plans later. Based in a small rural village of Occumster on the North East Coast in Caithness, Scotland, known as the lowlands of the highlands, our croft of 11.8 acres of grass, now has planning for a house and a couple of Glamping Pods. The croft is fronted by the A99, part of the North Coast 500 route, so hopefully this is where our initial income will come from. I’m more than aware that I will need to go off and earn money to live. Eventually we will have Bees, and rare breed pigs hopefully boosting our income, and satisfying the croft requirements to work the land. And here starts the adventure..