Self Builders/Renovators in Scotland.

[Mike DC]

Hi all, as the title suggests we are in the Scotland currently completing a conversion/extension/renovation on an old cemetery lodge. My son and I have been doing the majority of the work with the assistance of a few trades where we are lacking in skill or speed. We are a non building background other than the usual DIY so it’s been a steep learning curve especially groundworks and structural work. It took a while the get the digger under control though I’m yet to master perfectly level trenches!

 

The lodge is a cemetery gatehouse, more recently used as offices by the council as a base for their park keepers and groundsmen along with associated machinery which was stored in a 175m2 modern unit on site. We’ve added two en-suite bedrooms, a third bedroom bathroom and open plan living space. We also have planning permission to build a good sized detached 1 1/2 storey house on the site of the shed, which we may build in time. It wasn’t very well looked after with the usual council magnolia and Lino treatment to make it usable. We towards the tail end of the work now and are looking for another project to move on to. Planning takes a year or so up here once submitted, so we are actively looking now.

 

The property certainly threw up a few challenges, not least the 2ft thick walls. Knocking through wasn’t easy and we also had to contend with poor previous work and rotten wood lintels. The roof turned into a labour of love with us working with a brilliant slater, sorting, holing and cutting all the bullets from welsh slate for him.

 

The local planning department were totally unhelpful, with us initially treading on eggshells for fear of upsetting them to then telling them what we thought, giving them hard deadlines with consequences if they weren’t met. I use the term “totally unhelpful” but there are other words unsuitable for a public forum which are more accurate.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[jack]

Lovely looking project. How awesome to have had so much involvement, too!

[Redoctober]

Hi @Mike DC This is very close to us - we actually pass it on a regular  basis into "town" and we have been enjoying its development  / progress for many a month now.

 

The roofer needs to mentioned in despatches because the slates are just wonderful. - The work going on inside looks equally impressive. Was the rendered extension a cause of concern for the planners? I though they may have insisted on stone to tie it all in?

 

 

[Mike DC]

1 hour ago, Redoctober said:

Hi @Mike DC This is very close to us - we actually pass it on a regular  basis into "town" and we have been enjoying its development  / progress for many a month now.

 

The roofer needs to mentioned in despatches because the slates are just wonderful. - The work going on inside looks equally impressive. Was the rendered extension a cause of concern for the planners? I though they may have insisted on stone to tie it all in?

 

 

The slater is well known locally. As mentioned we worked with him cutting the bullets etc otherwise the cost would have been prohibitive. My son on slate cutting duty below. The extension was fine, planners seem to want a clear differentiation between old and new. We mirrored the pitch roofs, corners and gable ends to tie it in. It also has a stone apron not seen from the road. In time the original woodwork will be painted to match the extension. The planners were insistent on some awful finishes though but we stood our ground. They took 5 months to make their decision which was only made when we gave them a deadline. They then wanted another application to change the windows. This took five weeks at our insistence. The planning for the new build is another story for another day.

 

Edited March 3 by Mike DC

[SteamyTea]

Welcome @Mike DC

 

I like a renovation. @saveasteading has been doing a major restoration up your way.

 

 

[saveasteading]

4 hours ago, SteamyTea said:

doing a major restoration up your way.

A long way north of there. 200 miles, 5 hours. Scotland is quite big.

[SteamyTea]

35 minutes ago, saveasteading said:

Scotland is quite big.

Only about twice as long as Cornwall then.