KYQ4: New House

Welcoming Skies

Ben Ledi from the kitchen

In late February 2017, we looked at a building plot that was about to become available. It had been an ambition for a couple of years to build a house but where? We had spent almost 30 years in the family home. It had unbeatable access to walks and cycle routes in the Trossachs and direct access to Craig Mor through the back gate but the stone-built house was over a hundred years old and not easy to keep warm in winter as heating, electricity, and tradesmen maintenance costs were increasing faster than inflation. The rainfall average in the village was 75 inches a year with the road flooded two or three times a year and from late May to September the midges kept us inside in the evenings. We also needed to have a clear out of possessions that cluttered the house and garage.

The plot was on the site of a farm where a cluster of barns was to be demolished. On a cold damp day in February 2017, the attractions of the site, which was littered with rubble and farm detritus were dubious. It was only 12 minutes away from Stirling, there was a good local pub that we frequented and there were two or three families whom we knew, There were 8 plots, one already sold and under construction, We were able to buy a large plot next to a burn and with astonishing views, We would have a clear view of the Campsies over Flanders Moss to the south. Ben Lomond, Ben Ledi, Ben Vorlich and Stuc a' Chroin were all in sight to the west and north, although these views would disappear as other houses were built on the site.

We also had the opportunity to specify our own house. It took nine months to design the house, obtain detailed planning permission, negotiate a price for the construction and acquire the site. It was February 2018 before the work began. We considered pulling out on several occasions as costs were rising, many of the fixtures came from Europe and the £ was plummeting. We were unsuccessful in selling our existing property before construction started and this required us to obtain a bridging loan to pay for the construction. These are not easily available and together with architect fees, structural engineering fees, planning permissions and building warrants added to the mounting costs. The property market had stalled as a result of the Scottish Government introducing a Land and Buildings Property Tax of 10% on larger houses and the uncertainty caused by Brexit. However, we figured if we didn't make the move now, it would be too late to enjoy the benefits of a new house.

We marked out the site with the builder in early February. Within a fortnight we had run into a major problem as the slab for the foundations extended to a steep slope down to a burn that was part of the plot. The additional concrete that had to be poured to secure the foundations wiped out all of our £25k contingency. The upside was the glorious weather, by July the house was well ahead of schedule. We visited the site about twice a week throughout the construction and progress continued apace until mid-summer, when the house was 4 weeks ahead of schedule. We managed to sell the existing house a couple of weeks after securing the bridging loan, this had to be rescinded costing £5000 for the month we had held the unused loan. We moved into our daughter's flat in Glasgow for 6 months, eager to experience life in the heart of Glasgow.

The summer holidays meant that some of the tradesmen were on holiday when they were scheduled to complete their work. The kitchen fitters were late and then had to reorder parts from Germany and suddenly we had lost all early gains in the construction schedule. The biggest problem was the failure of the vendor of the serviced plot to commission the provision of water, electricity or drainage. Together these issues delayed the final completion by 4 weeks and the supply of water was a quick fix that was not resolved for another 6 months, delaying the completion certificate on the house. The access road was a muddy track from all the construction traffic. Services that should have been installed at the start of the site works were left to be fitted retrospectively, this was costly for the vendor and hugely frustrating for the residents.

We eventually moved in early December on a rain-filled day, it was a struggle to get the large removal lorry to the front door and an eight-hour job to unload the vehicle that had to make two trips from the storage depot. We managed to sort out much of the chaos by Christmas and are now into the snagging, the broadband connection has still to be provided. Meanwhile, we still have a couple of dozen boxes to unpack when our energy levels are restored and we have the inclination.