OV9

I read that and ended up going into an internal argument about whether it should be bespoke carpentry or bespoke joinery. I'm on the side of joinery.

Quite a thing though - I'd be binning it if it were my house, but keeping it if like you I was renting it out. The beams look great though.

Full of surprises that, the seating is like our old local Workingmen's Club

Rich B wrote: ↑Thu Feb 17, 2022 7:07 pm I read that and ended up going into an internal argument about whether it should be bespoke carpentry or bespoke joinery. I'm on the side of joinery.

Quite a thing though - I'd be binning it if it were my house, but keeping it if like you I was renting it out. The beams look great though.

I thought long and hard but there’s 2 floor levels on that area and finding furniture to fit that area would be a nightmare, it suits the quirky nature of the place and as you say, it’s a rental..

Will get the cushions remade in black I suspect.

Carlos wrote: ↑Thu Feb 17, 2022 7:27 pm Full of surprises that, the seating is like our old local Workingmen's Club

The dart board is just out of shot!

Foz wrote: ↑Thu Feb 17, 2022 7:43 pm

Rich B wrote: ↑Thu Feb 17, 2022 7:07 pm I read that and ended up going into an internal argument about whether it should be bespoke carpentry or bespoke joinery. I'm on the side of joinery.

Quite a thing though - I'd be binning it if it were my house, but keeping it if like you I was renting it out. The beams look great though.

I thought long and hard but there’s 2 floor levels on that area and finding furniture to fit that area would be a nightmare, it suits the quirky nature of the place and as you say, it’s a rental..

Will get the cushions remade in black I suspect.

yeah, I expect you would need to spend an awful lot to match the functionality of it. It does give a bit of a "ski chalet" type vibe too which is no bad thing.

Having an actual building with so much cool character in the first place has got to be such a benefit, but also a real challenge!

Here’s the floor plans, there’s another (unusable) level above the tower room, then there’s the 12+m internal steeple.

Rich B wrote: ↑Thu Feb 17, 2022 8:04 pm

Foz wrote: ↑Thu Feb 17, 2022 7:43 pm

Rich B wrote: ↑Thu Feb 17, 2022 7:07 pm I read that and ended up going into an internal argument about whether it should be bespoke carpentry or bespoke joinery. I'm on the side of joinery.

Quite a thing though - I'd be binning it if it were my house, but keeping it if like you I was renting it out. The beams look great though.

I thought long and hard but there’s 2 floor levels on that area and finding furniture to fit that area would be a nightmare, it suits the quirky nature of the place and as you say, it’s a rental..

Will get the cushions remade in black I suspect.

yeah, I expect you would need to spend an awful lot to match the functionality of it. It does give a bit of a "ski chalet" type vibe too which is no bad thing.

Having an actual building with so much cool character in the first place has got to be such a benefit, but also a real challenge!

Absolutely, for short term rentals quirky is a winner.. started reviewing external lighting options for the tower and the local planning authority have said they are fully suppprtive as a few other former church towers have been lit up and they are absolutely stunning!

Love a spiral stair

Drone shot of the tower:

Sorry

Planning permission process for the new house is still in progress, nobody has objected yet which is a bonus and we should get a decision next month.

Next thing is decrofting of the land for the house. An application has gone in to The Crofting Commission, but due to covid, their decision could now take 15-20 weeks to come back which seems utterly ridiculous. They've been absolutely slated in recent years for how they carry out their job, so I'm not optimistic of a quick turnaround or a quick decision. Instead of crofters giving up land for this sort of reason, they'd rather we bought a house somewhere else and commuted to the croft which just seems utterly nuts given some of the unsociable hours you need to keep during lambing season for example.

Ascender wrote: ↑Thu Mar 31, 2022 9:42 am Instead of crofters giving up land for this sort of reason, they'd rather we bought a house somewhere else and commuted to the croft which just seems utterly nuts

I thought a Croft was working the land where you live? Otherwise it’s more of an allotment?

mik wrote: ↑Thu Mar 31, 2022 10:33 am

Ascender wrote: ↑Thu Mar 31, 2022 9:42 am Instead of crofters giving up land for this sort of reason, they'd rather we bought a house somewhere else and commuted to the croft which just seems utterly nuts

I thought a Croft was working the land where you live? Otherwise it’s more of an allotment?

We're moving up to help with running of the croft and will then take it over wholly, so there's already a croft house on the land. We're effectively adding a second croft house and that sets alarm bells ringing because a lot of crofters have been selling off land for people to build second homes, holiday homes etc on it. The fact we're not doing that doesn't seem to be considered.

Foz, that tower is amazing, nearly much perfect in every way.

Give it a well padded snug bolt hole for people with kids and it would be perfect.

Is the spiral staircase all real wood ? If so that stunning.

Dave!

Ascender wrote: ↑Thu Mar 31, 2022 10:38 am

mik wrote: ↑Thu Mar 31, 2022 10:33 am

Ascender wrote: ↑Thu Mar 31, 2022 9:42 am Instead of crofters giving up land for this sort of reason, they'd rather we bought a house somewhere else and commuted to the croft which just seems utterly nuts

I thought a Croft was working the land where you live? Otherwise it’s more of an allotment?

We're moving up to help with running of the croft and will then take it over wholly, so there's already a croft house on the land. We're effectively adding a second croft house and that sets alarm bells ringing because a lot of crofters have been selling off land for people to build second homes, holiday homes etc on it. The fact we're not doing that doesn't seem to be considered.

If you need someone to aimlessly wander round the land with his dogs, then heading back to eat cheese and freshly baked bread I’ll do it.

Dave!

V8Granite wrote: ↑Thu Mar 31, 2022 10:40 am

Ascender wrote: ↑Thu Mar 31, 2022 10:38 am

mik wrote: ↑Thu Mar 31, 2022 10:33 am

I thought a Croft was working the land where you live? Otherwise it’s more of an allotment?

We're moving up to help with running of the croft and will then take it over wholly, so there's already a croft house on the land. We're effectively adding a second croft house and that sets alarm bells ringing because a lot of crofters have been selling off land for people to build second homes, holiday homes etc on it. The fact we're not doing that doesn't seem to be considered.

If you need someone to aimlessly wander round the land with his dogs, then heading back to eat cheese and freshly baked bread I’ll do it.

Dave!

I think I've already got someone in mind who can fulfil that key role...

Foz wrote: ↑Sun Feb 20, 2022 11:25 am Drone shot of the tower:

Been following this over on Instagram, looking amazing so far, and I bet there's a fair bit of interesting history hidden away waiting to be found.

Ascender wrote: ↑Thu Mar 31, 2022 10:38 am

mik wrote: ↑Thu Mar 31, 2022 10:33 am

Ascender wrote: ↑Thu Mar 31, 2022 9:42 am Instead of crofters giving up land for this sort of reason, they'd rather we bought a house somewhere else and commuted to the croft which just seems utterly nuts

I thought a Croft was working the land where you live? Otherwise it’s more of an allotment?

We're moving up to help with running of the croft and will then take it over wholly, so there's already a croft house on the land. We're effectively adding a second croft house and that sets alarm bells ringing because a lot of crofters have been selling off land for people to build second homes, holiday homes etc on it. The fact we're not doing that doesn't seem to be considered.

This is very much what we'd like to do in a few years. Just downsizing now to get rid of the mortgage (hopefully!) and then I'm hoping for 5 more years before we semi-retire up in the Highlands. I have family up near Inverness so a looking for working croft or space to build an Air B&B type place near there would be ideal.

davecG60 wrote: ↑Thu Mar 31, 2022 1:54 pm

Ascender wrote: ↑Thu Mar 31, 2022 10:38 am

mik wrote: ↑Thu Mar 31, 2022 10:33 am

I thought a Croft was working the land where you live? Otherwise it’s more of an allotment?

We're moving up to help with running of the croft and will then take it over wholly, so there's already a croft house on the land. We're effectively adding a second croft house and that sets alarm bells ringing because a lot of crofters have been selling off land for people to build second homes, holiday homes etc on it. The fact we're not doing that doesn't seem to be considered.

This is very much what we'd like to do in a few years. Just downsizing now to get rid of the mortgage (hopefully!) and then I'm hoping for 5 more years before we semi-retire up in the Highlands. I have family up near Inverness so a looking for working croft or space to build an Air B&B type place near there would be ideal.

Sounds like a very good plan!

There was some panelling at the side of a dodgy lean-to thing at the back of the house which needed replacing. It's at the level of the first floor, so I was manoeuvring nearly 8x4' ply into place at about 4m+ height. My old crappy ladders weren't up to it, so I had an opportunity to leverage my German ladder fanboyism and buy some Zarges.

I did a lot of outdoor event build work in my 20s and 30s, which involved fixing various things in weird places at height, outdoors or in temporary marquees, under quite a lot of time pressure. I'd often be 6-7m up in the air, on a pair of A-frame ladders in the middle of a temporary platform hanging signs in the pitch roof of a marquee. The outdoor event industry has a fetish for Zarges ladders and I'd never believed how stable and secure ladders could feel at height until I'd used them. They're rock solid at any height, even if I was still pooping myself looking down. Anyway, that's always stuck with me and now I wouldn't ever consider buying another brand.