Interesting Plots

10.75 acres : O/O £125.000 : Black Isle
06.50 acres : O/O £22.000 : Spittal UNDER OFFER
21.00 acres : O/O £40.000 : Thrumster : map

Jobs

So we are serious about moving to Scotland? Well then, Ann will need a job. I have started the link list on the right hand side. There is a section for jobs.

Planning a layout

To maximize efficiency we need to build our house around the technologies we are using. I have started to search for a design that will fit but it seems difficult. I think we might have to design the layout ourself. I am thinking of a design where the main heat source is in the middle of the house. Living room, dining, and kitchen will be open plan. The front door needs to be shielded to keep the cold air out of the house, so a small hall with a door is needed. A fuel store would be handy and a little walk in closet for shoes and coats. We will need 4 bedrooms, an office area, a toilet/shower room and a main bathroom. Ideally we would have a guest room as well.
There are two options for the design, either a traditional one where the living space is downstairs and the bedrooms are upstairs or we keep the bedrooms downstairs of the corner of the house and just have a bathroom, office and guest room upstairs, or maybe a play room.

Round Logs - great stuff !

I came across the web page of Highland Log Homes and instantly fell in love with the idea of a log home made from handcrafted logs. What do you think? (Please use the comment feature underneath this post.)
I need to look into insulation properties of logs and panel systems next. Then a layout that will go with the heating systems we want to use. Although I am not sure about the heating system yet. A wood stove for the open plan living area seems to make sense but what about the bedrooms? I don't really want to install heating upstairs, although a heating source in the main bathroom will be needed for the comfort of the children. If we don't install heating in the bedrooms the children will need their own space downstairs. I think I much rather not install heating upstairs, it will make the bedrooms much more healthy to sleep in.
All this assuming we will build a 2-storey house, not a bungalow, but will we ?

What to do first?

Whilst looking for a building plot and sorting out finances, which can take months, I have started my research on the internet. Timber/log homes look fantastic and the vast range of manufacturers in different countries will help us to find the right one. Thinking about it, we can't really decide on a house if we don't know which technologies we will be using to create heat, hot water, electricity and drinking water. There are so many different possibilities out there, I am not sure what to start with.

I think it is quite clear that we want to heat the house with wood and also cook on it. Everything else seems fairly unclear right now, so I have started to look into heating with wood. I shall make a list of interesting links next. It will appear on the right hand side and I will add to it over the next years....

Watch this space.