Off grid house build Orkney

BTW - quick note on cables, but may be too late...

If you can, you should run some trunking for TV speaker cables from where the TV will be to behind your sofa area for rear speakers. Hides ugly cables but will give you surround cinema options.

Or run larger than normal speaker cables of trunkings not an option.

Thanks bud, we’ve run some good cable in the wall to put a speaker shelf either side of the big windows for exactly that purpose! Going to box off a projector screen centrally above that run of windows too!

great!!!

The siding looks really nice - probably even better when it weathers to a grey colour.

That’s what we’re hoping! Not going to treat it with anything until it greys a bit and maybe put a clear varnish over it then

Don’t! It’ll just flake and peel eventually and you’ll be making a rod for your back with a lifetime of maintenance. Just let it do it’s thang.

https://www.russwood.co.uk/cladding/coating/sioox/

This scandi stuff might be worth looking at

we have russwood thermopine (jet black) cladding - it’s class

dare I ask you or @Sheppz what the rough/sqm cost Russwood cladding is?

edit: ignore me - just seen ‘from £34sqm’ (not too much) and minimum order 50sqm (too much)

worth contacting them to ask if they'd still place your order - don't think we've got anywhere near 50sqm (think our clad elevation is 5.5m x 4.5m, roughly)

Just checking in. And loving seeing the progress

Fairly sure you'll have seen this already.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-60848672

@dbr ah, thank you! I know the exact kind of flaking you mean and if it can just weather without the need for treatment after we’ll probably just go with that.

@Sheppz cheers, that looks really interesting, and similar to what we used on decks when I was doing labouring in Canada. The more I look at the wood the more I really think we’ll just let it happen gradually and naturally, will be really nice to see the process!

@cozey ooh, any pictures? We did consider the scorched planks, but Jesus it costs a lot more for someone to basically run a blowtorch on it!

@jonny thank you bud, really nice to have somewhere to document it all and have folk along with us for it!

@tallsam I hadn’t read that one, thanks for sending it! It’s getting really fucking grim out there right now and don’t know what the answer is.. it’s not fucking cambo and new nuclear plants though.. if a small percentage of proposed investment went into the tidal turbines my partner works on there would be loads of them!

Was south seeing my wee mum for Mother’s Day which was nice. Came back up to the cladding on the back almost finished and then having started plasterboarding the vaulted ceiling as well. Looks like the space could absorb a mezzanine without feeling too cramped in the future..

Started a new job as a housing officer a couple weeks ago, handed in my notice yesterday.. figure this is the wrong year to be chasing poor families and single parents for rent they now can’t afford through no fault of their own.. don’t want to be looking back in a few years and say I was just following orders..

The build is getting pretty stressful and when decisions are needed they’re needed yesterday and we have been feeling pretty stretched! We’ve decided I’m going to spend my time looking after the build and doing labour on it to try and save money (being a second man for the sparky for 3 days probably saved us a grand!). There’s a 12 hour a week position at the local mental health charity so have applied for that and could combine that and the house build in a way that is much more manageable I reckon.

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The willows are properly budding on the fence line! Here’s the inside, and also our bedroom, aka screwfix

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You've perhaps answered this and I've skimmed over it. But what are you going to do with such a big garden? I doubt you'll use much of it for growing food. Any plans for animals?

Of course you may just want a great big garden for no real reason. Can't blame you if you do.

The possibilities though. Pump track for example.

@tallsam Here’s what we’re thinking so far, it may alter and evolve as things move forward, but it seems like a good use of the space
1&2 will be summer and winter paddocks for some sheep and will work out about an acre or so each. Number 2 will be the winter one as it’s a little more sheltered behind the other house and higher up too so should have less risk of standing water and getting boggy in the winter. We’ve had someone who keeps these sheep let us know we could probably keep some too. They’re called boreray sheep and are native to this area, they’re direct descendants of the “lost flock” that were taken off st kilda. They’re supposedly really low maintenance as sheep go so could be good to learn with originally. They shed their own wool and will just kind of manage on their own for the most part without us needing a huge amount of knowledge. We don’t intend to farm them as much as just let them live their lives out somewhere. This is all still to be made definite but it’s seeming likely.

3 will be a couple polytunnels, some outside garden patches for potatoes and kale and the like, a decent compost spot and probably a wee garden tool shed in time too.

4 will hopefully be the converted shipping container for anyone visiting to stay (we’re thinking a wee solar panel/battery set up and a composting toilet). Around here we’re also thinking a wee space for chickens and things, although we’re still to properly decide about fowl with what seems to be rolling avian flu crises and needing space to keep them inside these days..

5 will hopefully be bunches of bushes and wildflowers and good things for pollinators and ground nesting birds.

6 is where all those drainage ditches are leading and I’d like to build the back side of a bowl there and have a pond for the birds to hang out at.

And we’ll probably have a wee bit of lawn at the back of the house at number 7 but not much.

Like I say, this is all hopeful, but I think it would work quite well.

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Sounds great.

Do you have foxes up there? I kept Ducks as a kid and the fox got them eventually. I was heartbroken. Great pets though. Plus the eggs were lovely.

I think rats can be attracted too. Although we never had any problem with them.

Got my ass kicked by covid for the last week so haven’t been on here much. Since I last posted I’ve finished working at the housing association and was just offered a part time position at the local mental health charity which I’ll be starting soon. Feels like a much better place to be, much more in line with the work I’ve always done, and will also help me take on the stress of the house build in a much more manageable way, I’m really happy with it. Will allow me 2 days on site and time the other 3 days to show up and answer any questions/reply to emails/organise deliveries.

@tallsam we’re really fortunate, the biggest predators we have are stoats and otters. Because of the amount of ground nesting seabirds up here there’s a stoat eradication scheme as well to help and protect bird numbers. We have big shore rats here, but unless there’s food scraps thrown out or ways into houses in the cold they generally stay down at the shore. I’d really love some ducks for down on the pond I’m going to build, we’ve got some mallards nesting down there this spring already.

That’s pretty much all the internal boarding done on the ceilings and just waiting for the walls in the central space. Because we’re doing limestone tiles we want to get the plastering done first so there’s not scaffolding and plaster all over the tiles after we just fit the floor. Going to be an expensive few weeks running a heater and dehumidifier off the diesel generator to get everything dried out for the plastering to start..

It’s by no means well made but put a raised planter in the polytunnel just using some offcuts from the woodpile. Like I say, not pretty or hugely well done, but will serve it’s purpose..

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Things have been busy so haven’t really had a chance to be on here for a while but lots has happened so there’s going to be a bit of a photo dump. Spent the last bit helping get all the plasterboard up which was really enjoyable (didn’t know how hands on I would be able to be on the build!) I’m not great with things that require precision and exact measurements so have left the joiner to it when the weather has been good enough for getting out back to do the cladding. The wood is so pretty and somehow we’ve ended up with a very trippy knotty face right next to the back door (I haven’t named them yet). When he’s been doing that I’ve been digging some more drainage in the field (was very satisfying to find that spot underground with so much water, and even more so digging out that wee plug when the trench below was ready!) We also got some veg started in the polytunnel and built a new wee planter from offcuts for the broccoli.

Our kitchen has shown up (earlier than we wanted it to be here but had to order before 2022 prices hit on April 1st). Instead of pallet wood for the kitchen cabinets I’m going to use offcuts from the larch cladding as the grains are fucking beautiful!

We’ve also secured and paid a deposit on our cooking wood stove for times of low production. The Scottish stockist of these is only getting two this summer so really glad that one will be on its way to us!

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The cladding

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The knot looks like a owl.

How the inside is looking

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I love the height inside, the fact there is a owl face in the wood by the door, and the bonus cat photos.

It looks like you're cracking along with the build!

That’s way way brighter then I initially though. Most excellent.

@Cazakstan Thanks very much! Yeah the height in there really seems to make a huge difference to how big it feels! @andyp An owl, I think that might be it. I can see me after we’ve moved in spending some time after some level of mind altering substances introducing myself to all our friends in the wood keeping us dry.

Haha, it’s really hard not to include more of her, she’s very photogenic! Here’s some more of her and one of the wood stove, very excited for it.

@Chak me too, think the skylights make a significant difference as we really only have one south facing window.

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