Off grid house build Orkney

@PeteJChurchill thank you, it really does feel like even though there’s still a long way to go that it will be habitable soon. It is pretty mild here just now indeed, which, although great for now, is pretty concerning generally.. it can be so changeable though that we’ve already had weeks that feel very much like winter too.

We’re still cracking on, painting and oiling skirtings and finishings and cleaning off rooms now we can close doors to keep the dust out. We started on tiling one of the bathroom walls too. I love these tiles as they really look quite convincing. Quite a dark wood, but it’ll be a white ceiling and the wall facing it will be light blue tiles up to window height and white above which should balance it out a bit.

We got the porch stone delivered yesterday too, 17 tonnes.. that’s going to be a tough couple weeks organising, cutting and getting that up..

Got to show my folks some northern lights last night and the weather was great today so gave them the day off so we could have some nice wee strolls together

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Great work - I guess the pump track build is going to wait until the spring.

I think it's going to be transformed when the second fix electrics tidies up the wall spaghetti.

The weather up there looks fantastic (unseasonably so). Beautiful photos as ever - really close now!

Wow!!

You'll never get it finished by giving the labourers the day off to go for a bimble!

As ever, inspiring stuff, it's gotta feel good?

Yeah it’s been lovely but enjoying unseasonal warmth feels a bit like celebrating the coming doom these days..

@nuke haha yeah, delays with other bits have pushed that back I’m afraid, there’s always the spring post deckbuild though..

@user69121 I’m hoping so! He’s been busy recently but is due out a week on Monday for getting all of that done, can’t wait!

@skinny cheers, it’s so close to what I’ve been visualising for years now

@jontea there were whispers of revolt I had to stifle, the rest got them working even harder today though! I feel like I’ve been saying the end is in sight for months now, but it’s feeling good really tidying things up and seeing ideas we’ve had actually become reality!

While we were away yesterday darren the joiner was here getting all the cutouts sorted for getting the sink fitted. I really love it, big chunky ceramic thing!

Mum got loads more wood a second or third coat of oil and sanded down the live edge bathroom shelves ready for treating.

Dad and I finished off the tiling on that bathroom wall and started on the cladding in the porch.

The tiles look like they’re kind of floating in the middle of nowhere right now, but they’ll be butted right up to where the slate shower wall panels start. I quite like them stopping at the top of the door frame as I think it stops that wall feeling too dark or too heavy and bringing the ceiling colour down might make it feel taller. It had been a consideration before, but the decision was forced when we realised we would have run out of tiles. We bought these as a £45 job lot from a topps tiles that was closing down about 18 months ago and knew we’d find a use for them somewhere.

The porch will have that wall cladding going round to the window and the same depth on the other wall too and we’ll fill that with loads of coat hooks. It’s all going to be painted “lady Penelope” which is the same colour as her car in thunderbirds which I’m really excited to see! Those frames were meant to be loft hatch frames, but are now the start of a bench seat we’ll be putting there, with shoe storage underneath and above the cladding we’ll be making a shelf for baskets of hats and gloves.

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Solid couple days before mum and dad headed south but got loads of things ticked off the list. Now the grout is all scrubbed off in the bathroom I’m really liking that wall, we got the shelves fitted in there for the sink as well. Now just for the plumbers to show up, need to get them to confirm a date still.

We also got the bench seating/ shelf finished in the porch, just some trims round the edges of things and I’ll start on getting that undercoated.

That’s the kitchen finished except for water and power (two pretty major elements I realise) and the splashback tiles, which I might aim to do this weekend before the electrician comes on Monday. Got the end of the kitchen run and the back frame capped off with some more leftover larch cladding which I think keeps it all really tidy and tucked away. Looking forward to getting the shelving mounted behind it too.

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Pictures of the kitchen after last update, plus dad and I started on putting together the two big lights for the apex. Got them both to this point as the start is tricky then just 12 more staves to add to each. The other one is exactly the same, but from a different barrel so the staves are 100mm longer. I’m thinking I will probably sit that one on the side not above the kitchen as it’ll have a hanging driftwood light above the island so I think the more perceived distance between those two the better. I really want to see what kind of shadow these cast up into the height of the ceiling

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Been a while since the last post so this is a bit of a photo dump. The joiner cleared out last week to let the electrician and plumber in. Electrician has been out the last couple days and is back out next week and the plumbers are booked on the boat all next week too. Got started on cutting holes for sockets and light switches, fucking terrifying after spending so long trying to make walls perfect and painted.

Caught Scottish water out doing the track inspection a month later than planned and they were kind enough just to do the connection at the same time so have water from an outside tap and one in the workshop now. The one into the house is capped for now waiting for the plumbers.

We also got the cupboard and loft hatch installed in the workshop too. Oiled the big bit of driftwood that will form the light hanging over the island worktop.

When all the tools were out of the space it was back to feeling bigger than expected! To treat ourselves we took a bunch of stuff up on Saturday, cat proofed all the holes and spent the evening there. Felt really cosy with the stove going and nihil seemed confident enough to do some exploring but she didn’t like the stove (not sure if smells or unusual noises). Having slept on a couch the past few months I had the best sleep on our new mattress, punctuated by noises from nihil exploring but can’t wait to be in an actual bed consistently!

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More photos..

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And some moar.
Nice to know that my lezyne drive 1000 works to light the whole space for hours when we have no power

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Last for today

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This is really coming together so quickly. Thankyou for the regular updates and pictures and I still follow this avidly, although I dont find the time to comment. Your tastes are banging. Its coming together so well.

I have now moved up to Kirkcudbright, from the South East so couldnt be further South than you in Scotland. October here has been warm but very, very wet having rained every day since start October. It is taking some getting used to...

Does Nihil have pale green eyes? I think I see where the colour scheme comes from...

Fingers crossed that all the rest goes smoothly!

Brilliant update photos. Sorry to read that you have had a few setbacks. I guess that the final coming together with finishes, connections etc will ramp up, hang in there you are on the final stretch. You have created an incredible home and picked out some great design.

Nihil looks right at home too :)

This last picture makes the room look very, very large.

Great to see this entering the home straight.

What a home you will have created!

Hahaha how did you guess? She also sits pretty well next to all my carhartt dungarees too.

@velosaurus thank you! We’re really surprising ourselves with how well it’s coming together to be honest, everything we’ve bought has eithe looked too big or too small for the space, but then when it sits there it just fits nicely. Really chuffed with the combo of new and home made on the kitchen too and I think the floor tiles play a huge part too, think it would feel like a much different space with carpet or laminate.
Oh nice, what brought you up, it’s a nice part of the world there. Haha like you say though, the winter creeps up and autumn of mild and wet seems to last forever..

@almac68 thanks for the support, guess if it was simple everyone would be doing it.. this last couple years has taught me patience but also a bit of resignation unfortunately.. still confident that things will happen, just not in the timescale or with the urgency I’ve hoped. She spent the next day under the duvet, think some of it was fear but most of it was being knackered after spending all night roaming around and exploring

@TW it’s a fisheye so a bit deceptive, but there’s way more floor space with the kitchen in than we pictured. I thought the back of the couch would be close and we’d be squeezing past it but there’s a big gap behind it.

@Sergeant_Pluck thank you so much, it’s been such a fight at points and the next few weeks are going to be working on things or packing up where we’re renting, really looking forward to the big breath out when we’re in. I know there will still be to do lists, especially in the workshop, but not with the same urgency.

Got these big bastards bolts for hanging the big lights. Chunkier than I’d though but won’t have to worry about the lights going anywhere. Here’s a photo of it with a 3 second shutter on the night of the full moon, it was so bright the other night

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Love the long exposure shot.

"Swing hanger" ....."for the lights"......

This thread could take a turn.

Glad it wasn't just me whose mind went there.

Indeed.

I'm waiting to see the progress of the basement build.

The last pics are class, really coming together... The 2nd fix electrics will transform it.. nearly there..

@beseku @TW Hahaha, I did feel a little grubby ordering them as that did cross my mind too.. I promise any leftovers will only ever support a hammock on the deck!!

@JurekB thanks! I felt I had to try and show it, I’ve walked in darker afternoons here compared to that night!

@Technics100 thanks, feel like I’ve said it’s beginning to feel like a home since about April but it is actually now!