We have been postulating this weekend how we can spend more time in Gigha and ultimately do more of the renovation ourselves, within the parameters of our current living situation. It would be good not to have the expense of our current rental (not insignificant but comfortable) that is approximately a 3hour drive to our new home. Consideration though has to be given to mum, now in her 80s, it simply not being fair to ask her to camp in a tent as Karen and I would be prepared to do.
So we have begun to look at both temporary, semi-permanent and permanent structures that could be deployed to the land surrounding the Manse. Ideally the structure(s) would home the three of us comfortably without spending a significant portion of the renovation budget in doing so. Alternatively, we could spend a bit more if the accommodation could be used to bring in a future revenue.
First consideration, was a static caravan. A friend who works in the industry gives us access to a fair price for a second hand model but for the life of me I cannot figure the logistics of getting an already constructed box measuring (lets say) 3m * 12m * 2m (high) into the Manse grounds. Lets assume it can be transported to the ferry and on by a low-loader. I am looking at the turning first onto the main road and then into the Manse as problematic… So we have fast come to the conclusion that a prebuilt space isn’t for us. At least a large one.
Towing caravans do not have the same issues of turning space but we are uncertain if they will give a big enough space for us to live in long term. Looking at ebay and gumtree the market seems to be strong for sellers since lockdown and value for me as buyer seems low. Again doesn’t appear to be a good option for us.
This has brought our attention, not for the first time, to log cabins and shepherds huts. The theory here being that we can have either / both delivered as a series of parts for self assembly. With a less than perfect history of assembling IKEA furniture taking on a project of much greater scale will, if nothing else, make for a good story on these pages. In addition, if built well, we surmise that this could be rental accommodation for paying guests in the future allowing us a way to claw back the initial outlay and perhaps a future income stream.
Log cabins and our first port of call is a company we have looked at in the past at nearby Milton. https://www.logspan.com/ offer a wide range of cabins we like but we are immediately concerned by the lead time. Some 3 weeks before we can get an appointment and likely 26 weeks to wait for most offerings we understand – something that doesn’t fit our ambition to have built and fitted out this autumn to allow us to accommodate us or contractors in situ. It’s not only travelling caravans that are in great demand.
And so to shepherds huts. A friend has pointed us to the following website https://www.tuin.co.uk/bespoke-shepherd-huts.html and at first glance the lead times look much better than that for log cabins. I’m also surprised by how big they can be and the photos of finished designs look very inviting. So Monday’s job will be to enquire further and see if they are a realistic option. And while the hut is an option I stick don’t see myself owning sheep or ever having to use the line “lets get the flock out of here”.
Middle Age Musings 