Progress towards completion of our holiday cottage is going well and we’re planning to visit the island shortly to finish off all the final decorating as soon as the internal works and snagging items are completed.
The cottage is around 100 years old and so, like many holiday cottages in Scotland by the sea, it’s not really surprising it was in need of quite a bit of renovation – the windows leaked like crazy, there was damp behind the walls and there was a general lack on insulation – and no heating. However the location and view make up for everything.
View across Hynish Bay to Ben Hynish
Our builder, Bruce Kemp, has done a great job with the cottage. We’ve had brand new uPVC windows throughout the downstairs to take in the views as well as brand new, large velux windows fitted to both the bedrooms again, to take full advantage of the fantastic views.
All the internal ground floor walls were stripped back to the bare stone blocks and then re-lined with waterproof membrane and insulation before being re-plasterboarded. In the process, everything has been re-wired with a new consumer unit for all the heating and hot water system, there is new laminate flooring throughout, as well as new ceilings and storage heaters have been installed in all the main areas. The bathroom has been completely gutted, tiled and re-fitted with a modern suite and a large, mains pressure shower. Finally, the whole cottage has been re-decorated from top to bottom both inside and out.
We spent a week at the cottage in April working on some of the decorating and had another week of spectacular Tiree weather as well. The kids went windsurfing and body-boarding every day and, providing you sat out of the slightly chilly breeze (it was April), it was warm enough to sit and relax on the beach… another perfect cottage holiday (albeit with a lot of painting)
Making the most of the weather on Tiree - April 2012
Another spectacular day of Tiree sunshine - April 2012
