[Tullywood Farm]

Hello, started this conversation under Kev's self sufficiency thread, and brought it to here. 

This is a self build - no builders, no kit, just lots of pressure treated timber, pine cladding, insulation, nails, slates, and know how from my Joe   It took us three months to build the shell - we started last October Break and finished on the 17th December - then took a good six weeks off - well deserved too we were wrecked.

Here is a picture of our house - the upstairs door is from our bedroom, and will eventually have a 12 ft square balcony leading from it. 


Underneath the balcony will be a sun room for tomatoes and lemons etc, and to sit in to read and watch the hens, ducks and geese at the pond.

This is the kitchen inside -which we finished last night - at last.  It is 20 x 12 feet with a dining area and staircase to the left of this picture.


The units were in since Christmas and it was liveable, but no trims under and on top of the cupboards and no island finished - now it is - we also added the top row of cupboards around the extractor fan this week - we started on Monday, but as some of you know Joe has put his back out so it has been slow climbing up and down to do the work - its done now - onwards and upwards to finish our bedroom and ensuite upstairs.

We were going up a ladder for months, but put a staircase in three weeks ago.  Great improvement.

We lived in a mobile home for seven years, and - we have built around it so we could work and live on site - so the mobile home, is still in there, part of the walls and entrance can still be seen inside - but not for long.

The whole house is built off ground and triple insulated, and under the front porch/deck we have wood storage which looks nice and is practical too.

Joe has gone for more wood to finish the staircase - so  have to go - time to make something to eat 

If any of you are living in a mobile home and want to know how we did this - Joe is the man to talk to.

bye for now  Julie

[jameslindsay]

Well done you lot, it looks beautiful. I hope you are all very happy there for many, many years to come. Loooks idylic.

[HappyHippy]

Gorgeous house Julie, and that kitchen looks heaven for cooking in !
Joe's a talented man, but you know the saying 'behind every good man..............'
Do you think he could knock up a mini version for my chickens ! 

[Tullywood Farm]

Hiya Happy Hippy, thanks for your lovely comments - we have friends and children arriving on Saturday so I can happily spend Friday making Carrot Cake, Choc Muffins and steak pies for their arrival. Its such a bright space too with the north facing velux window.

Joe does make hen houses too - specification as follows:

Hen and Duck Housing - Standard sizes -  or made to your requirements....


Hen House Specification:
12 Hen House with Shade for sand bath and wind/rain protection
Green Stained and Treated Ship Lap Timber
Green Mineral Felt Roof.
Pop Hole/ Ramp for bird use.
Front Large door for easy cleaning.
Bolts on doors.
Nest Box with external lift up lid for egg collection.
2 Internal perches.

They are really solid though and would cost a fortune to send to Lanarkshire but I am sure you can get one locally

Its great having so many places for things after having only one kitchen cupboard for seven years and being cramped, its like living in a mansion now - we all have our own space to hang out in - its great

Julie

[doganjo]

What a wonderful house - you should have called Kevin McLoud to do a programme on the build - this is one GRAND Design!

[Tullywood Farm]

Hello there

Here is a "before" picture of the cabin from the other side, when we were building the frame
around the old 1970's mobile we lived in.  We were only planning to be in the mobile for 8 months, but our plans were delayed, for lots of major reasons.
We never did get to rebuild the old stone cottage on the land - so thats going to be a future project - we are happy to stay here now, it is so warm and cosy, yet spacious too.



You can see Joe inspecting our work trying to make sure everything is in-line etc.

Julie

[kevkev57]

Thats a lovely job, and I reckon it will look a peach, when its finished. Good on you. Seeing stuff like this always puts me in a good mood !
Kevin

[sandy]

Wounderful, love that kitchen, just the sort of units I like and what a wounderful location, well done to you all!!! Now, are you taking orders?

[Tullywood Farm]

We wouldn't know what to charge -

BUT

It has cost us about 20,000 euro to build, including the kitchen units, cooker, stove, and lighting etc.

BECAUSE

There is no labour costs at all    (Love and arguments and bad falls included!)

Now hows that for affordable housing   

The timber is all 20 years guaranteed - and it would actually be cheaper for me and Joe to re-clad the outside with new pressure treated timber, with another 20 years wear and tear - than the cost to paint it!!!!   Mad isn't it

Joe thinks I am crazy, but I believe that if we drew up plans, did a bit of quantity surveying, made a buying pick list for the whole project in steps - then we could have a good business selling those to nice people who can buy a field and do it themselves - 

What do you think of my idea?

Julie -

[doganjo]

Julie, you are a true entrepreneur!  I think that si a great idea.  Might take you a while to get all teh bits and bobs listed, but Excel and your invoices should do the trick.  I kept all my stuff on an Excel database but that was because I could reclaim all my VAT so didn't want to miss out on even a penny!  I loved building my own house and would do it again, although it was a bit more conventional than yours.

[HappyHippy]

They are really solid though and would cost a fortune to send to Lanarkshire but I am sure you can get one locally

I don't think there are THAT many like Joe about       
(No offence meant)

[sellickbhoy]

having just finished my own "shed" and conservatory and decking - and feeling quite smug with myself, i now feel thoroughly deflated!!

congratulations on your impressive erection Joe!!! LOL


(ps, the "shed is a 9M by 6M triple garage "log cabin" type building - but won't be using it as a garage, it's got a gym in there and i'm currently moving the guitars down there too. It's a den!)

[Tullywood Farm]

Well Done - enjoy your new space - and do not be deflated at all -
we are wanting to help give people inspiration

Your placce looks lovely on the photo here

Julie

(PS don't tell Joe he has an impressive erection - he'll be wanting to get into porn movies now )

[sellickbhoy]

thats the OLD one on the photo - i've a bit of a site clear up to complete this weekend before i can get a new photo to replace the leaky old dilapitated stables pic!

[Tullywood Farm]

Looking forward to seeing your new photo's soon   

We have a digger in now, taking away the bank of rocks behind our cabin - you can just see them on the last photo above, I am cringing incase one hits the cabin - but this guy we have digging is the best we know so should be ok - the rocks are massive - he is digging the area level for the balcony today as well, and the 10 x 10 x 12 foot timbers are ready to collect - so maybe we will have a balcony soon...

Its all exciting stuff - and great when you can stand back and say  "we did that" and appreciate it at every step throughout the building process 

Julie