We BOUGHT our DREAM House in SCOTLAND (Full Tour)

It's been a LONG old wait for the keys but we're finally in! (Well, we're not in, we're living in our bus while we renovate!) Drop below any recommendations you guys might have for the house vision (and DIY) - 300,000 brains are better than 2! 🤣 Would love to hear your thoughts... 🥰

You will need to put in French drains around the back of the house to divert water coming down from the hillside away from your foundation. That is likely the reason for the mold in the BR that you want to turn into the bathroom. While you are working on grading the grounds in front for your big gravel parking lot, you might want to address the steep slope immediately behind the house as well, so that water runoff is less of an issue. Either a retaining wall or dig into the hillside to push that edge farther away from the house, or both. I wish you all the best!

To safeguard your health, anytime you are in spaces with damp and mold, please put on a P100 mask/respirator. They have pink replaceable cartidges. Some types of mold can be dangerously toxic and once in your system can be very hard to eliminate. It looks like a great adventure! ❤ But please take care to protect yourself during the reno! Disposable painting overalls with hoods are a good idea to prevent you bringing mold spores back into your living space.

Advice: Start with an architect. This is a big project and the architect will bring so much to the table. They will have ideas you've never even considered. Pay for this. THEN find your builder (who will declare several things impossible). Then spend some time on your priority list and find out what you two can reasonably do yourselves. Be patient, you have a lifetime of projects in mind. Be flexible. Stuff happens. Best of luck to you. What a gorgeous property!!! Oh, and you don't have enough room for the highland cow. You can have chickens (if you want eggs) and dogs. Start small on the garden. That is humbling.

I'm torn between a grin and a grimace as I contemplate all you're about to go through and how unsuspecting you are today. I feel for ya. This is going to challenge you like nothing before and you'll hate it and love it and ions from now when it's finally finished, you'll be whole new people than you are today. Good luck! I've already laid out my game plan on prior vids, so I'll just say, get the workshop done first, stop water intrusion, get some water and heat, fix the drive for deliveries putting down gravel where needed to prevent mud, and make designated places for scrap and waste you can back a truck up to, and then get to it. You're a LONG way from the fun part so just be patient. You'll get there. Hugs! So happy you finally got the keys!

Congratulations 🎉! Don't go knocking out ceiling beams without talking to an architect. Those beams often help keep the structural integrity of the roof. So happy for you both! 😊

SCOTTAGE has to be the new name . Custard and Scottage Absolutely love this. Congratulations to you both.

I love the way you’re just “putting another window” in a 4’ thick wall !!! The enthusiasm of the first home owner. Love it.

First foots are traditionally the first person over your doorstep at new years … a dram, black bun and coal were the gifts brought by them. Tall and dark haired male preferably. I’ve never known anyone do it for a new house. Bread and salt are gifts for a new home and sprinkling salt throughout the home around windows and doors to ward off bad spirits. Traditional Scot’s blessing… May your troubles be less and your blessings be more and may nothing but happiness come through your door

9:25 - the hat is called a Glengarry which is a traditional Scottish cap and the "feather" is referred to as a "Hackle". The badge you can see usually refers to either the military unit or the clan the individual wearing belongs to. Hope this helps?

Hi. Guys. Best of Luck with your new home. Idyllic location. My late husband Gerry and I had a tiny 1900s cottage here in Ireland for 10 years. We had a new insert stove with back boiler installed in the fireplace. When fire was lit, wood burning, we just switched on the little electric pump. This heated the water in boiler and pumped it into 6 radiators....heating entire cottage. We had idyllic years there. Sadly Gerry passed 4 years ago. I have moved now to a less rural place. But I have beautiful memories of our little cottage. You will be very happy in your new home. ❤❤🎉🎉

So happy for you guys! If you can incorporate a mudroom I would suggest adding one to the plans. Hooks for coats, a bench to sit and take off your shoes, a place to store them. Helps keep the house warm in the winter too.

The crest on the hat in the barn is the Clan Stewart of Appin Crest Badge. It says “Quihidder Wil Zie” which means “Whither will ye”, which is the clan motto.

French drain along the granite side of the cottage will help with the watershed, which will help reduce damp

So happy for you and can’t wait to see what you do with it all. As a horticulturist myself, may I suggest you start your garden with pots and see how your light and seasons go, that way you aren’t committing to raised beds until you know the best aspect for the garden and what your rainfall, light and animal visitors will be. Get a plastic poly tunnel as they are easier to repair if something gets damaged. Enjoy the process.

You'll want to have some tall fencing or an enclosure to keep the deer out if you're planning to grow fruits and vegetables, with how rural an area you're in they're bound to see your place as a free buffet! Good luck with what's ahead and I can't wait to see how it comes together ❤

I will never understand why they don't have a million subscribers.

Finally! Delighted for you. Get the dehumidifiers/air cleaners on 24/7 . Our barn took 9 months to renovate with an army of full timers. You have a huge project ahead of you and you have the delights of the planning department to wrangle with. Don't want to burst your bubble but there's an awful lot to do and you're going to need very deep pockets and truck loads of patience. Wishing you the best of luck and thank you for taking us along with you😊

Wishing you both every happiness. My husband and I did something similar, purchasing two acres in the middle of a forest. We are local to the area and are situated in the N.East of Scotland. The last two and a half years, one of which we were fully off grid, living on site in an old, cold caravan. One without insulation, double glazing or flushing toilet. From the get go we worked towards self-sustainability with our vegetable garden. Our water comes from a well and we chop our own firewood. We have our dogs, Obi n Finn, our rescue ponies Dusty and Storm, and chickens, ducks, and sheep. January finally saw the eco house build begin, builders estimate we’ll be in for Autumn. We’ve always been environmentalists with waste a bad word. So minus a few exceptions, we set ourselves the task that for the interior we’d repurpose and only buy second hand or vintage. Thus far it’s certainly been an adventure, without question the hardest thing we’ve ever done, and at times for myriad reasons, extremely challenging. Many times we thought the house would never happen. Winter’s are long and brutal. Building an architect designed house bleeds money. But would we change it? Not a chance. Despite all the ups n downs this is the happiest we’ve ever been. I truly wish the same for you both. From here on in, every day will be a school day and you’s will never be done learning. Best advice I can give you is trust your gut, and remember Mother Nature never betrayed the heart that loved her. If you want to know a bit more, I’ve a wee blog on my website (I’m an artist). Oh and Foggy Bummer is Scot’s Doric Dialect for Bumblebee. Best of luck 🐝

On back of the house , Put on a new rain gutter, cut back the hill, put in a French drain and you will have greatly helped the moisture infiltration.