06. OLD ARDSONA / NEW ARDSONA

WHEN WE PURCHASED THIS ATTRACTIVE LITTLE BUNGALOW (WITH LOVELY GARDENS AND WORLD CLASS VIEWS!) IN NOVEMBER 2001, WE DID NOT ENVISION DEMOLISHING IT AND BUILDING A NEW HOUSE JUST EIGHT YEARS LATER!

IT WAS OUR INTENTION TO USE IT AS A HOLIDAY HOUSE FOR A FEW OF THE SUMMER MONTHS EACH YEAR. BUT THAT WAS BEFORE THE MAGICAL SPELL OF THE ISLE OF ARRAN TOOK HOLD AND WE FOUND OURSELVES SPENDING 5-6 MONTHS THERE!

WE FULLY REALISED THAT IT NEEDED A LOT OF IMPROVEMENTS TO BRING IT UP TO STANDARD AND AFFORD US THE ABILITY TO ENTERTAIN THE MANY OVERNIGHT VISITORS THAT WE ANTICIPATED. THE HOUSE ITSELF WAS A 1960'S DORRAN HOUSE, A PRE-FAB BUILD THAT WAS ORIGINALLY INTENDED FOR ONLY A 40 YEAR LIFE SPAN.

THERE WERE SO MANY IMPROVEMENTS THAT WE WANTED TO CARRY OUT BUT WE JUST COULD NOT FIND RELIABLE WORKERS TO COMMIT TO DOING THEM, DUE TO THE THEN STRONG NEW HOUSING AND HOME IMPROVEMENTS MARKET

ON ARRAN. WE MET WITH A BUILDER FRIEND OF MY NEICE WHO RECOMMENDED THAT WE DEMOLISH AND REBUILD,

BASED ON THE FACT THAT THE REAL VALUE OF OUR PROPERTY WAS IN THE PLOT AND THE OUTSTANDING VIEWS. HIS INPUT WAS IMPARTIAL, AS BEING A MAINLAND BASED BUILDER, HE HAD NO INTEREST IN DOING THE BUILD.

WE DECIDED TO TAKE HIS (THANK YOU NEIL GILLESPIE!) ADVICE AND AFTER LOTS OF FRUSTRATION WITH TWO DIFFERENT ARCHITECTS AND THE PLANNING PROCESS, WE FINALLY GOT A PLAN APPROVED - THANKS TO JOHN MCKEAN'S ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN SERVICES - WHO'S OUTSTANDING CUSTOM DESIGN PROVIDED THE EXACT INTERIOR THAT WE WANTED.
WE HAD MAJOR CONCERNS ABOUT BUILDING A NEW HOUSE FROM 4000 MILES AWAY BUT OUR BUILDER, WILLIAM KERR & SONS, DID A GREAT JOB! IN NEW BUILD PROJECTS, ALL YOU USUALLY HEAR ABOUT IS HORROR STORIES, BUT THIS I'M PROUD TO SAY, IS A TRUE SCOTTISH SUCCESS STORY! I WAS THERE FOR 3.5 MONTHS DURING PART OF THE BUILD AND WAS IMPRESSED WITH THE WORK ETHIC AND QUALITY OF WORK THAT I SAW. THAT GAVE ME FULL CONFIDENCE IN LEAVING THE KERRDSONA TEAM UNDER DOUGIE KERR TO COMPLETE THE JOB TO OUR HIGH EXPECTATIONS. WE MOVED INTO THE NRAND NEW ARDSONA ON APRIL 10, 1010, AND OTHER THAN SOME INITIAL ELCTRICAL ISSUES, IT WAS ALL THAT WE HOPED FOR. IF YOU HAVE LOOKED AT THE PREVIOUS POSTS, YOU CAN JUDGE FOR YOURSELF, BUT VISITORS RAVE ABOUT IT, AND TELL US THAT IT SHOULD BE ON 'GRAND DESIGN'. I WAS UNAWARE OF THE 'GRAND DESIGN' TV SERIES AT THE TIME OR I WOULD HAVE CONTACTED THEM. OUR BUILD, DIRECTED MAINLY FROM GEORGIA AND FLORIDA, WOULD HAVE BEEN A PERECT FIT FOR THE PROGRAMME. I CAN JUST HEAR KEVIN McLOUD NOW, THAT CONCERNED LOOK ON HIS FACE, INTONING IN HIS INCOMPARABLE WAY, 'ALEX IS MAKING ALL THE DECISIONS...BUT WHAT WILL CAROL SAY BACK IN GEORGIA?'
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......THE DEMOLITION

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.......THE NEW BUILD
JOHN MCKEAN'S ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN SERVICES

WHATTAVIEW!!!

BACK TAE WORK YOU THREE!

GREY RENDERING SAMPLE LOOKS GOOD!

DECISIONS-DECISIONS-DECISIONS

I WAS SPENDING 1-2 DAYS PER WEEK AT THE SITE, COMING OVER ON THE WEDNESDAY OR THURSDAY MORNING FERRY, RETURNING TO THE MAINLAND ON THE 4:40 P.M. FRIDAY FERRY FROM BRODICK. IN BRODICK, I STAYED AT 'FELLVIEW' B&B, A MERE 100 YARDS FROM THE NEW BUILD. MANY THANKS TO ELEANOR FOR HER KINDNESS AND EXCELLENT HOSPITALITY THAT I ENJOYED IN MY STAYS THERE OVER MY 3.5 MONTHS TRAVELLING BACK AND FORTH.

'FELLVIEW' : http://homesonarran.co.uk/?p=1262
THE CONVENIENCE OF BEING SO CLOSE TO THE SITE WAS PRICELESS AND ALLOWED ME TO SPEND TIME AFTER THE WORKERS LEFT TO REFLECT ON EXACTLY HOW EVERYTHING WOULD LOOK WHEN FULLY FINISHED AND FURNISHED. I HAD WITH ME, A LIST OF MOST OF THE ITEMS, ALONG WITH DIMENSIONS, THAT WE INTENDED TO SHIP OVER, TO AID ME IN THIS VISUALISATION.
WHILE I NEVER DID REQUEST ANY MAJOR CHANGES TO THE ORIGINAL ARCHITECTURAL PLANS, I DID, AFTER DISCUSSIONS WITH BUILD FOREMAN, DOUGIE KERR, INITIATE SOME RELATIVELY MINOR CHANGES. FAIRLY SMALL CHANGES THAT I FEEL MADE A BIG DIFFERENCE IN THE FINAL ANALYSIS. DOUGIE WAS OUTSTANDING WITH HIS 'CAN-DO' ATTITUDE AND HE HAD MANY GREAT SUGGESTIONS OF HIS OWN. HIS TEAM'S ATTENTION TO DETAIL WAS ADMIRABLE AND CAN BE SEEN IN THE VERY PRECISE GEOMETRY OF THE HOUSE INTERIOR AND FIXTURES.

ON THE MAINLAND, I STAYED WITH MY BROTHER JIM AND HIS WIFE MARGARET IN KILMACOLM AND WITH GOOD FRIENDS BILLY AND ANN PATTERSON IN INCHINNAN. THANKS TO THEM ALL FOR THEIR PATIENCE AND HELP TRANSPORTING ME AROUND TO MANY DIFFERENT SHOPS AND SUPPLIERS.

THAT SAID, I SPENT A LOT MORE TIME BY MY LONESOME SELF, TRAVELLING BY BUS TO GREENOCK, PAISLEY, BRAEHEAD, HILLINGTON AND GLASGOW, OFTEN IN MISERABLE RAINY WEATHER. BUT IT WAS ALL WELL WORTH IT IN THE PURSTUIT OF EXCELLENCE! I AM RARELY WITHOUT A TAPE MEASURE AND I AM, IF NOTHING ELSE, A RELENTLESS AND COMMITTED COMPARISON SHOPPER. KNOWING THE STYLES I WANTED WAS THE EASY PART, GETTING THE DESIRED STYLISH FIXTURES AT PRICES WITHIN OUR BUDGET WAS THE CHALLENGE. EVEN AFTER A FULL DAY OF SHOPPING, I WAS ALSO ON-LINE AT NIGHT SEARCHING FURTHER FOR THE CORRECT PRODUCT FIXTURES AND SUPPLIERS. I FEEL THAT WE SUCCEEDED ADMIRABLY AND THAT THE END RESULT SPEAKS FOR ITSELF. I ENDED UP DELAYING MY RETURN TO THE US UNTIL MID-DECEMBER SO I MISSED MY FAVOURITE AMERICAN HOLIDAY, THANKSGIVING, ON THURSDAY NOVEMBER 26. CAROL WAS OF COURSE BESIDE HERSELF, WANTING ME TO RETURN AND GIVING PLENTY OF LONG DISTANCE 'ADVICE'. I DID MY BEST TO KEEP HER IN THE LOOP BY SENDING HER WEB SITES OF SUPPLIERS AND SPECIFIC PRODUCTS THAT I WAS INTERESTED IN AS WELL AS E-MAIL PHOTOS FROM SITE AND PRODUCTS IN STORES THAT I HAD VISITED. THANK GOD FOR E-MAILS AND DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY! THE WORST PROBLEM WAS FINDING OUR INITIAL WOOD FLOOR PREFERENCE; CANADIAN MAPLE. WE HAD TO HAVE IT AS AN ENGINEERED WOOD, SUITABLE FOR UNDERFLOOR HEATING. WHAT I FOUND WERE ALL TOO YELLOW / ORANGE, TOO SHINY, PLANKS TOO NARROW, OR MOSTLY - NOT ENGINEERED. OR WHATEVER. I WAS TRULY SICK OF LOOKING AND SO MADE THE GOOD OLD FASHIONED SCOTTISH 'AWFUKTHIS' DECISION AND PURCHASED A WOOD THAT I HAD SEEN AND LIKED (ON MY VERY FIRST VISIT!) AT B&Q IN PAISLEY.

CAROL HAD WANTED CANADIAN MAPLE MUCH MORE THAN ME SO IT WAS A KEVIN McLOUD 'WHAT WILL CAROL SAY?' MOMENT WHEN I INFORMED HER THAT THE FLOOR WAS NOW RUSTIC OAK! TO HER CREDIT, AFTER A FEW RANTS, SHE ACCEPTED IT WELL, AND AS SHE NOW LOVES IT AS MUCH AS ME, ALL'S WELL THAT ENDS WELL!

BATTLESTAR ARDSONA

(aka: living room centre light)