What Have We Dunoon?
  • Home
  • Blog
  • About
  • Support
  • Contact

Our Instagram Page is Up and Running!

1/30/2019

46 Comments

 
For those of you who'd like to see more photos of the project, follow our Instagram page at 

https://www.instagram.com/whathavewedunoon/

We'll be posting visual updates of our progress, as well as photos of the beautiful scenery we come across as we explore our new home and the rest of Scotland.
Picture
46 Comments

Progress Report #1

1/22/2019

65 Comments

 
​We’ve had our property in Dunoon for a few months now, and I’m sure some of you are wondering what we’ve actually been doing. We’ve decided to start writing intermittent progress reports to update everyone on our developments. 


Progress Report #1: Nov-Dec 2018
 

When Cal first visited Jameswood with our good friends Barry and Dexter, they had a difficult time reaching the front door of the building. The grounds were overgrown with a wide variety of bushes, trees and weeds and some ferns had even managed to take root inside the building. Nature had truly taken over.  

​
Our first order of business was clearing the land, so that we could access the property with ease, and so that, later on down the line, we can safely install scaffolding, and bring machinery and vehicles onto the property.

On dry days… or days when it wasn’t completely bucketing down, we’ve spent most of our time attempting to clear the land.

​
We were especially lucky to have an extra helping paw on site, with Dexter clearing the property, stick by stick. Our wood burner, which warms our site office, has had a constant fuel source from all the bushes we’ve fought back over the weeks, and we did not struggle to find firewood for Bonfire Night this year. 
Picture
Dexter struggling with the difference between clearing the garden and playing fetch.
Picture
Remember remember!
Picture
Picture
Before
Picture
Picture
After
We can now walk around the house!




At some point in time, the drainage system on our property has failed, and our land has become completely water logged. Once we had cleared the property sufficiently, addressing the drainage issues became a priority during better-weather days.

​We’ll write a separate blog post that discusses our water management issues and plans in detail, but for this report, let’s just say there was A LOT of digging involved in the last few weeks of the Dunoon project. 
Picture
Happy to be done after two days of digging a trench.
​On days where it was bucketing down, we had plenty to do inside the house – where our holey roof provided us with a little protection from the rain.
​
The apartments had been left fully furnished… with soggy, mouldy couches and mattresses, broken furniture and decades-old appliances. After more than five runs to the dump, with our Ford Transit filled to the brim, we are getting to know the friendly staff at Dunoon’s local tip and gradually clearing the trash that has been left on the property. 
Click photos to view full size.
Before we can start fixing the house, we also have to clear out the crumbling wet plaster that lines Jameswood’s walls. Property development tv shows make this job look easy. Their montages of knocking down walls with sledge hammers and bringing a house back to its bones look fun and exciting!

I’ve now found out that plaster is dustier and heavier than I could ever have imagined! And getting rid of the mouldy, wet insulation sitting behind the walls and ceilings can be a very itchy endeavour!
​
Bucket by bucket, and with plenty of help from our friends, we’ve managed to bring our apartments back to the studs, and in the process, we’ve also collected a lifetime supply of kindling produced by the lath!  
​​
Picture
Picture
Picture
Barry and Ryan helping out with clearing the upstairs.

​Clearing the land and the house has been A LOT of hard work, but we’ve managed to have a lot of fun in the process. Cal and I are really enjoying having nature right here on our doorstep, and have managed to take a few days off to explore and hike in the area. 

Picture
Picture
Picture


We’ve loved having friends up to blow off some steam with, and they’ve been such an immense help on the project so far.

We’re overwhelmed by the moral support we’ve received both in the local community, and from our friends all over the world.
Picture
Little by little, the property is starting to look less like a haunted house in a spooky, overgrown forest, and more like a proper building site. Now that we’ve prepped Jameswood Villa, we’re excited to start actual restoration work in the coming weeks! 

​Thank you for joining us, as we take on Jameswood Villa!
65 Comments

Dear Dunoon, Thank you.

1/4/2019

51 Comments

 
Picture

​Dear Dunoon,


Cal and I have been OVERWHELMED by the friendly and warm welcome we have received from the Sandbank and Dunoon community.

We love the almost daily “hello’s” we get from neighbours passing by. Everyone is happy to stop for a chat and see how we are getting on.

We’ve had a number of people visit us at Jameswood Villa, post on our website and message us on  Facebook to offer local knowledge and support that will help us with the project.

Despite the fact that most of you likely think we are crazy for trying to restore Jameswood, everyone has been really positive and supportive, and we have received countless well wishes for our journey ahead.  

We’ve taken on a really big task, and sometimes, it’s a bit overwhelming. It is so helpful to know we’ve moved to such a friendly community and have so much local support. We can’t fully explain how much it means to us, but we can say thank you.

So, thank you Dunoon.

Sincerely,
Claire and Cal. 
​
51 Comments

    Archives

    May 2023
    January 2023
    June 2022
    March 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    November 2019
    August 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.
  • Home
  • Blog
  • About
  • Support
  • Contact