Kit yourself out!

Kit homes are one of the most popular ways to build your own home there in the Highlands and islands and they come in all shapes, sizes and materials

How the times have changed when it come to kit homes. They first saw the light of day in the post Second World War era as a way of boosting the nation’s depleted housing stock and wartime neglect. Back then, when your grandparents or parents were buying their first kit home it was far more primitive than our contemporary computer-designed and constructed homes; the technology available today would make their heads spin. It was a case of struggling to get the house weatherproof on site during the vagaries of the Scottish climate. Today, entire rooms can arrive, sealed, on site; the hard work has been done undercover in the factory and the time spent on site getting the property weather-tight is minimal. In the old days it was very much a ‘one-size-fits all’ scenario. Today’s technology means that a kit home is totally customisable. Want to flip the interior lay out? No problem, think the porch would be better over there? Today’s kits have flexibility built in as standard and some kit home manufacturers have the ability to take your architect’s drawings and use their production techniques to build your home from start to finish and give you a bespoke service. The one proviso for a timber frame home design is making sure that you know what you want at the design stage. Alterations once the kit has been constructed will be costly. That is one point where brick-built wins; you can move a window or door or wall during the construction phase. Try doing that to a timber frame and it will mean a trip back to the drawing board and the factory and that will prove expensive. Kit homes are the most popular way to build a home in the West Highlands and Islands and some of the leading kits come from manufacturers in the region. One advantage of having a kit home supplier build your home for you is that they will have their own team of proven tradesmen and women who have worked together before and they know this product inside out – literally! You are saving on time but you are paying for expertise and experience. You might decide to put the work in the hands of a building firm you know and trust; in the West Highlands the chances are that good building companies will have worked on all the big name companies’ kits and have a proven knowledge and understanding of the product. Or you are in the building trade yourself and can put together your own team. Job done. You might decide to project manage the build yourself and hire in the trades and skills as needed. This could save money but most people who go down this route will tell you that the demands on your time will be far greater than you anticipate. Flexibility truly is the key word. They create and build many different styles of home for many different people and so the choice of bathrooms and kitchens and flooring reflects that wide range; you can even source fittings from other suppliers if you have your heart set on a particular style or type and they will carry out the installation.