Trades and materials – the best are right on our doorsteps

You do not have to travel far to resource the best

Your new home has come to the point when the actual work begins. The plans, the finance and all the approvals are in place. Here comes the really exciting bit.

Nothing will compare with the feelings you get at the beginning and end of the self build journey.

The day the first hole is dug and the first time you walk through the front door of your completed home will stay with you forever.

The people who are going to make that happen for you are the tradesmen and women.

In an area of smaller, closely-knit communities like ours, word of mouth and personal recommendation really counts and chances are you will have gone into this project with the names of who you want to work on your dream already in place.

If you go for a turnkey build, your builder will have employees of their own and call on specialist trades when needed. You will see the vans of well-known local businesses and self-employed contractors on sites all over Argyll and Lochaber.

Don’t be surprised if people you hardly know come up to you and say, ‘Oh I see you had . . . . . do your electrics. They did ours.’ When you decide to self-build you join a large, informal club.

Another good thing is the majority of these businesses, large and small, have apprentices who are going through college and working on their qualifications and are making a big contribution to helping grow the local economy and skill base.

They are making sure the next generation of trades are getting a good start.

The West Highlands and islands also have a good number of quarries dotted about the area which supply aggregate and stone. When it comes to sourcing aggregate and stone - and very high quality at that – you can be assured you are keeping your carbon footprint as low as possible.