Going for Green
Carpenter constructed bill-busting Willow House from scratch
Bill-busting self-build is a beauty.
GEOFF and Louise Cooper poured their heart and soul into building Willow House – a place she describes as their “forever home”.
So it’s plain to hear in her voice just what a grind it was to put the property up for sale, prompted by a change in employment that has forced the family to move down south.
The couple, who have three children, spent five years building the house from the ground up in the Angus Glens, just a short drive from Kirriemuir.
Having already lived in the area for a while, they knew just how costly it was to heat and sustain a house during the colder months, so dreamed of creating an eco-friendly house where they wouldn’t have steep energy bills.
Geoff is a traditional oak carpenter and built the fourbedroom house – oak frame and all – with only a little help from elsewhere.
Louise, a teacher, said: “We had a chap to help with the foundations, and a plumber, electrician and roof tiler, but apart from that my husband did everything.
“We moved in when we had a bathroom and kitchen and continued to work on it until it was finished, which took five years.
“There was thought behind everything we did.
“We made sure it was insulated one foot all the way round and fitted triple glazing in the north-facing windows, while all the heat from the sun coming from the south heats up the dark floor tiles.
“The sun sets in the west in our sitting room and rises in the east in our bedroom.
“The children could roam free and enjoy the countryside, building dens.
“And I loved the hand-built wooden cupboards in the kitchen and the open plan into the living room – I loved it all, it was everything we ever wanted.”
The couple also succeeded
in not only reducing their energy bills, but wiping them out.
The design of the house, as well as solar thermal roof panels, underfloor heating and a mechanical ventilation system, all contributed to busting the bills.
“Thanks to the Renewable Heat Incentive plan, the house is effectively free to run, as that payment covers the council tax as well as the remaining heating costs.
“We certainly have the bug of not paying for hot water now!”
Sadly for the family, due to work commitments they are no longer able to spend much time at Willow House.
“With the state of the economy and employment situation, we had to put our jobs first,” Louise continued.
“When a job came up in Suffolk that Geoff had always wanted to do – a conservationist carpenter – we had to take it.
“And then I got a teaching role I too had always wanted, so selling seems the right thing to do.
“We loved having somewhere unique, but there’s no way we would build from scratch again.
“It became a massive part of our lives.
“We hope to buy a place where we can put on a two-storey extension.”
Whatever the couple do next, it’ll be hard to measure up to the beautiful – and cheap living – Willow House.
The property is on sale through estate agents, Bell Ingram, for offers over £315,000.