WELCOME TO THE GREEN HOUSE
Cutting-edge technology combined with traditional building methods have produced one of the most eco-friendly houses in the country
A stunning but supremely eco-friendly house in Moniaive, Dumfriesshire
It helps to do some forward planning when you’re in the farming business, but Neil and Mary Gourlay have taken that concept to a whole new level. It all started in 2002 when the couple bought a neighbouring farm in their corner of Dumfries and Galloway. They decided to maximise their investment and plan for their retirement at the same time.
‘We got 350 acres of land but the purchase didn’t include the farm house,’ says Neil. ‘I realised that if my son ever wanted to join the family business, he wouldn’t have anywhere to live.’
So a decision was made to construct a new house, with a difference. ‘I didn’t want to build an ordinary house – that’s what everyone does!’
Near Moniaive and with stunning views across the countryside to where the three glens of Craigdarroch, Dalwhat and Castlefairn converge, the site of the proposed property lent itself to something special and Neil was determined to do it justice. The seeds of the initial idea were sown in 2009 and have taken fully five years to come to fruition, but when you start to delve into the sustainability of the materials and the exacting build process, it’s easy to see why it took so long.
‘I’m a great believer in sustainability,’ says Neil, ‘and I wanted the house to reflect that. It’s one reason why a lot of the building materials for the house were found on the farm, not just because I’m a miserable Scotsman.’
While the cost of many of the materials was cheaper, the labour required to use them generated more expense. But it has created a very modern house that is also incredibly sustainable. ‘What we tried to achieve was a house that was green but not in the way that is often associated with green and sustainable, which is that you go outside to the loo with a bucket.’
‘I didn’t want to build an ordinary house – that’s what everyone does’
Constructing the five-bedroom, two-storey property required 286 railway sleepers for the timber frames. Some 500 tons of stone were collected from the surrounding fields to build the walls, and 2,000 fleeces were taken from local blackface sheep for use as insulation. The oak cladding came from wind-felled trees on the farm. These were cut into boards, left to dry out for two years and then cut again to the right lengths. The cow hide seats weren’t bought in either – they are hides from Neil’s own herd.
The turf roof, meanwhile, is made from exactly the same turf that’s in the surrounding fields. Combined with the fact that the roof slopes at the same angle as the side of the valley, this means that the house is virtually invisible from across the Cairn valley.
Add to this the more technical side of eco living and you have a house that is almost completely off the grid. Electricity is generated by a 100kW turbine, while heating comes courtesy of a ground-source heat pump, a heat-recovery system and a fabulous biomass stove – the Austrian Kachelöfen. Neil first encountered the Kachelöfen while staying with friends in Austria and thought it would be an ideal addition to his new home.
‘It’s essentially a huge wood-fired clay oven which acts like a giant storage heater and creates an ambient temperature for all the rooms,’ he explains. ‘I suggested it to the builders and even bought them a book on the subject, but I could see there was a danger it was going to go wrong. So I got in touch with my friends in Austria and we ended up with a master Kachelöfen builder and his girlfriend coming over for a week and building it for us. It only needs about four or five logs a day, and if there are any complaints
about it, it’s that it’s too hot. It’s a real feature of the house.’
Interesting features are something that this home has in abundance, both inside and out, and Neil seems to have had as much fun creating the finishing touches as he had managing the build. ‘It took a long time to complete but I didn’t lose interest because all the way through we found things to put into it. Occasionally I did wonder how on earth I was going to pay for it all, but it never turned into a nightmare and I really enjoyed sourcing the additional features.’
On a visit to the Royal Highland Show he got talking to Michael Douglas of Jarabosky. The artisan cabinetmakers specialise in using reclaimed wood to make their furniture. ‘I had bought a few pieces from Jarabosky in the past, so I asked Michael if he would be interested in a project. He ended up making the dining table and bench from railway sleepers – which is really nice because the floor in that part of the house is made from reclaimed railway sleepers as well.’
Another interesting piece is the clock. ‘My father-in-law had a big old mill wheel lying about and I made it into a clock,’ says Neil. ‘It’s
two foot in diameter and is built into the wall. I also really like the horseshoe door handles that the blacksmith made.’
Until the Gourlays move in to Three Glens full-time in a couple of years’ time, they are letting the house on a B&B basis. The quality of the build and Neil’s eye for detail have already won it recognition, gaining a five-star grading from Visit Scotland and receiving a Gold Award from the Green Tourism Business Scheme. It’s an accolade that delights Neil and proves his point that you don’t have to go outside to the toilet to be green.
But the most important thing to remember, he says, ‘is that I’ve built a nice warm house for us to retire to’. That day may still be some time off, but it’s a future that both he and Mary are very much looking forward to.