Professional Architects in Fort William

Our range of homes has been carefully architect-designed to make excellent use of space and light. We stand by the integrity of our designs. We understand that clients will sometimes require alterations to their chosen design. For example, your site may require the house plan to be mirrored, or you may require a larger window to the gable or an extra velux window. Simple design amendments can be undertaken for a nominal charge, although changes will also affect the kit price. Bear in mind that there are several steps in the pricing, design, engineering, ordering and production phases which will need to be re-evaluated if you request modifications. So the extra cost of modifications can quickly add up. The financial savings of building a kit house over a bespoke architect-designed house spring from the fact that they are pre-designed and engineered. So modifying something pre-designed will always cost more and take more time to achieve. Beyond simple alterations, a full bespoke architectural design service can be provided by Dualchas Building Design.

No. We do not sell the plans for our designs separately. The plans are provided as part of the package when you purchase one of our kits. Any use of our designs without our express permission will be considered breach of copyright and we will take immediate action to recover costs.

An ASHP essentially involves an exchanger unit, usually in a fan unit (box typically approx. 1x0.5x1.2m LWH) outside the property, which will use a small amount of electricity to gather heat from the ambient air to then heat up an internal wet system. This can be used for flow through UFH and/or radiators, as well as for hot water. ASHPs are very common in Scandinavian countries and are becoming increasingly popular in the UK, especially when gas is not available. For newbuilds in rural locations, ASHPs are usually the first choice for heat and hot water, due to their simplicity and ease of installation.

Our engineer generally advises to steer away from this as you need a specialist contractor, specialised equipment and is generally more expensive than a pile foundation. It is marketed as a 'light touch' to the ground, however, it is actually very intrusive by piling several meters into the ground. Screw pile foundations are also not suitable to all ground conditions - depends on the finding from a ground investigation survey.

The main saving is in the erection cost as it reduces time on site and equipment can be sared across all the units. Supply cost discount to be discussed on a project specific basis.