The couple accidentally buys a 100-year-old mansion that has a secret of its own.
Claire Saran and Kale Hunter come from Scotland and have been together for many years. Claren had taken a year-long break from her medical school. They had also decided upon taking one giant step in their lives. The couple belonged to a middle class and so they did not have a lot of sources of income. They were looking for an extra source of income.
1. Cal And Claire
After thinking for a while, the couple came up with a brilliant idea. They decided to buy an old and shabby house and sell it at more cost after doing some renovation. It seemed a great idea, but their plan took an unexpected turn and changed their lives upside down. As mentioned earlier, the couples live in Scotland, but that’s not their birth land. They were willing to buy a property up north.
It was during their search the couple found themselves an apartment in Glasgow and were very willing to buy that. The apartment had gotten under fire a few years back, which implied they’d have to spend some money on it. Kale headed to the auction with hopes the auction was full of bidders. Kale placed a bid of £30,000, which is about $37,000 US on the house. No doubt it was a big amount.
2. An Old Villa
He knew he was going to win the bid, but what he failed to understand is that he placed his bid on the wrong house. What’s more, his bid actually won. Kale realized that a few minutes after winning the bid, he made his way to the officials at the auction house to tell them about his misunderstanding. He didn’t want to bid on that house. The property he just bought was a 120-year property located in Dunoon, Scotland.
3. Their First Visit
Claire said the house was built in 1980. Lovely feel to it and so much character that we felt it would be a sin to level it and start again. So we made the momentous decision to give it a go. She was much excited about it. The couple knew that the house they were willing to buy was going to require lots of effort from them.
So, yes, that was a challenging task for them. But here they were hopeful that the new house they bought accidentally would be easier to deal with. It was an old and a bit dilapidated mansion but had something special about it. They couldn’t wait to transform the mansion into a home. No need to say they bought the mansion for a cheaper amount.
4. The Scattered Outside
It was an amazing mansion, but little did they know there was more to it than at the eyes it’s. After seeing the house in person, they realized how much work they need to do to bring it in good shape. It was after coming to the spot they realized that the house was gradually sinking into the ground. The roof had come off and the local council had categorized the mansion as dangerous. She later revealed it was in a state of partial collapse.
It was subsiding, there were gaping holes in the roof and walls, the timbers were rotten and the land was waterlogged. Derelict was 2 miles a word. Despite the mansion’s bad condition, they were hopeful. Claire said we love the house and its stunning location in a village on the edge of a Scottish lock. It’s all been a beautiful mistake.
5. The Broken Interior
If we can tackle this, we can tackle anything. It’s going to take us much longer than a year, but just think of the life skills we’re going to learn along the way, Claire said. Their friends and families criticized their decision and called the mansion inhospitable. However, they didn’t let all those criticisms affect them. The crumbling walls and the damaged interior did discourage them a bit, but at the same time, they were positive that this mansion was meant to change into something beautiful.
By now, they’ve realized that the process of renovation will take a long time to complete. It means they’ll have to wait for a while to sell the mansion, but they also knew that the mansion would pay them well once renovated. However, they suffered a blow when they learned that the renovation was going to charge them a big amount. They had to make a choice. They knew that the renovation was very demanding financially, but they knew all along, that once renovated, the mansion would earn them a lot of money.
6. The Roof And Chimney Refurbishment
If they were willing to renovate, they have to invest all their money. In order to save money, they had to change their living situation. The couple began the task by renting out a caravan. They dragged their caravan to the backyard and placed it right there. They were going to be there living in this caravan throughout the project.
One thing to point out is that the caravan they’d rented out did not even have basic facilities. No running water or electricity. No need to say that they were residing in a caravan with no facilities. But still, they were happy and the way everything was, claire and Kale took it as an opportunity to make their life a bit adventurous. And this is their affinity for the adventure that brought them together.
7. The Windows Renovation
Canadian Claire and Englishman Kale met each other during a ski season that happened in the French Alps and they hit it off during their first meeting. As their season came to a close, they decided to spend more time with each other. They’ve traveled all across Canada and Europe. They’ve gone on many adventures, but this one that includes the transformation of the mansion is the biggest one. They were confident that they’d pull it off as they had the support from their friends, family, and fans.
The couple also updated their day-to-day activity on their blog and social media pages. What have we done in to let the world have a sneak peek into their day-to-day life? They still post pictures on their social media pages and give an update about their home in order to keep their spirit up. They always celebrate every achievement, even the tiniest ones of theirs. The process was indeed taking longer than they had expected, but instead of losing hope, they enjoyed every moment of it.
8. The Walls And Floor Reconstruction
Claire and Kale are lucky to have friends and family who would always stand by them. Their wellwishers came forward to help the couple as they’ve been having financial issues. As the duo was short on money, they could not afford to hire contractors or professionals. However, they needed some extra help to pull off this enormous task. Their journey was way different than they’d imagined.
Not a single day has passed when the couple did not have to face any problems. For example, the couple had to dig up the whole of the driveway when their van got stuck in it. And after some time, they had to dig again to trace the water supply pipe. Not only that, it took five months for the couple to find the house’s main electrical cable. Finding a new problem seems to be a daily occurrence here at Jameswood.
9. Friends’ Support
It’s taken us until now to find the electricity cable that will allow us to connect to the mains, she continued. Our van was getting stuck in the mud, so we put down a driveway which we had to dig up a week later to find the elusive water supply. Their struggle had just begun. A cursory glance at the interior of the house was enough to reveal the requirements for a completely new roof. A major part of the current roof had gone damaged.
They checked the price in the market for a new roof. However, what they missed was that a sound roof is of no use if it’s not supported by structurally sound walls. So if they were willing to put a new roof, they’d have to work on the walls as well. The house needs a new roof, but a civil engineer has told us the walls probably won’t be strong enough to hold it up, so we’ll have to fix them first and risk the rain coming through the roof ruining them. It’s like a huge Catch-22 jigsaw puzzle explained Claire.
10. Their New Bathroom
Many of their fans extended a hand to help them, whereas some of them helped them with the material. There were some who gave the couple very good suggestions on building materials and work. The couple wanted the renovation to be eco-friendly. There were some people who were informed about the places where they can find old reusable building materials and supplies. What other things posed a problem was the heap of junk scattered all over the house.
They had to take the broken furniture and other stuff out of the house. Luckily, they had their truck with them. The couple carried all the junk onto their vehicle and headed towards the dumpster. Once they got their hands on the electricity they aimed at the floorboards in the house. They noticed that many of the floorboards were rotten.
11. The Second Bathroom
Leaving them the way they were would lead to hazardous accidents. Claire took the responsibility of removing the floorboards. She picked a sledgehammer and struck the floorboards with all her force. They also had to check the scaffolding. That was in a bad condition too.
One thing that they very much liked about the building was its bay window on the top floor. However, they soon learned that the exterior of the window was infested with cracks and holes. They thought its reason to be the collapse of the house into the ground. However, it didn’t take them long to realize that the reason was something else. They were at their wit’s end when they saw that the roof timbers were shoving the window out of its spot.
12. The Temporary Workplace
They learned many valuable lessons that we tend to ignore in busy and bustling city life. They realized that sometimes one should get back to the fundamentals. They had no facilities in a washing machine or other electronic equipment, so they were putting up in a caravan. They had to figure out something on their own. They decided to go completely natural.
13. Spare Time Together
Claire had a perfect idea about washing her gloves. She did not want to go to the local town to use the laundromat as that was quite far. Instead, the woman headed to a stream and washed her gloves in that. Thereafter, she hung her gloves up between a couple of trees. Staying in a caravan comes with its own share of hardships.
14. A Long Way To Go
But that doesn’t mean it’s not fun. No doubt the caravan did not give comfort like home, but it was quite an experience for them. Some finally come and Claire and Kale were intended to enjoy it fully. So instead of taking help from their neighbors, they plan on making their own makeshift kitchen. They created stove cupboards and also a trash bin to build their kitchen.
