Good morning to Dorset from Scotland! My husband had a birthday last week and is now saying we're 'pushing 60'. We're active and fit, lol, but sensible too-the day will come sooner rather than later when one or both of us is not able to claim to be spry. Because the little cottage is in such a sad cosmetic state it was listed at a rather amazing price and we locked ourselves into it too early thinking it was a perfect spot for us to grow old. Whoops, thanks to several posts here about doing a reno or new build with a mind to age-in-place we are having to admit that is not the house for us. Luckily the town is the 'gateway to the glens' and if we wanted to use it as a holiday let we could easily. It's also becoming a commuter town-the hardier type people from Dundee and Aberdeen are buying in to take advantage of the great mountain lifestyle whilst being able to easily commute to their 'day job'. We were not looking for an investment property-not especially keen on the idea but more and more we're thinking that's what we've got. We measured the borrowed wheel chair, and also took the measurements of the typical mobility devices available now (the ones that are adverted as being in-outdoors), and frankly held up against the kitchen and bath measurements, there is no way we can make the bathroom work. Up thread (I think it was Deborah Butler of Brickwood Builders) a wet-room was mentioned as being best to accommodate a roll-in shower but hard to do as a reno project. Looking at the floor-plan, home report, and our own measurements confirmed that on this wee cottage-there is no way to do that and no way a wheelchair or mobility device is going to be rolled in that cupboard size bathroom. The kitchen could be managed if we drop the pantry wall idea, but the bathroom we planned to make a shower room is not manageable at all, and there is no room to extend that space. We would have figured all this out but much further down Reno Road, lol, so this thread has been a huge help to us just on that! Because we're now doing a much simpler reno (dropping the wider doorways and sliders, the ramp, and a few other a-i-p doings), the cost to renovate that lovely wee home is much lower too. The only things we won't be able to do ourselves is the shower conversion and the rewiring. A huge savings that we're going to need to find the right place for us! We know now that we need to look for a home with room to enlarge bathroom and kitchen areas, and with a less tricky entry to incorporate a ramp. For starters:) We have to be out of our current home by 1st August when the new owners will be arriving from Australia. We've borrowed the use of a caravan from friends to live in whilst doing the cottage reno (now that's small space living!) and that's going to be a help but I sure wish I'd joined Houzz sooner! I would have started this thread BEFORE locking into a property too small for our needs. Too, rather than use it as a holiday let or sell it on, we may move into the cottage once the reno is complete but we do know now there is no way we'll be able to age-gracefully-in-place in it. Sigh. Oh well, our builder is happy-he wasn't keen on trying to fit those sliding doors:) Take-Away For the Day? Be sure the property has room to expand vital living spaces before making an offer that is sure to be accepted:(

My partner & I bought a fishery with 2 lakes just over a year ago, the entire 10 acre site was very neglected, but we have renovated the lakes so that the anglers have a wonderful experience in beautiful surroundings. Our dream now is to renovate the house, reconfiguring the property so that we too can enjoy the beauty of our surroundings. There is also an acre of garden to landscape, we have many ideas but ideas on where to start would be fantastic

It really is similar, our roof has been removed hence the flooded inside. We knew we had a bit of a project but not to this extent. It's been a disaster really, we had hoped to have downsized and have money in the bank but it's not to be. There is no way we could sell it for what we will have bought and spent. Our very substantial budget has more than tripled. There is no way out now, I only hope we are happy to stay in it when it's complete. I will post you photos as we progress, it would be good if you could do the same. Compare and contrast two Scottish properties.

Dear @judibutler I assume you are referring to a wall which is wholly above ground and that you have completely ruled out damp tracking into the wall from above. A lot depends on the size and thickness of the wall and other factors, such as if the building is listed. Damp penetration (driving rain) through granite walls has been an ongoing problem in church towers in the southwest of England for some time. Ironically the problem often seems to get worse after re-pointing in lime. Granite is fairly impervious and was often in laid in large blocks meaning trapped water has little chance of getting out through thin mortar joints. Historic England held an excellent conference on the subject in 2013; the transcript of proceedings can be found at: http://content.historicengland.org.uk/content/docs/research/damp-towers-conf2013-programme-transcripts.pdf A roughcast lime render coat may help, but there could equally be voids in the wall which are holding damp and may need grouting. However, grouting is a very tricky and expensive technique which should not be undertaken lightly, and only works if one knows exactly where the voids are. Over-cladding the whole wall with semi-sacrificial weather boarding may be a last resort. This and rendering are likely to require planning consent. Depending on where you are located, a company like ArchiMetric (www.archimetrics.co.uk) could insert some interstitial moisture monitors into the wall to try and find out exactly where and when the damp is getting in and how it is moving through the wall, but this may be expensive. Some localised investigation by dismantling pockets of stone may be useful. The Society of Ancient Buildings helpline (mornings only on 020 7456 0916) may be able to help with specialists in your area. Most importantly try to get an understanding of how water is getting into and moving through your wall before you embark on anything. If your problems relate to below-ground damp then a different response will be needed.