40% boom in Scots building own homes
Glasgow Evening Times 08/04/03
SOARING house prices and DIY shows on TV have sparked a boom in self-build homes in Scotland.
Property experts said the number of Scots building their own homes had rocketed 40% over the past four years, from 1400 to 2000.
Organisers of the Scottish Housebuilding and Renovation Show, which opens at the SECC next month, said self-builders could save more than £20,000 on a typical four-bedroom house.
Champion yachtswoman Ellen MacArthur, 27, is building a house near the site of her great-great-grandfather's croft in the north of Skye.
And musicians Tony and Jo Moffat are set to move into a home they have built on the Firth of Clyde.
The pair, whose dream home was designed by Glasgow architect Andy McAvoy, were featured recently on the Channel 4 show Grand Designs.
However, the design of their home on the Rosneath Peninsula required changes to win planning consent.
And a specially-designed zinc roof, which was expected to take 13 days to complete, took 13 weeks.
Mr Moffat, 29, leader of the Scottish Opera orchestra, and his 34-year-old wife, a freelance horn player, will move into their new home next month.
Jason Orme, deputy editor of Homebuilder and Renovating magazine, said: "The more you're willing to get your hands dirty, the more cash you'll save."
