Building Plots: Trusted Advice
A self-builder's guide to finding the perfect plot, evaluating its suitability and understanding the legal considerations involved.
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Coldwells Build Commended at 2025 Master Builder Awards
Read Time: 2 minutes
Author. Clare Booth • Director
Author. Clare Booth • Director
Read Time: 2 minutes
•
Our work for Harmony House received a Highly Commended award at the 2025 Scotland Federation of Master Builders Awards.
Originally designed as a steel frame home, we worked closely with the clients and Brown & Brown Architects to rethink the construction approach during a period of significant supply chain disruption and the highest steel prices in 40 years.
Custom Home, Harmony House, Completed by Coldwells Build in 2024
Early in the process, we proposed a pivotal change: replacing the steel frame with fixed-price, prefabricated cross-laminated timber [CLT] panels by Glulam Solutions. This shift enabled the clients to move forward with a more predictable budget and a compelling sustainability profile.
Creating the 'drystone look' for the home’s facade was like assembling a giant granite jigsaw. Our stonemasons hand-chiselled hundreds of recycled blocks, ensuring a tight fit and a balanced mix of colours.
The sloped site demanded a 3.6-metre-high, reinforced concrete retaining wall to hold back hundreds of tonnes of earth. Our builders braced and bolted steel formwork they hadn’t used before, to support 70 tonnes of wet concrete, triple-checking before a nerve-wracking pour.
A late change to the staircase design swapped a glass balustrade for 26 heavy steel rods. To support the added weight, we problem-solved, installing a steel box section beneath the staircase, cleverly hidden behind a CLT panel.
We're proud to have played a part in delivering a home that stands as a testament to collaboration, innovation and adaptability.
- See inside Harmony House
Author.
Clare Booth
• Director
A trained communicator, Clare co-founded Coldwells Build with the aim of improving consumer experience within the construction process. Working previously as a television director and journalist, she understands more than most, about the power of detail, organisation and timing.
