Builders News
28/4/2023
New Business Units To Be Developed In Wick- £2.7million Contract To Local Firm John Gunn & Sons 
Work is underway to create to create four new business units at Wick Business Park, following interest from local firms. Caithness company, John Gunn & Sons was appointed by Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) for the development, following a public tendering process.
23/10/2022
Dounreay Recycles 98% Of Reactor Decommissioning Waste
The fuel element storage block has now been demolished. This steel tank was 4.7m high and 2.8m in diameter, surrounded by an iron-shot concrete cylinder, and was capped off by a thick steel top plate.
[Builders]
29/3/2022Scottish Quarterly Housing Statistics, March 2022
There were 18,974 all-sector new build homes completed in Scotland in the year to end June 2021, according to quarterly statistics on housebuilding and affordable housing supply published today by Scotland's Chief Statistician. This is an increase of 10% (1,751 homes) on the 17,223 completions in the previous year, in which activity levels were impacted by Coronavirus (COVID-19) lockdown measures.
[Builders]
5/2/2021Contractor GMR Henderson appointed for Caithness General Hospital New Maternity Unit
NHS Highland is delighted to announce that local Caithness firm GMR Henderson has been awarded the construction contract to refurbish the Queen Elizabeth West Wing at Caithness General Hospital to create a new Community Midwifery Unit. The new facility will have its own independent entrance and will include a birthing unit, outpatient clinic rooms and scanning room, providing a one-stop shop for women and their babies for antenatal, intrapartum and postnatal care.[Builders]
1/7/2020Beware the Sassenachs are coming!
By Peter Body - an Englishman and owner of Thermohaus, the Caithness based company which will design and supply highly energy efficient timber frame kit homes, throughout the UK. According to the National Custom & Self Build Association (NaCSBA) the Highlands is one of the most popular places to build your own home.
[Builders]
17/6/2020Jobs Go As Travis Perkins In Thurso To Close
Bad news for the north as Travis Perkins announced 165 branches to close throughout the UK. The Thurso branch of the company will close with the loss of 5 jobs.
[Builders]
8/4/2020Building Your New Home - Advice From Thermohaus
One of the advantages of self-build is that it gives you a lot of flexibility over the method of construction. Some of the construction options are only open to the self-builder as no UK developers use them.
[Builders]
29/1/2020Planning Permission & Building Warrant - Advice From Thermohaus
The latest article on building your own house from Thermohaus. See links below for all the earlier articles.
[Builders]
18/12/2019Help To Buy A Home
Thousands of first-time buyers assisted. Applications are open for a new national pilot scheme helping first-time buyers with the deposit for a new home.[Builders]
17/12/2019House Design Advice From Thermohaus
What are the elements of a good design? Who is going to design your new house? Do you need an architect? There are number of constraints on design: Standard House Types Most self-build package providers offer standard house designs but you need to be sure they suit both your site and personal needs. This said, most providers will either modify their standard designs or create bespoke designs.
[Builders]
26/10/2019Finding and Buying Land For Your Self Build Home
Finding a suitable plot to build your house in Caithness should be relatively simple! When you've found your plot then you can design the house to suit that plot. For more information on house design take a look at the Thermohaus Design Guide Most people will want to live in a specific part of the county due, perhaps, to work commitments / travel to work considerations, family ties or simply because it's somewhere they know and like.
[Builders]
5/9/2019How To Finance Your Self-build New Home
If you need to raise finance for your project it is usual to seek a ‘self-build mortgage'. Mortgages for self-build houses are a specialist product and many lenders do not offer them.
[Builders]
27/7/2019Can You Afford To Build Your Own Home?
Before you begin planning your new home it is imperative you set a budget. And, as your build progresses, you must monitor the spend to ensure you stay within budget.
[Builders]
12/7/2019Building Your Own Home Is Easier Than You May Think
Today we begin a series of articles written by Peter Body of Thermohaus Ltd , a Caithness based timber frame kit home company. Why Self-Build? For decades the British have bought new homes as standard speculatively built products from national and regional house builders.
[Builders]
26/5/2019Self-build expert in Caithness launches new eco home concept
Caithness based chartered surveyor Peter Body has been designing, manufacturing and project managing self-build homes for 35 years. And, according to him, this experience can be distilled into just two pieces of advice to self-builders - keep it simple and think fabric first.
20/3/2019
Gills Harbour Ltd Awards Contract To Local Firm
Gills Harbour Ltd, the community-owned body that owns & operates the busy little port on Caithness's North Coast, has awarded a remedial contract to a Wick-based company. The deal, won in a competitive tender, has gone to builders/civil engineers Messrs GMR Henderson Ltd, of Martha Terrace in Wick.
[Builders]
27/2/2018Norscot Secures Innovation of the Year Award
Norscot, the Highlands and Islands manufacturer of timber frame kits, windows and doors, received the Innovation of the Year Award at the prestigious Scottish Knowledge Exchange Awards 2018. The awards, run by Interface, aim to celebrate the achievements of academic and business collaborations and partnerships.
7/12/2017
Council reminds landowners to check wind damaged trees
Following the high winds forecast and experienced this week due to Storm Caroline, The Highland Council is encouraging landowners to check trees and vegetation near to public roads which may have been damaged. Roads affected by fallen trees this morning were near Beauly; Achnagarron near Invergordon and Lochaber which staff are clearing.[Builders]
17/3/2017GMR Henderson To Join Thomas Telford Renovation
Beatrice Offshore Windfarm Limited (BOWL) has begun renovating its new home in Wick with the help of a neighbour. Two buildings in Lower Pulteneytown are being redeveloped into the Operations and Maintenance (O&M) base for the £2.6bn Beatrice offshore wind farm project.
[Builders]
23/3/2016