From derelict office to home: work begins

This week marks a big milestone for our Saltcoats renovation... The building team is officially starting internal works!

Over the past week, I've been on-site myself, stripping the property out ahead of the build. It's been hard, physical work, but it's given me a proper feel for the building before handing it over, and I've felt genuinely proud taking this project on. This isn't just a renovation. The building has stood derelict for over eight years as an old office and we're converting it into a flat, bringing a much-needed home back into the housing market in North Ayrshire.

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It's the biggest project I've taken on to date, and it hasn't been straightforward. There have been plenty of firsts along the way, and no shortage of challenges already, even before the main build has started. That's exactly why I chose this project in the first place, not despite the difficulty, but because of it. I wanted to build my knowledge through hands-on experience rather than in theory, and taking on something derelict and complicated was the fastest way to do that.

Getting to this point has meant working through the practical realities of an eight-year-empty building: what's salvageable, what isn't, and what needs to be stripped right back before anyone else can start. That groundwork is now done.

Once complete, the plan is to keep the property and rent it out, creating an additional income stream alongside everything else I'm building. It's a long-term move, not a quick flip. The value is in bringing a derelict building back into use and holding onto it.

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From here, it's over to the building team. My part in the strip-out is finished, and my trust is now in their hands. Internal works start now, and I'll be sharing the progress as it happens.