George Dunnett walked by it countless times.
Always thinking what a shame it was that this stone cottage down the street from his parent’s house in Kinnesswood, Scotland, had been abandoned.
This thing was bare bones.
It was basically just a masonry exterior with a muddy floor, run-down windows, a leaky roof, and no running water.
Even the foundation of the two-story 400 sq. ft. building was shoddy.
There was no insulation and just bare walls.
Still, Dunnett saw potential in this beautiful building and decided to turn it into his very first home.
It was believed to have dated back to the 1700s and was used as a book-binding business attached to a church.
He paid £55,386, or about $68,000, for the home.
The home hadn’t been lived inhabited in more than five decades.
“There was a lot of structural work that had to be done before I was at the stage of picking out my curtains,” he said.
This place had dirt floors, with everything else was covered in cobwebs and dust.
Dunnett had to reinforce parts of a wall and the foundation to start.
He also had to deal with a wall on the side of the house where the chimney was, which was hollow and dangerous.
Once that was done, Dunnett created a plan for two rooms on the lower floor to house the bedroom and bathroom.
The kitchen, living room, and dining room would be on the second floor.
Cement was poured to create the floor, and the ceiling was raised.
Then the walls got some brand new insulation.
Things got a little sticky when it was time to fix the roof.
It was discovered to be unstable and not properly waterproofed.
That was an unexpectedly high expense that Dunnett had to cover.
Since the exterior stones on the house were worn down, they had to be repointed to make them waterproof.
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The house got all new windows and a skylight bringing in tons of natural light that brought life to the space.
Then came the time to add the electrical wiring, framing, and drywall.
Dunnett decided on hardwood oak floors, and he and his mom painted most of his walls white with a few accent walls in a blueish-gray color.
He also made excellent use of space and created a storage space underneath the staircase.
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His dad made a cobblestone walkway in front of his house.
A staircase railing was added, completing a proper modern one-bedroom, one-bathroom home.
After a year and £102,500 or $125,911 in renovations and other fees, this tiny house was finally complete.
“This is the first time I’ve ever moved out of my parents’ house,” Dunnett said.
“Using the money I saved up over the years from my work as a video editor and my YouTube channels, I paid for the house and all of the work and furnishing myself, minus the loan amount.”
Dunnett said that he completely underestimated how long it would take and how expensive it would be.
He was originally given an estimate of £40,000 or $49,158 for renovations.
But his neighbors were very happy to see that someone young and local had given this previous eyesore a new life.
Now that he’s watched contractors build his home and knows more about the process, he homes to buy another fixer-upper with his brother and do many of the renovations himself.
Learn more about Dunnett’s great project in the video below.
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