Bridge Cottage is basically an old crofting cottage which has been modernized and extended over the last 130 years.
The main part of the house is a stone built structure dating from around 1880. The walls consist of an inner and outer solid stone skin, containing a rubble filled cavity. The walls are on average 60cm thick. They were built to last, and withstand the harsh weather conditions associated with the Isle of Skye.
The original house is only quite small, measuring 4.5m x 9m. It contained two rooms downstairs, both with open fireplaces. Upstairs there was a small area within the loft space, but the ridge height was very low. Originally, there would have been a small porch on the front of the house.
At some point the original roof was lifted by about 30cm. This made the roof space usable. When I purchased the house there were two bedrooms and a landing area upstairs. The floor to ceiling height was no more than 1.9m, contravening the current Building Regulations. There was also no insulation in the space at all.
Bridge Cottage has been substantially extended during it's history. The major extensions were added during the 1960's and 1970's. Unfortunately, an extension to the front of the house has not been constructed with sympathy for the original cottage.
The extensions consist of:
1. A front porch and Sun Lounge area. As part of this "improvement" the original front porch and a portion of the front stone wall were removed. The extension is build using modern techniques - a double skinned block wall with cavity. The area has a flat roof.
2. Extensive rear extension, containing kitchen, bathroom and bedroom. This extension doubles the size of the house. Again, it is a modern extension using block wall and a cavity, and it also had a substantial flat roof.
3. A rear side porch. This is built of brick, and again had a flat roof.
