No 6, Kilmorich, Cairndow

i. Historical evidence and known architectural history

Kilmorich is in an estate of 14 houses arranged around an open square, built in 1993 for the former Bute Housing Association by Archibald Ferguson of Strachur, Architect, John Boys of Glasgow. Dot does have the original plan for the building.

ii. Description

These buildings are all of timber frame construction with an external skin of 4� cement block-work, and roughcast over with cement. The external rough cast is very light in hue, looking very like a good traditional harl. The windows are detailed with cement surrounds that have been hand moulded. No.6 is half of a building built as a pair, symmetrically arranged, this is the eastern side. The principal elevation faces towards the loch to the N. The double-building is built below a continuous double-pitched slated roof. There are pairs of dormers, which are slated with slated sides; these are on the frontage to the N. There is a further small velux window central to the rear roof pitch to the S for each.

The house is entered by a small porch that has a double-pitched, slated roof. The porch leads into a small hall. Off-set facing you slightly to the E is a straight flight stair to first floor level. Directly ahead one walks through to a rear ground floor bedroom. This has a sash and case window to the S, a storage-space/ cupboard in its N wall, and a further closet in the E wall, the latter walk-in.

To the W side as one enters into the hall there had been a small WC chamber and beyond this on its S side there had been a linen cupboard. The two were recently knocked into one to form a combined WC and shower room.

From the entrance hall there is also an entry to the drawing room to the E. This is a large room with paired windows in the N frontage and a small window at the N end of the E wall. Across the SE angle there is a chimneybreast and small fireplace, the latter now in-filled. To the SW (west wall) there is a small under-stair cupboard; to the SW in the S wall an entrance gives access to the kitchen to the rear.

The kitchen is lit by two windows in the S wall. There are units running along the NE part of the room. To the SW there is an entrance to a small vestibule that leads to an exterior back door.

All interiors are plaster-lined, without cornicing, and painted. Woodwork is all of varnished pine - skirtings architraves, etc.; doors are of plywood (ply doors). The stair balustrade is of simple pine construction with newel posts at the base and the top.

Up the stairs there is a small landing / vestibule leading to the rooms off it. To the W a large principal bedroom is lit by the dormer to the N; cupboards occupy the length of the S wall. Turning E there is a bathroom and WC and then, beyond that and occupying the E end of the floor, a further bedroom that is lit by the second dormer to the N. The S end of this room is occupied by a walk-in closet with a central door.

The small velux on the rear side of the stair landing, lights the landing and the stair below. The bathroom in the centre of the N side is also lit by a small velux.

The doors are not of hardboard, they're of ply, and they notice pely doors. The front exterior door is brown-painted and of jointed 3 vertical v-section time groove boarding. The inner door (within the porch) is glazed above and two-panelled below with fielded panels.

The rear of the property backs onto the hillside and has been slightly terraced in, and there are retaining walls that are roughcast in cement and capped with slightly pyramidal cast concrete copings. The house is accessed by a drive that curves up around to its E side; this is surfaced in asphalt.