Welcome to Boom House.
We spent several years looking for home in Scotland and finally found this special place where we built Boom House. We hope you will love this place and house as much as we do.
We would be very grateful if you could read this guide particularly in regard to the heating and Fire Escapes.
We hope you don’t but if you have any problems please contact Lora who lives locally between 9am and 5 pm (other than in an emergency) on 07508 636338. Most of your questions can probably be answered by this guide or elsewhere on the website.
Fire Safety
The downstairs bedroom windows open from the bottom. There is a catch to prevent them from blowing wide open but this catch can be released to allow escape in the event of fire.
There is a fire blanket by the sink in the kitchen.
There is a fire extinguisher in the entrance hall cupboard where coats are hung.
Heating and Hot Water
Boom House has been design to be as “green” as we could practically make it. Underfloor heating and hot water are provided from an air source heat pump.
A feature of this system is that it provides steady heat to the house up to about 21 or 22C. It will not however heat the house quickly. Each room has a thermostat but please do not set these any higher than 22C as it wont help to heat the room and the system overall will become less efficient. If you want to warm the house quickly then light the wood burner which will heat the living room, kitchen and upstairs very quickly. The house also has a heat recovery system which constantly circulates air round the house. You will hear the heat recovery system a little in some rooms. It also ventilates the bathrooms.
Because of the nature of the heating system the control panel in the entrance cupboard is unusual. We would be very grateful if you did not adjust this in any way.
If there is a lot of sun, the house will heat up naturally even in cold weather. The hot water is switched on and there should be sufficient for normal use.
Dogs
Please note that dogs are only allowed downstairs and not in the bedrooms or on the furniture. Also, please do not leave dogs in the house on their own.
Please pick up your dog’s poo. Other guests and children after you will be using the “garden”.
We love dogs but not everyone does so we would be very grateful if you could respect these rules.
Kitchen
There are makers instructions for most appliances on this website. The top oven is also a microwave. Please note that this top oven (whichever mode it is in) switches off every time you open the door while it is in operation and you have to restart it!
Please watch out for the extractor fan hood above the hob. We know several guests have banged their head on it.
Energy Usage
We would be grateful if you could, where practical, use the washing machine and dishwasher when the PVs on the roof are generating or at night to minimise electricity usage.
Refuse
Highlands Council collect normal and recyclable waste separately so we would be grateful if you could separately your rubbish accordingly into the two bins provided. The bin for recyclable waste has a list of recyclable items on the top and also set out on this website. Please do not put glass in either bin. There is a glass recycle bin in Aultbea. The main bins are at the end of the tarmac road. The blue bin is for recyclable waste.
Wood Burner
We suggest lighting the wood burner with only one or two logs then add more if required once the fire is well alight. To light, pull the damper and the ash tray out a little then push back in once the fire is well alight.
The wood burner does not work well when the wind is in certain directions, predominantly from the north when it does not draw well. Accordingly we suggest you light the fire with only paper/kindling and maybe a firelight to ensure that there is heat and a draft going up the chimney before adding wood.
We have provided you with a supply of wood for the wood burner. There is more wood in bags in the porch and there is a charge of £5 per additional bag used. Please leave the cash when you go or we can deduct it from your deposit.
Bathrooms
The mirrors over the sinks are also doors to hidden cabinets.
Televisions
The two televisions each have their own Freesat box and work independently. The downstairs box takes a while to activate after it is switched on.
On the TV upstairs switch the TV on with the LG remote and select input “satelite” then use the Manhatten remote to operate the Freesat box to select channels.
For the DVD select HM1 input and use the Sony remote to operate the DVD player.
Internet and Computer
The code for internet access is: 4gCbXugRnceRFm
There is an Apple computer through which the internet can be accessed as a “guest”. Parents please note that no browsing restrictions have been set.
Smoke Alarms
The smoke alarms are quite sensitive. If one goes off you can usually stop it by pushing the “hush” button but there is a delay before the alarm stops.
PV Roof Panels
The house has PV panels on the roof and the inverter in the entrance hall cupboard makes a slight noise when the panels are generating.
Bad Weather
The house is very exposed in bad weather and in high winds please take great care when opening house and car doors. Please also be aware that high winds from certain directions can create some noise in the roof.
Boom and Rowantree 