Norscot Joinery Limited

Norscot Joinery: timber frame homes and joinery from the Scottish Highlands

Norscot Joinery Limited is a privately owned Highland company established in 1984 and run by a management team responsible for quality, production and technical operations. Its activity combines the manufacture and supply of timber frame kit homes with replacement windows and doors, a range designed, in the company's own terms, for the particular conditions of homes in the Scottish Highlands.

The business is headquartered at its Bower Workshops in Caithness, where it owns around 25,000 square feet of modern factory space together with a showroom. The plant runs computer-controlled machinery and, according to the company, produces from a single source one of the widest ranges of building components and related products available in Scotland.

Kit homes and self-build support

The kit home side of the business is organised around a set of design families rather than a single model. The catalogue lists Classic, Cottage, Designer, Highland and Wellbe home designs, alongside a bespoke homes route for clients who need a non-standard layout. Norscot also offers a free design service aimed at self-builders and maintains a self-build resource centre, a build cost calculator and a "try before you buy" option connected to its timber frame offer.

Case studies and installation examples are published for the kit homes, and virtual tours are available for those wanting to see the finished work before committing to a design.

Windows and doors

The joinery range covers made-to-measure windows, doors, patios and conservatories in redwood, hardwood and uPVC. The uPVC line is offered in white, rosewood and golden oak finishes. Within the window catalogue the company distinguishes uPVC, timber, Aluwood and aluminium systems, and it cites the Design 5 timber/aluminium composite window system and a sliding mirror door system among its products.

On the door side, the range is divided into composite, uPVC, AluWood, aluminium and timber doors. Norscot states that its uPVC windows are manufactured to the requirements of BS7412 and carry the BM Trada Q-Mark third-party accreditation, and that it is certified by BlueSky Certification to install fire doors.

Beyond windows and doors, the company also lists conservatories, garden rooms and glass among its other products, and it runs a trade window and door advice centre alongside its installation service.

Factory, showrooms and coverage

Production is concentrated in Caithness, while a purpose-built showroom, sales office and storage facility on the Carse Industrial Estate in Inverness supports promotion and distribution of the products outside Caithness. The two showrooms are presented as serving distinct areas: Inverness for the city and its surroundings, and Bower for Caithness and the surrounding area.

The customer base spans the domestic, retail, trade and public sectors, with coverage described as reaching from the Shetland Isles in the north to the central belt in the south, and from the Outer Hebrides in the west to Aberdeen in the east. The company reports employing over 70 staff and generating an annual multi-million pound turnover.

Quality assurance and memberships

Norscot states that all its products are manufactured under a quality assurance system certified to ISO 9001:2015. It also reports holding the Highland Employer Charter and lists full membership of a series of sector bodies:

• CHAS
• Timber Development UK
• Considerate Constructors
• Independent Network
• Caithness Chamber of Commerce
• Inverness Chamber of Commerce
• Structural Timber Association (Silver member)
• National House Building Council (NHBC)
• Constructionline
• Offsite Solutions Scotland (OSS)
• Scottish Self-Build & Renovation

Community involvement in the Highlands

The company describes a pattern of local sponsorship and support, including an annual Highland-based Charity of the Year chosen with its team. It reports sponsoring the Norscot Race to Inverness competition at Inverness Golf Club, advertising boards at Castletown Football Club, Wick Academy Football Club and Thurso Football Club, and Hole 8 at Thurso Golf Club, as well as a minibus for Caithness Rugby and Football Club and an annual board at Thurso Bowling Club. It also mentions support for Birchwood Highland, foodbank collections, the Caithness FM Toy Appeal, and sponsorship of rainsuits and branded hi-vis vests for pupils at Bower Primary School, along with support for local surfer Phoebe Strachan at an international competition in Cornwall.