Category: Barn Conversion Journal August 26th, 2010 by mbc
I get laughed at when I insist on using a bowsaw from time-to-time instead of a chainsaw. I’m glad to read that I’m not the only one who appreciates the rhythm and relative silence of this method of cutting wood.
I worked with a small triangular bowsaw. It is surprising how much you can do with one in a day. Bowsaws have the supreme advantage of being quiet and allowing you to work at your own human pace. The manic dictatorship of the chainsaw seems to deafen you to all reason or judgement. A chainsaw is ideal for mechanical jobs like cutting up logs, but deprives you of the greatest pleasure of working in the woods: the opportunity to listen to the natural sounds around you.
From Waterlog: A Swimmer’s Journey Through Britain
~ Roger Deakin
If you enjoyed that post, then read these...
Logs on October 8th, 2009
I've really enjoyed Roger Deakin's 'Wildwood: A Journey Through Trees', the book takes you on a gentle journey, part biography, part manifesto, part travelogue.
category: 'Barn Conversion Journal' tag: 'fuel' tag: 'woodland management'
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Future Fuel on February 5th, 2010
As I've mentioned earlier I have plans to start work this year on managing the small amount (I'd guess at around half and acre) of...
tag: 'woodland management' tag: 'fuel' category: 'Barn Conversion Journal'
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Logs 2 on January 5th, 2010
With my current preoccupation with firewood and the current bout of ice, snow and freezing temperatures making me long for warm weather a favourite quote...
tag: 'fuel' tag: 'woodland management' category: 'Barn Conversion Journal'
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Category: Conversion Design Advice August 23rd, 2010 by mbc
Whatever the original structure, a conversion means major building work.
Take the opportunity to build in major renewable technologies - PV, solar hot water, rain-water harvesting head my list. Invest now for sustainability and low bills.
If you enjoyed that post, then read these...
Keep Beams! on August 10th, 2010
Utilise as much of the original structure as you can and make the most of it.
tag: 'Snippets' tag: 'advice'
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£2bn Gwynt y Mor windfarm on June 4th, 2010
Interested to see that the sea off Wales will be home to one of the largest offshore windfarms in the world.
tag: 'New Technology'
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How much does a barn conversion cost? Part 2 on June 2nd, 2010
Here I’ll consider architects, architectural technicians and touch on the other potentially pricey professionals such as structural engineers, that we'll need to employ to bridge...
tag: 'advice'
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Tags: advice, New Technology, PV, Rainwater harvesting, Snippets, Solar
Category: Barn Conversion Journal August 20th, 2010 by mbc
I found this lurking inside an old off cut of wood…
Pretty hey?!
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Category: Barn Conversion Journal August 18th, 2010 by mbc
Once painting (windows frames) and pointing (repointing the stonework) are completed, I’m hoping that the good temperatures and most importantly dry weather of late summer-autumn will extend long enough to allow for some further work outside the barn.
We intend to dig out much of the the bank that currently dominates what will be the rear [...]
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Tags: garden
Category: Conversion Design Advice August 10th, 2010 by mbc
Utilise as much of the original structure as you can and make the most of it.
Keep internal beams, exposed stonework (on fully internal walls only, building regulations prohibit exposed stonework on the interior of external walls), reuse original flooring…
Snippets on MBC
Rather than my usual wordy ramblings I thought I’d challenge myself to come up with [...]
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Tags: advice, beams, Snippets