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my barn conversion

Keep track of what's happening with my Progress Updates.

If you read only one book before designing your conversion or renovation, then I recommend that you make it this one. I love patterns!

Location, Location, Location! pah, that's old hat we all know that the new mantra of home-building is Insulation, Insulation, Insulation.

Read more about - Lime mortar, VAT on conversions and managing woodland for fuel.

Tiling tips - learn from my mistakes!

Around an ongoing barn conversion project, this website draws together advice, information and references to aid all would-be and current barn and non-residential building converters and renovators.

Our approach takes on board 'healthy house', sustainable, ecological & environmental concepts to as great a degree as timescales and budgets allow.

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Environment for Children

Whitewashing update 2010

Built in bed

Building Progress ~ February 2010

Step 8 = roof

Step 7 = high level design

Stoneworks

Downstairs tiled floor

Coppicing ash trees

Tree Planting - Winter 2010

Latest Comments

On White-washing? by Whitewashing update 2010 | my barn conversion on March 16th, 2010
[...] wall. After finding it was ‘infested’ with stalactites and stalagmites, I considered whitewashing the wall, then eventually it was...

On We have stalactites in our walls! by Whitewashing update 2010 | my barn conversion on March 16th, 2010
[...] do about the leaky, south facing gable end wall. After finding it was ‘infested’ with stalactites and stalagmites, I...

On Boxing Clever? by Built in bed | my barn conversion on March 12th, 2010
[...] of practicality and desire. Practical because part of the construction can be used to solve my tricky carpentry challenge...

On Travertine tiling - pictures by Downstairs tiled floor | my barn conversion on February 18th, 2010
[...] time and money in planning, sourcing and then fitting. It’s been completed for a while now (since August 2009),...

On Gas Pipeline Woes by The four new English “eco-towns” | my barn conversion on February 10th, 2010
[...] my first thought was ‘glad they’re not on my doorstep’ , but then I have a bloody big gas...

On Building Progress ~ August 2009 by Building Progress ~ January 2010 | my barn conversion on February 8th, 2010
[...] foray into the world of tiling can be quicker and more effective than the last one, the thought of...

On Insulation by Logs | my barn conversion on February 5th, 2010
[...] Location, Location! pah, that's old hat we all know that the new mantra of home-building is Insulation, Insulation, Insulation...

On Logs 2 by Future Fuel | my barn conversion on February 5th, 2010
[...] Logs 2 [...]

On The Healthy House by Green Business on February 2nd, 2010
Thank you for this checklist - I might use it in future when building a green house of my own!...

On Air Source Heat Pump by Feed-in tariffs … coming soon to a roof near you!? | my barn conversion on February 2nd, 2010
[...] On Air Source Heat Pump by Pete on January 12th, 2010I'm in a barn conversion with a GSHP supplied...


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    Damn the architect

    Category: Barn Conversion Journal February 26th, 2007 by mbc

    Having weighed up the pros and cons over the past few months of employing an architect in a ‘full service’ capacity we’ve decided to go it alone.

    It’s not been an easy decision and is at least in part driven by the fact that I’ve not managed to find anyone who is able to offer this type of service in the locality of the barn. That meant that travel expenses were likely to be a sizeable cost and time-on-site would be minimal.

    These may well be famous last words, but I resent the potential cost and loss of control that a third party managing the project may mean.

    So we’ve done away with the architect and gone green….

    If you enjoyed that post, then read these...

    Meet the architect on July 19th, 2006
    I've always fancied the idea of engaging an architect (if I'm honest, inspired by Kevin Mc of TV fame), so I went to speak to...

    title category: 'Barn Conversion Journal' (2)

    Building Progress ~ November 2008 on December 3rd, 2008
    So apparently stoves are like hens teeth these days, demand for them has rocketed in line with spiralling fuel bills.

    category: 'Barn Conversion Journal' (1)

    Corner bath? on November 25th, 2008
    The bath I bought doesn't quite fit into the bathroom if it's place along the same wall as the shower.

    category: 'Barn Conversion Journal' (1)

    The case for coal on November 6th, 2008
    Now here's a conundrum... First the facts: The barn lies just outside of the South Wales Coal Field. Our heating system will comprise of solar thermal water heating...

    category: 'Barn Conversion Journal' (1)

    VAT Reclaim - Preparation on October 31st, 2008
    I know that many UK readers of this blog are interested in Value Added Tax (VAT) in relation to conversion projects.

    category: 'Barn Conversion Journal' (1)

    Posted in Barn Conversion Journal | No Comments »

    Step 4 = design owner / design implementer

    Category: Steps along the way February 26th, 2007 by mbc

    (or … will you employ an architect?)

    We have some strong opinions about how we wanted the conversion to be.

    We’re keen on a natural finish, wanting to avoid the dark stained timber, olde worlde kitchens & stairs and gravel often to be found in and around a stereo-typical barn conversion. Our aim is to blend traditional rustic design with modern design; the material and furnishings will reflect this blending.

    So the question you need to answer is who fulfil the roles of design owner and design implementer? In other words who will derive the initial design (design owner), then carry it through to implementation in your completed building (design implementer)?

    This is where an architect can come in - sharing these roles with the other stakeholders (the client, builders, planners etc.) as well as bringing experience and knowledge to your project. This will all come at a price (budget 15-20% of the total project cost). This is obviously a decision you need to make for yourselves, based upon, your aspirations skills, the clarity of your design vision and budget.

    With strong ideas of our own and our inability to find a local full service architect, we chose to not employ a full service architect.

    If you enjoyed that post, then read these...

    Step 6 = define your design ethos on November 4th, 2008
    Decide upon your design ethos.

    title (3)

    Ecohouse 2 - A design Guide on January 29th, 2008
    Sue Roaf, Manuel Fuentes, Stephanie Thomas ~ 2003, Architectural Press.

    title (2)

    Passive Solar Design on August 1st, 2007
    Whilst a little late in the day for our barn (it was built 100+ years ago) the orientation of a building to the sun and...

    title (2)

    Passive Solar Design as a Word Cloud on June 25th, 2008
    One of the (admittedly very dull) things that I spend quite a lot of time thinking about and experimenting with is the presentation of information.

    title (2)

    Design Patterns ~ my choices on November 29th, 2007
    I've already written about one of my favourite building design books A Pattern Language - Towns Buildings Construction by Alexander, Ishikawa & Silverstein.

    title (2)

    Posted in Steps along the way | No Comments »