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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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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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    Rest and Recuperation

    Category: Barn Conversion Journal September 25th, 2007 by mbc

    Firstly, I must apologise for the infrequency of my recent posting.

    I’ve been away in France for a little ‘R and R’ staying in a barn conversion in Normandy (can’t stay away from the bloody things).

    view from the window

    The place we stay at now has four barns converted for holiday accommodation. We stayed in the first conversion at the farm more or less exactly two years ago and since then three more have followed.

    What I find interesting is that whilst there are many similarities in the buildings and the climate between here and South Wales and in essence the conversions are similar in design approach, the building regulations obviously differ greatly. These buildings have nothing like the (expensive) levels of roof & wall insulation or high specification windows and doors that we use. Now I don’t know if there are different standards for temporary holiday accommodation in France or other factors at play here, but anyway it makes you think…

    Perhaps we have something to teach the French…? Or is that the other way around…do we over-specify?

    Put another way, where should we draw the line between energy efficiency, pragmatism and cost? That line seems to be drawn differently in different countries.

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

    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)

    Items 'ordinarily' incorporated in a building on November 11th, 2008
    Having spent much time pawing over VAT documentation in preparation for my VAT reclaim I discovered that the HM Revenue & Customs definition of items...

    category: 'Barn Conversion Journal' (1)

    Attention to detail... October 2008 update on October 21st, 2008
    You can't beat a good list - this is the current position: In Progress Flooring and tiling We've bought slate wall tiles for both bathrooms and will...

    category: 'Barn Conversion Journal' (1)

    Posted in Barn Conversion Journal | No Comments »