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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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    Heating & Hot Water - a solution?

    Category: Barn Conversion Journal March 28th, 2008 by mbc

    From the start of this project, I’ve been through numerous options regarding the method by which we’ll heat the barn and generate hot water for domestic purposes. It’s been a long and twisty road but I think I’ve arrived at a solution that I’m comfortable with (at least for the time being).

    Let’s start off with the one aspect that has always been in the plan - underfloor heating (UFH). With the healthy house ethos driving many of our design decisions, we’ve always intended to use underfloor heating and that has remained a constant. Actually, that’s only half true - I originally intended to have UFH on both the ground and first floor, but the idea of the weight of a screed on the first floor just seemed wrong to me (as does the idea of having no screed and therefore minimal thermal store). But I digress…

    I started off with the intention of implementing what I thought to be a green solution of a ground source heat pump backed up by an electric water heater (pretty much to the disgust of my green friends). On advice this turned to an air source heat pump (to even more disgust from the green lobby). What eventually put me off these solutions (at least for the time being) is the apparent complexity of the technology involved, the need to consume an often difficult to estimate amount of electricity and a general feeling that I was over complicating the solution to my particular challenges.

    I’ll also add that certain aspects of the heat pump installation industry seem to resemble uPVC window or second hand car salesmen. But again I digress…

    After considering pellet and gasification boilers and again developing the creeping suspicion of over design I got to my current favoured solution…

    Wait for it…

    Solar Water Heating with a multi-fuel burner as the ‘primary’ heat source (& a backup electrical heating coil in the tank)…

    We’d always planned for a multi-fuel burner in the barn, being the son of a coal merchant and living in the area from which the world’s finest anthracite comes, I have few qualms about burning coal. So the burner has been promoted to the primary heat source and coupled with a ‘foundation’ of solar water heating I feel I’ve a simple yet hopefully effective solution. We’ll specify a tank that can take additional feeds if we feel the need to beef things up with for example a pellet stove in future and plumb ready for that eventuality. As hopefully we’ll be able to move into the barn during the Summer we’ll start off with minimal requirements which will build as the year draws on. Will it all pull together and work? I’ll keep you informed…

    Comments / Questions?

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

    Hot water system now commissioned on June 17th, 2009
    We've got the heating and hot water system up and running! It took a couple of attempts.

    category: 'Barn Conversion Journal' title (3)

    Solar Water Heating on March 13th, 2008
    Solar water heating systems use energy from the sun to heat water for use in the home.

    title (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)

    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 | 3 Comments »

    Project Management ~ Basecamp

    Category: Products March 24th, 2008 by mbc

    For me, the cornerstone of project management isn’t a gantt chart or a risk register, but lists. In Basecamp, I find the ability to create and maintain all the lists that I need to keep track of my barn conversion. It also provides you with the ability to share files, text, and messages and track time & tasks with other members of a project team. The emphasis is on project collaboration and communication. I’ll not rattle on too much about the details, best for you to take a look yourselves as a limited, free version of the software is available that will be sufficient for most small projects.

    I’ve long been a admirer of 37signals (the company behind Basecamp). Minimalist software providing stripped back functionality with a style of its own - pushes my buttons.

    The great advantage of online applications such as this is their access-anywhere-ability. All that is needed is internet access - not as ubiquitous as a notebook (those moleskine notebooks are still a favourite of mine) but the next best thing AND completely water-proof.

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

    Step 5 = project management on March 22nd, 2007
    Answer these: Question: So once you've started, who will bring it all together? Question: Can you handle the potential loss of control of the project of delegating...

    title (2)

    Management and Control on October 2nd, 2008
    I've given my opinion and explained the pragmatic approach to project management (some might call it a lack of management) that I employ.

    category: 'Products' title (2)

    Project Management ~ Google Documents on April 7th, 2008
    I now organise nearly all my documents for the project using Google Documents.

    title (2)

    Environment for Children on March 18th, 2010
    I was invited to a talk by Christopher Day in Cardiff so thought I'd take a look at his work to see just what he...

    category: 'Products' (1)

    Clean Lines Update on February 23rd, 2009
    As the building progresses so some of the clean lines that I'm so fond of start to emerge.

    category: 'Products' (1)

    Posted in Products | 7 Comments »

    100th post marks Spring on mbc

    Category: Site Announcements March 19th, 2008 by mbc

    Well this is my 100th post on My Barn Conversion and as my solitary clump of snowdrops is flowering (probably has been for a while, but it’s only now I’ve noticed) I’ve decided that after a wet and windy Winter it must be Spring.
    spring snowdrops
    This site has gone from a standing start, on its first post back in June 2006 to over 3,500 visitors a month with 11,000 page views ~ thanks to you all.

    It seems like an appropriate juncture for some introspection so after an appropriate period of naval gazing, I’ve come up with some resolutions as to how things are going to progress around here.

    Reviews. More of them, books, products and services. Many of the people visiting this site are looking for information and advice, so that’s what I’ll give them.

    Photographs. I started this site with a lot of photographs and used lightbox to allow a visitor to enlarge the thumbnails that I provided. I’ve got a little lazy at this recently but intend to start again.

    The steps along the way to our barn conversion An initial intention was to give snippets of advice based upon our experiences under the title The steps along the way to our barn conversion - the advice rather dried up as we went along, but I’ll be bringing it back over the next few weeks.

    The MBC Forum ~ coming soon!

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

    "Starter for 10" series on MBC on August 20th, 2009
    Having dabbled in all sorts of areas of building and do-it-yourself that I really have should left alone, I thought I'd record (should I ever...

    title (1)

    Online - recommended #2 on May 4th, 2009
    A couple more useful sites that I've used recently and can recommend.

    category: 'Site Announcements' (1)

    New bed on September 24th, 2009
    Somewhat in anticipation of being able to take up residence we've bought a great new bed for the barn.

    category: 'Site Announcements' (1)

    A Place of My Own on January 20th, 2010
    For anyone with an interest in building, conversion or renovation, or in just getting your hands dirty, Michael Pollans 'A Place of My Own' is...

    category: 'Site Announcements' (1)

    Stoneworks on February 22nd, 2010
    One thing I realised from my recent post on the downstairs travertine floor was that I haven't recommended Stoneworks who are the company I bought...

    category: 'Site Announcements' (1)

    Posted in Site Announcements | No Comments »

    Building Progress ~ March 2008, week 1 & 2

    Category: Barn Conversion Journal March 16th, 2008 by mbc

    We’ve now arrived at the stage where I need to get start getting services installed into the fabric of the building - first fix electrics and plumbing. I’ve got an electrician sorted and a plumber in the pipeline (ha ha), so hopefully things will move on over the next few weeks and I can stop [...]

    Posted in Barn Conversion Journal | No Comments »

    Solar Water Heating

    Category: Systems of interest March 13th, 2008 by mbc

    Solar water heating systems use energy from the sun to heat water for use in the home. This water can be utilised for washing and general domestic uses as well as for heating purposes.
    There are three main components:
    1. Heat Collectors or Panels. The two main types are flat plate and evacuated tube both are normally [...]

    Posted in Systems of interest | 1 Comment »

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