Seems everyone is doing it so why not MyBarnConversion…?

I’ve created a Twitter account for mbc – barnconversion

I’ll use it to post the latest thoughts, progress and decisions made regarding the development of the barn. As well as a chronological view of what’s happening and when, I hope it’ll act as a to-do list for me – let’s see how it goes.

A list of most recent twits can be found toward the bottom of the right-hand sidebar ( that’s over there >>>>> )

Keep twitting…

Way back in 2007 I put a small raised bed into a clearing in our patch of woodland. We had some old sleepers that needed moving away from the barn and this seemed like a sensible thing to do with them. The bed has a weed control liner and 10 to 12 inches of mixed soil and compost.

I garnered opinion as to what I should plant on the SelfSufficientish forum and eventually put in some carrot and beetroot seed. Then I must admit I left the whole thing alone and failed to provide adequate care, supervision and green fingers. The end result was the few stunted, mouldy carrots that I dug out whilst planting my latest attempt at being a gardener – two blackcurrant and ten raspberries canes.

I’m not sure I’ve given then enough soil, I may need to allow them to get through the weed control barrier and perhaps fill the raised bed with some more compost and soil. I’ll also keep an eye on the amount of light they get throughout the day – the chainsaw may need to come out and a few more branches be sacrificed, but then the wood’s always handy…

I promise I’ll look after these better than those unfortunate carrots…

As it’s already embarrassingly late I’ll make the February update a whistle-stop tour of what progress has been made.

My clay-paint painting is going well (if slowly) although I think in places, where I’ve not been so careful in getting the grain of the application of paint quite right – by that I mean where I’ve applied paint in a direction out of kilter with the surrounding area – I may need to rub down with sandpaper before applying the final coat. So maybe more work than first expected.

The stove is now nicely settled into place waiting for the flue to be attached and routed up through the first floor, along the internal wall of the second bedroom and out though the roof. We eventually decided to opt for an internal flue as that is what we have permission for and a) we don’t fancy another visit to planning and b) I prefer a solution that will keep as much heat as possible in the building.

It’s been a while since a VAT update so I thought I’d review the current position, especially in view of the pre-Christmas credit-crunch fuelled reduction in the standard rate of VAT from 17.5% to 15%.

My own VAT reclaim will be due soon – by early Summer at the latest, so I thought I’d review the rates in-case anything had changed. I’m pleased to report (from the point of view of change being likely to cause more work and / or hassle) that the VAT reduction does not effect conversions and the 5% rate remains as it was…

Only standard-rated sales are affected. There are no changes to sales that are zero-rated or reduced-rated for VAT. Similarly, there are no changes to the VAT exemptions.

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