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.
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Keep Beams! on August 10th, 2010
Utilise as much of the original structure as you can and make the most of it.
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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.
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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...
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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…
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Tags: advice, beams, Snippets
Category: Conversion Design Advice March 18th, 2010 by mbc
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 was about. Can’t say I established that fully, but I did find an very interesting article by Christopher that feeds into the research I’ve been undertaking recently into my sons bedroom. The article, Environment for Children by Christopher Day gives some useful guidence in designing an environment for small children.
I recommend that you read the article for yourself, but my summary follows:
“Childhood is, essentially, the journey of growing up [...] Small children need
protection from the wider world, whereas adults are only fully alive when engaged in it.”
Small children need:
- As “small children live in a world between fantasy and fact” they need somewhere to retreat to, somewhere not too well lit, somewhere that provides a daydream inducing twilight.
- A secret place, a calm, safe, protective place. We all remember our dens behinds settees or under cushions - a place to hide, play or simply retreat to.
- Angles, edges and regularity are for the adult world, small children need spherical, soft edged, womb like places.
- “Infants don’t think. They experience - with their whole bodies and through all their senses.”
- Touch-friendly, tactile materials in their surroundings. Natural materials such as wood, clay and stone have a tactile vibrancy and ‘life’ not found in ‘unwelcoming’ man-made materials such as concrete or plastic.
“Even in unpromising surroundings, we can create environments for children.”
These needs are best provided for in out-of-the-way places in cellars, attics or under utilised parts of the home. Children want secret territories, adult unfriendly environments.
“The reassuring substantiveness and visual softness of curvilinear cob walls, for instance, suit infants, whereas exposed timber posts’, beams’ and struts’ visually explicit logic suit teenagers’ intellectual curiosity.”
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How much does a barn conversion cost? Part 3 on July 1st, 2010
Here I'll consider the actual costs of converting your barn and making it habitable.
tag: 'advice'
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Step 10 = floor on June 17th, 2010
... floor levels are dictated by a heady blend of building reg’s, foundations, ceiling height and final finishes - you need to consider each...
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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'
(1)
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Category: Conversion Design Advice February 23rd, 2009 by mbc
As the building progresses so some of the clean lines that I’m so fond of start to emerge. Below are some of my current favourite examples, more can be seen in my Picasa web album - (following a couple of technical hitches flickr seems to have abandoned me for the time being…)
They are to be [...]
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Category: Conversion Design Advice December 24th, 2008 by mbc
What we now consider as high quality, high cost choices for building with, traditional materials such as limestone, sandstone, slate, hard woods, steel, dressed stone and hand-made bricks; were once standard. These materials are what contribute to those elusive but seductive and often valuable features of buildings often referred to as period charm or character.
Any [...]
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