My Barn Conversion

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you all! Obviously with nasty old Christmas getting in the way (!) progress has slowed a little, but not to the extent I would have expected. The beams are looking great and have been completely embedded in the wall – the walls have been rebuilt where theContinue reading Building Progress ~ December 2007, week 3 and 4

A Frank Lloyd Wright quotation: Organic architecture more or less means organic society. An architecture inspired by this ideal cannot acknowledge the laws imposed by aestheticism or mere taste, just as an organic society should reject any external imposition on life that contrast with nature and the character of the man who has found hisContinue reading Organic Architecture ~ Frank Lloyd Wright

I’m always looking for new ways to get the message of this site across, so I’m happy to announce that I’m going to start adding video content via YouTube. The first video is on the interior of the barn as it begins to take shape. The floor is partially finished, oaks beams are in placeContinue reading mybarnconversion.com goes YouTube

Rather strangely, I’ve we’ve discovered stalactites in our walls. Whilst the photograph is not that clear, that downward dribble to the right of the centre of the picture is a lime stalactite that has formed within the south facing wall of the barn. Whilst the wall is not very damp at the surface, internally itContinue reading We have stalactites in our walls!

The first of the structural elements that will form a finished part of the building have been installed. Our much debated oak beams, that were selected over steel beams as a key element of our healthy house design have been delivered and put into place. As the walls that will support the beams are alreadyContinue reading Building Progress ~ December 2007, week 1 and 2

As well as the health benefits of not using carpets in your conversion project, alternatives can also help your bank balance when incorporated into the building during its conversion. You can reclaim VAT spent on flooring during your conversion except for carpet. 8.10 Carpets Carpets, carpet tiles and underlay are not building materials for VATContinue reading Flooring

Through to the end of November progress has been mainly on filling back in what has been taken out! The original internal floors were removed and extra excavation carried out to give sufficient depth for the new floor. The new floor comprises of a layer of well bedded in hard-core, then a damn proof membraneContinue reading Building Progress ~ November 2007, week 3 and 4

I thought it was about time to review the VAT situation regarding the barn to ensure that my understanding is correct, so an overview of the current legislation follows with appropriate extracts. My apologies if any of this reads a strangely, I wanted to keep as much of the wording from the official sources intactContinue reading VAT for barn convertors – Update December 2007

I’ve already written about one of my favourite building design books A Pattern Language – Towns Buildings Construction by Alexander, Ishikawa & Silverstein. I thought it would be worthwhile stating which of the patterns I’ll be paying most attention to in my design. The list is not exhaustive, other patterns will have a bearing, newContinue reading Design Patterns ~ my choices

Let the games begin. The first phase of building involves excavation of the exterior ground levels all around the building to provide drainage trenches and ensure that exterior floor levels are below the eventual interior floor level. Internally, the existing flag stone, cobble and concrete floors have been removed and dug out down to theContinue reading Building Progress ~ November 2007, week 1 and 2