My Barn Conversion

As should be pretty obvious to any regular reader of this site, I’m pretty keen on the use of design patterns to ensure the goodness-of-fit between building plans and specifications and the requirements of the eventual end-users of a building. Patterns help inspire, guide and polish building design at all levels. A Pattern Language ~Continue reading Design Patterns @ architypes

One of the (admittedly very dull) things that I spend quite a lot of time thinking about and experimenting with is the presentation of information. One of the newish developments that is overused on the web, but can be very effective is the word cloud. A word cloud is made up of the key wordsContinue reading Passive Solar Design as a Word Cloud

Competition now closed I’d love the forum to become a useful resource for asking questions and getting answers related to ‘healthy house’, sustainable, ecological & environmentally aware building. There are other places out there to ask questions but they can at times be daunting, unwelcoming sorts of places. I want to keep things friendly andContinue reading Forum Competition

Now we have pipes (and lots of them as well). In addition to lots of electricity cables, we now have complex pipe-work that will form the basis of the even more complex heating and hot-water system that we’ll be installing. This also means that first-fix electrics and plumbing is now complete… (worthy of a smallContinue reading Pipes

I’ve long considered adding a forum to this site mainly to allow questions to be asked in a general manner rather than tied to a specific post. So, after fiddling about with it for a while, here is the new… mybarnconversion.com Discussion Forum My Barn Conversion Forum is the place for discussion of sustainable, ecologicalContinue reading mybarnconversion.com Discussion Forum now open!

May has been a month of windows. The roof lights in the western elevation We now have a six ‘velux’ type windows in the roof, a new window opening in the south facing gable-end of the barn and the ventilation (arrow) slits have been glazed. The amount of light that the new roof lights letContinue reading Building Progress ~ May 2008

Tax Freedom Day 2008 falls is TODAY! 2 June 2008 There’s good news and bad news… The good news is that from now on every penny you earn, you can keep… The bad news is that since the start of the year every penny you’ve earnt has gone to the government to pay for theirContinue reading Tax Freedom Day