My Barn Conversion

Zero Carbon is a term that ‘haunts’ me a lot (I need to get out more). Our barn won’t be zero carbon, for a number of reasons, but mainly because it would have cost too much. I’m sure that the time will come in the not too distant future when photovoltaics (the only sensible optionContinue reading Wales’ Zero Carbon Dream

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.Continue reading Quality Materials

An interesting short article on green futures states that: Our historic buildings need not be unsustainable. What’s more, we can still learn a lot from their many examples of innovative technology …. underpinned by the old wisdom of self-sufficiency. I go a step further in that I see old buildings and the process of renovatingContinue reading The sustainability of old buildings

I spend a far amount of time sourcing goods for the barn on the internet so here’s a summary of some of my favourite sites with great features, products or service.

So apparently stoves are like hens teeth these days, demand for them has rocketed in line with spiralling fuel bills. I’ve been trying to track one down, our original choice had a 14-16 weeks lead-time on it so a bit of digging around on the internet later I managed to find a Country 16B Multi-fuelContinue reading Building Progress ~ November 2008