My Barn Conversion … musings in small-house, off-grid, architecture, design with smatterings of art, history and literature

A recurring topic that has kept popping into my consciousness over the past few weeks has been that of financial incentives to encourage of adoption of green technology in buildings. Firstly, in relation to the incentives that are available in the UK from the government. I’m interested in an air-source heat pump to provide an…

One of the cornerstones of energy efficient, healthy, sustainable building design, the PassivHaus standard aims to provide comfortable year round living conditions through minimal energy expenditure. These aims are achieved through: An effective passive solar design that will provide the necessary heat gain (heating). To manage the heat gain: …very highly specified insulation, …near complete…

A term often heard, but of rarely understood, just what does it mean? Some definitions: “within ten years every new home will be a zero-carbon home“ Gordon Brown, then Chancellor, in pre-budget report 2006. When asked for further clarification, a zero-carbon home was defined as one that does not contribute to global warming – hardly…

Despite the various pieces of tinkering and potching that I’ve committed over the past months, I never really felt that we’d made a real start on conversion of the barn. That is until the last couple of weeks when the wall came down. As dramatic as it sounds, the wall coming down entailed the removal…

One of those frequently occurring eco-building terms, thermal mass is often mentioned but rarely defined. The thermal mass of a building is an assessment of the ability of its internal fabric to absorb and store thermal energy. Through absorption of heat, the temperature of a material increases – the amount of heat that must be…

Whilst a little late in the day for our barn (it was built 100+ years ago) the orientation of a building to the sun and the suns relationship with the buildings windows, doors and other openings are the focus of passive solar design. Through effective passive solar design we seek to harness the power of…

From the back of the barn, along one side of the ‘garden’ (the enclosed area to the back of the barn) runs a mortared stone built wall. This wall butted up to the rear wall of the barn and so needed to be removed or rebuilt to avoid damp problems. Additionally, an entrance to that…

Seems to me that the negativity around the recent ‘British Monsoons’ is getting out of hand. If you’ve been flooded out, then fair enough, but for those of us lucky enough to live on high ground, let’s stop moaning! So in my attempt to redress the balance here are my reasons for embracing the rainy…

I’ve had a few concerns about the foundations of the barn, specifically how much of the soil that has built up around the walls we will be able to clear to install new drains and discourage damp without exposing the foundations. With pick and spade I sunk a trench to see what was what (or…

I’ve been at the barn for a few days, digging holes, hitting things with hammers & lugging things around with a wheelbarrow – my builder competency level is somewhere around that of navvy. The most constructive of my efforts has been in putting walls up on a previously opened sided barn using corrugated galvanised sheets.…

The younger sibling of the ground source heat pump (GSHP), the air source heat pump (ASHP) is an exciting development in heating technology. They operate on the same principles as the under-ground alternative, but draw thermal energy from the air rather than underground – air at ambient temperatures is passed over a finned heat exchanger…

We have a few fruit trees just behind the barn. I ate the sole surviving plum the other night, so can’t share that with anyone, however, there are still some lovely young pears growing. Anyone have any idea what variety they may be? All assistance in pear identification will be gratefully received! Click on the…