A Grade 2 listed barn currently under conversion to a 3 bedroom single and two storey home. Our primary aim is to achieve near zero carbon running costs at an affordable price and also to demonstrate energy performance best practice. On completion, the building heat loss parameters will be equivalent to Code level 6. The project incorporates low carbon solutions that are easily achieved with a new build but much more challenging in a property conversion.
To show how work is progressing, this page is updated each month with the latest photos and news from the site.
Click on images to enlarge.
Installing the insulation carries on throughout June and with double thick layers now covering every surface the barn looks like the inside of a very large oven. The underfloor heating system has been fitted and screeding of the floors is underway. Most significant of all, electricity meters have been installed and we are finally connected to the grid supply.
Insulation, insulation, insulation! Don’t stand still for too long inside our low/zero carbon barn or you’ll find yourself encased in insulation. Celotex high performance PIR rigid foam insulation panels at up to 150mm thick have been installed throughout the building interior giving it a temporary space-age look. In contrast, traditional rustic 4 rail Lincolnshire oak fencing has been erected and the cast iron guttering is now finished beautifully with scrolled iron brackets. This month has also seen the completion of all the drainage systems.
Longer hours of daylight and good weather have really helped progress. In our determination to make this project as sustainable as possible, over 2,000 pan tiles have been carefully lifted, individually cleaned and now re-laid over a Klober breathable membrane. The hard work has paid off and the tiles look beautiful in the spring sunshine, admired from above by one of our regular visitors, a red kite.
The concrete barn has finally been dismantled and will be re-used nearby for open garages and stabling. Pointing has started on the first floor stonework, cast iron guttering and downpipes have been fitted, and excitingly the scaffold has been taken down!
Inside the barn, a king post truss made to match the existing wooden structure is installed together with steels to support the first floor. Some of the energy efficiency measures are more obvious now, such as the recessed brickwork to ensure the insulation runs up to the windows and the first floor joists designed to accommodate the duct work for the mechanical ventilation with heat recovery system. Huge amounts of insulation have been delivered!
Next month – insulation, insulation, insulation!
The barn gets a face wash! All the stone is cleaned to reveal the full beauty of both the stone itself and the patterns in which the stone was originally laid. One of the barn doors has now been stripped back to bare wood and is ready to be re-installed into the building.
We also managed to bring traffic to a halt on a nearby road as temporary traffic lights were set up to enable the final connection to be made to link up our water pipes to the mains supply.
Additional window and door openings have been cut into the stonework and the removed stone is put to one side for grading. The stone will be used for one of the new internal exposed stonework walls which will be heavily insulated to give a low u-value but still retain the character of the barn.
We have also cut through an opening to the adjoining single storey building and there are promising signs of future civilised living as the water pipes have now been laid.
Next month……the roof starts to go back on!
The surrounding undergrowth has been cleared and preparations are made for laying the new concrete floors. The stonework is cleaned up and looking beautiful and the high vaulted ceiling shows its full potential. Decisions need to be made regarding exploiting the full character of the property, for example, having exposed stonework and high vaulted ceilings versus achieving the lowest carbon values possible.
Despite phenomenally cold temperatures, work continues on site without disruption. The fear of being impaled by an icicle as you go in and out of the caravan adds to the challenge.
The photographs here are from before any work commenced on site and show the degree of work necessary to clear the site both inside and outside the structure. You can also see the concrete frame of the adjacent barn (which will be dismantled in due course).
