SELFBUILD

BARN CONVERSION

Original Pictures
These pictures were taken on 28 December 2006 during our initail viewing and second viewing on 13 January 2007.
Helping to clear the barn
All hands on deck, it took a few weekends but finally the barn was emptied out.
Inital site works continue

Getting the site set up - electric, water and more clearing.
Clearing the paddock
Cutting the grass down, fixing the fences and planting hedging/fruit trees.
Garage wall
Replacing the horrible orange brick with reclaimed brick - which has yet to be aged & blended to the old brick.
Stone Wall Rebuild
Ooops - a stone wall came down whilst getting a big tree out, so we set to and rebuilt it and repointed the rest.
The Roof
Stripping off the old slate & steel sheets, repairing the old timbers. Fitting the felt & membrane then slating.
Aug 2008
This month went really well with lots of people helping us out, we manage to get 5 new window openings complete and one other rebuilt, roofing finished - ridge tiles on, guttering fitted and the scaffolding removed.
Sept 2008
Once again things really seem to be moving on now, with us digging out the ground floor levels. Back filling with hardcore, sand, DPM, insulation and concrete. Screed and UFH to follow at a later time.
Winter
The cold months slowed us down somewhat but we pushed on and fitted wall trimmers throughout all rooms for the first floor joist and made a lot of repairs to the brickwork plus opening/repairing windows.
Feb - March 2009
Work continues on shaping the amenity space, fitting a new fence, digging out the levels and building retaining walls.
March 2009
Final preparation work takes place and the Atrium gets installed. With the 10" x 10" corner post, it looks really sturdy and should be even nicer once it starts to weather.
April 2009
April sees us starting to glaze the Atrium - just got the A frame to finish off and we got some more stone walling sorted in the amenity area.
May/June 2009
These two month have gone really quick for us, we managed to get the Atrium glass finished, a front door fitted, the amenity steps built and grass seed sewn, sewage treatment plant fitted plus all drain pipes are now underground, a hard core driveway laid and the courtyard re-leveled. As if that's not enough, we also fitted all the first floor joists.
July/Aug 2009
As summer passes by quickly, we've managed to get the back garden completed, built a fireplace and fitted all 19 windows and 2 more external doors including the glazing. Garage doors are on order but will take up to 6 weeks as they are special order from German. Ohh and we also cut out the internal door ways in the main butress walls.
Sept 2009
September has been a good productive month for us, most diamond & cross wall vents have been repaired or re-opened, the shed/wood store has been partially clad, a 'crazy-pave' style slate path laid in the back garden. Last but not least we cracked on to lay the floor insulation, heating pipes and liquid screed. Garage doors have been delivered from Germany - but no time left for installation - first job for October.
July 2010

Well.............. A quick chance to update the site, after a 3 month break over that cold cold winter We're back in the swing and managed to get the garage doors on, internal windows fitted (over the vent holes), landscaping, gardening, stud walls and started on the insulation.

A few new pic's added to the 'Misc' page which is found from the top of this page.
Nov 2010
Things are changing quick for now, stairs going in (need a good coat of wax oil), Oak flooring going down upstairs, stud walling and insulation continues, still found time for a bit of landscaping and cobbling though.
Oct 2011
Just remembered I've got a website so lots of bits at once: stud walls, insulation, workshop (not a kitchen) and a few bits n' bobs.