It was very exciting to see the Kitchen opening to the garden being created as it opened up the hallway, lounge and kitchen quite significantly. With needles in place it was a tough old job boring through the ironstone walls which were certainly built to last !!! Although at times we felt we were using our teeth, we did hire an excellent hand held pneumatic drill to make the job less painful ( I even had a go with this which was great fun). It was also back breaking work removing the stone ready to be reused else where on the build but I kept thinking of the calories that I was burning which made me work faster (nearer to coffee time and a choccie biscuit).
Attention then turned to part of the Barn sub-floor. As the ground floor hallway and lounge will be on split level then the upper level was prepared firstly for the concrete subfloor. At this stage a lovely couple also fell in love with the the development and subsequently put in an offer for the Barn which we accepted. They decided that they would like ground under-floor heating which was perfect timing before the concrete was laid. This therefore meant that rather than sand blind, damp proof visqueen and floor insulation being laid prior to the sub-floor, we only laid the sand and damp proofing (in under-floor heating the floor insulation is added after the sub-floor). A former was made for the step down to the lower level of the ground floor.
As in the Dairy, we called Easimix (who only charge us on the concrete that we use and are extremely professional and patient). Concrete was mixed and poured through the entrance to the barn whilst the gang (donned with attractive wellies) levelled the floor . Mr Clyde ( site security) decided that the barn was his paws of fame and pit pattered across the fresh concrete –thank fully it wasn’t the screed that was being laid.
Whilst the subfloor was setting the builders covered the internal wall to the kitchen, lounge, in the ironstone that was removed from kitchen/garden opening. My husband Andrew had the lovely job of cutting the stone with the chain saw which was one of the most messiest and back breaking tasks imaginable – it was certainly worth it in the end as the wall looks fantastic and will make a real feature in the living area.
Progressing onto lintels, the RSJ kitchen lintel and the reclaimed (planed and sanded by my very hands) beam from the lounge, kitchen was raised into place.
A Sovereign injected damp proof course was inserted in and around the Barn walls and tanking in the kitchen area, whilst the step down to the lounge floor, and Dean’s creative curvy wall in the hallway housing the downstairs toilet and wall of the study was being composed.
Andrews idea of opening up the stairwell from the hallway to enable views of the ceiling rafters and skylight is an excellent one and again will add to the beauty of the barn. He is also proposing to continue the curve of the downstairs wall upstairs through to the upper hallway to ensure continuity of shape.
The lounge and kitchen sub-floor was then prepared ready for the concrete to arrive again, which enabled the builders to wear their wellies again!!
Whilst work was progressing internally the frames for the skylights were made and put into place ready for the windows to be fitted prior to tiling the roof. As the Barn is Grade II Listed, the skylights are conservation style with two of them having rain sensors on for convenience as they would be impossible to reach to close once the conversions completed.
The roofers job was then to tile the Barn roof using traditional pantiles in keeping with the Grade II conservation of the development. It is amazing to watch how quickly and efficiently the roofer moves along the battens with a pile of tiles on his back. In no time at all the Barn roof was wind and water tight and looking great. The detail around the eaves was particularly impressive and really sets off the gable end of the Barn.
Once the roof was completed then attention was paid to the Gable end of the Barn by replacing the old bricks around the window and door opening and chipping out and repointing the old lime render.
October was certainly a very busy month but again a lot was achieved by forward planning and hard work.
November
For the flooring for the 1st floor it was decided to use TGI silent flooring which was recommended through Howarth Timber. Brilliant service from the Howarth Timber team as they provided a detailed design in order for the first floor to be installed to spec.
In preparation for the beams and floor joists the builders measured and knocked out holes in the walls which meant once the beams arrived they could be hoisted into place. When the beams arrived thankfully the Howarth Timber driver not only parked his lorry as close as possible to the Barn entrance to make life easier, he helped the team lift the beams off and into the Barn lounge area (they were mighty heavy but look the business once in situ!!). Once inside the Barn the men could then hoist the beams up into place. Again Tutankarman would have been impressed as the good old block and tackles were hired again
Beams up, joists up which meant it was time to lay down the 18 mm thick chipboard for the flooring by glueing and nailing the boards to the joists. In no time the Barn started to look more like a home which is made easier to visualise each of the rooms (we are becoming more & more excited about the conversion, which is equally shared by the couple who wish to live in the Barn)
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