Roger440

Absolutely. And this has been the focus of my attention. Probably because im here on this forum, barns aside, im attracted to an energy efficent, low maintenance house. Whilst that can be achieved with a 200 year old farmhouse, its an awful lot of work, probably more work than starting from scratch. Which is why i was looking at modern ag buildings. Build a good modern house inside it, at a lower cost than starting from scratch, and quicker, whilst getting the workshop space into the deal. But quality info on converting modern barns is hard to find. I guess, because, releatively they are few and far between.

I am 50 mins outside the M25. Just outside buckingham. A detached house with 1/2 acre is 800K Minimum. On a good day. Unless its listed. In which case you wont be building one anyway. Ive got 450k ish to play with. I know i need to move.

Im not sure you are correct. Why does every barn conversion plan have a floor layout? Indeed, every house? If that wasnt required, why does everyone do it? Surely just do an outside drawing, tick the planning box and get cracking. They are, however concerned with outward appearance. To function as a workshop it needs a big door! So its kind of obvious. You may be right however, though i dont think so. Happy to be proven wrong. Want to be proven wrong. But as with every option, i cant find out AFTER ive bought it. Sadly, every avenue comes back to this.

Yes, it is really. I already have the use of an industrial unit, OK, its rented which is part of the issue, But it starts to turn what is a hobby into a chore, or too much like work. You have to plan time to go there. Not like you can just pop across the garden and do a half hour of stuff. Even buckingham, the nearest town is only 4 miles away, which is where i work, on the industrial estate, takes 15 mins plus to get there. And the same again back. Thats aside from the cost. 3000 sqft unit, £400k!!! Only one for sale. Yes you could argue if thats the best i can achieve, i should suck it up. And i do. But i dont want that for the next 20 plus years.

We dont know the height of the existing building. If its over 4m its definitely not PD.

Have to say i didnt really consider that. Good point, well made.

I bet the planners can though. I know ive said it already, but i simply cant afford to find out post purchase if i can do it. And that really is the biggest issue. Ive only got one more move left in me.

Yep. That would be big enough. How "far out" are you? But im guessing you applied after you bought? What would you have done if it was a no?

Because its Q class. The landlord of our old business premises is using the Q class route on the building. So thats been agreed (because they cant refuse) But they wont allow him to add any opening for windows and doors. So its quite a risk. Even if its a small risk, its a risk i simply cannot afford to take. I buy it and fail to get the necessary planning, then what? No choice but to sell. That process will cost big.

Indeed. But that will require a significant divergence from the principal of class Q planning as i understand it. It may or may not be possible, but would need a very compliant seller, while you try and get planning. They may not want refusals on record either.

In america there is a whole movement, they like to call barndominium living. But i dont live in america so have to struggle on with our system

No, no. Stop it!!!!! Id do this tommorow if i could.

I think we are talking cross purposes I meant costs of conversion of existing barn to domestic use.. Im well versed in costs of actual modern steel structures!

Any suggestions as to the right places? My looking has revealed little so far

Hence my original question of simply building a box inside. Ive insulated 2 of these type buildings. As you observe, a bit of a mission to do.

Budget is circa 450-500K for everything, be that, new build and barn, old farm and barn + refurb, modern AG barn + conversion. Norfolk is doable, as is west country. Really dont want to go north. Thats quite a good deal on the face of it. Had the whole thing been enclosed that would fit the bill perfectly. As its only actually half the 18x18 its a no go to use as a workshop as well. If ferdinand numbers are right, conversion would be 60-70K! Given it probably has no services, id guess that could go up quite a bit. Workshop aside on this particular one, it is, otherwise, ideal. What a great place to live.

Thats quite a low figure. My thinking was not dis-similar as the structural elements are taken care of. At those sorts of numbers its a very do-able proposition.

Thanks for your post. Food for thought. Ive looked at a few roadside things like old garages etc. Whilst id probably go for that, my wife wont, and too be honest, now i dont have road noise any more, im not sure i want that back in my life! Yes, i know, i probably dont have enough money to adopt that point of view! As per my post above, most pre-existing stuff is invariably a major project looking for somewhere to happen. I dont mind work, up to a point. I suspect, ultimately, its what i end up with. I just fancy the modern ag barn idea. But im struggling to get a grasp on likely conversion costs. New build is releatively well understood by comparison

What you say makes sense. Most thing pre-existng are leftover bits of old farms, but getting ever harder thanks to class Q. Realistically north devon is as close as i can get and buy what i want. And thats marginal. Generally older houses, which to make efficient and low maintenance will require significant expenditure. Hence the attraction of a large Q class barn. Everything under one roof. I currently rent a barn, but im in the south east. Over 20 years that would be a lot of cash. While im working its do-able, but i plan on semi retirement in a few years max, at which point it becomes definitely non-doable. Combine with the fact its not on site, i cant really make it the way i want it, and i have zero security of tenure, makes for a pretty unappealing long term plan.

This is correct. Not required if you can comply with everything. What i did. BC were happy too. In england.

Nobody else got any thoughts on this?

Cars primarily. (currently 9). Do all my own restoration etc. Lots of gear. Woodwork stuff. Really want some space for a model railway too longer term. Obviously i could abandon all my hobbies and the problem would go away. But im not ready to accept defeat just yet. But i dont want a big house. Just a 2 bed bungalow would be fine.

Nobody believes its basically because i have out of control hobbies. Immediately the conclusion is "running a business" so on a residential plot, thats a no no. The sheer size is likely to be a problem, but i guess thats rather more location specific. 2 of my near neighbours had multiple rejections of a straightforward triple garage. To high, too big, out of keeping, wrong location, too visible etc. etc. Indeed the 2nd one in the end used the plans from the first to get it through on the basis it was the same and they were immediate neighbours. At a slightly more practical level, nobody is selling a plot with planning for a big barn. Which means that i would have to try and "add" the barn to the planning permission afterwards. Given the difficulties in doing so, thats way to high risk post purchase. If they refuse, you are stuffed at that point. How on earth did you justify a building like that on a new build? Is this easier in scotland? But regardless, i couldnt and wouldnt buy any kind of plot unless it was cast iron that i could build one.

Whilst i probably would, im not so sure the wife would go along with that!

Cladding type isnt that important, but steel framed, yes. (as above post) Having rented various steel building over the years, ive got plenty of experience at insulation, condensation etc. Hence my thoughts about effectively building a stand alone box inside the actual barn. If a bit of condensation forms on the cladding, thats no different to before you live in it. Im just unsure if this is an acceptable way forward. I cant see why not, but im certainly no expert on the subject. Just how expensive can a single story rectangular box with a flat roof that doesnt even need to resist rain possibly be?