mickeych

This sounds very logical. How did you practically feather-in the lower edge of the new inner slab and can you remember what sort of space you were dealing with? Our challenge is the height of the timbers in what will be the 2nd floor as even if we are super creative we are struggling to get more than 1.8M under the main timbers (which are the original elm beams and have some listed restrictions on so can't be changed)

No. There is no slab at the moment, so we were discussing how much could be scraped out without causing a problem. Had trial holes dug to test the ground. It looks like the barn was built on a shallow layer of hardpacked rubble so not a lot of foundations to play with

We're still finalising details on our barn conversion, but in conversation with our SE and we have a bit of a dilemma since we have a very restrictive amount of total height available to us and this appears to have a significant impact on the amount of insulation we can put in below FFL (see his sketch attached). We are trying to avoid having to underpin the whole building and so I really need some of your combined experience and opinions to consider how we can achieve maximum insulation under the FFL.

Looks gorgeous. hhhm the lack of foundations does give me thought to review our plan again with the structural engineer

HL is a bit more costly than AJB and ii but if you stick to ETF's like vanguard they are fairly inexpensive, you can include them in an ISA and you can gain a broad equity exposure without having to worry too much about the fine print and who is getting a chunk of your hard earned cash

Has anyone used these in an active cooling capacity - I am designing in as many ways to reduce thermal heat gain on a build with a large amount of glass, but I want to take a belt and braces approach to limiting the impact of hotter summers. These were recommended (Heat Cloud was suggested) as an option for cooling, but would love to hear experiences or other options.

Many thanks for the feedback @Alan Ambrose really helpful. Your thinking on this mirrors my own feelings and understanding. The structural engineer already has a partnership with a very good local builder and they have previously developed a pair of similar properties in the same area based off the same original planning consent (and architectural plans) which is how I know him. He developed the original architects plans for his own project and then negotiated those to planning for some fairly substantial changes. His experience with the planners in addition to and building controls is definitely a big plus and the quality of what he and his builder partner have produced is outstanding so he ticks those boxes too. Your suggestion that maybe the existing buildings effectively define the architectural style is interesting and is where I come to the question... is there any point in engaging additional architectural input if all that is left is 'only practical detail' Happy to take any feedback as we are so new to this!

After several years of looking, we are in the final stages of buying a large plot with an undeveloped stone barn and outbuildings. The plot comes with planning to rebuild and convert the barn to a 4 bed house with a detached studio. Both my wife and I grew up in rural settings but moved away for careers and to bring our family up and we are now starting this massive project to develop something that we really want to live in. I have been stalking the site for a few months now as we work through the basics of buying and selling in a tricky market and finally have a completion date so beginning to feel real. We have been underwhelmed with both the original plans and the original architect, although to be fair he did manage to get planning for the conversion even though the plot falls within the curtilage of a listed building, but zero WOW factor in the plans which is shame as the site is gorgeous. We have found and engaged an amazing structural engineer who has lots of local experience dealing with complex planning negotiations. He is happy to (and has experience of) adapting and creating all new drawing and planning versions and calculations and submit/negotiate with local planners based on the existing plans but including our own ideas and inspirations. First big question and I know that it really isn't this straightforward: Should we engage an architect to take the ideas that we have and combine them with the original plans or just move ahead as we are?