LSB

We are currently converting a barn, at the moment it has two stretches where there are no walls around a corner. These stretches are going to include 4x opening doors, either sliding / bi-fold / french on the 18m side and an individual window on the 6m side. The existing walls that we must keep are single skin block to which we are adding EWI outside and plasterboard inside. We have a stretch of 18m on one side and 6m on the other where each end has to join to an existing wall. You can just see the end of one of the existing walls in this picture, which has gate hinges. What method of building do you think would be the best for this new corner, block / block, block / brick, ICF, timber etc. The roof is going to be flat (7d) metal, if this makes a difference. The existing wall when everything is added will be 305mm whereas it looks like standard cavity new walls are something like 370 so we can't be flush. The outside of the 6m will be rendered, the 18m wall will be clad. I'm preferring the step outside whereas HID prefers flush outside. Also, what is likely to be the best method for pinning these together. This wall in the picture is attaching to the new 6m in a straight line. I'm also wondering how the foundations will work as our plans say to use the existing base slab and foundations, although we are digging down some floors which have been raised 1/2 block as can be seem here. These raised bits are floating with a 4mm gap between the floor and the wall. Around the corner is 18m joining at a corner with the same existing blockwork.

I thought ours was bad enough at £200 sqm

We are digging the existing floor out (well some of it) as it is currently on 4 different levels with the top 3 being floating floors not even actually touching the walls, I want level access everywhere ready for my wheelchair. Then we are going to put in a new slab, insulation, UFH and screed and within that a DPM, we are also allowed to add an additional block to the wall height at the black, the part in the picture. Currently the roof is two different levels, we can't increase the top ridge, but this part is 704mm lower, we need to keep the pitch for the zinc (metal) roof, but one block at least gives us something. This also allows us to add a lintel over the window. That is one restriction we have, either use the existing openings or hide them, but we can't have new ones. I wanted a window on the left hand wall looking down the hill, but that isn't allowed. If you look in the picture you will see that you can only see half of the block at the bottom, so we are going down to expose all of it. We don't have very deep foundations, but they are good enough for this according to our SE.

Thanks, we have EWI planned, but as I've started stripping the barn (this is the only shed I've done so far) I need to plan for the rebuild even though it won't be for some time. The walls are not too bad and we are lucky that it's not particularly damp. How thick is a parge coat ? The void is crucial as I'm planning on lots of cables for electricity & network etc.

It's a modern barn build from blockwork.

what is the difference in cost between timber & metal, and how do they perform with wet rooms like bathrooms. Also, what about attaching items like shelves etc. any preference there.

I'm currently looking at our options for the internal part of our conversion. I'm not very knowledgeable about the best way to do some things. We have a single skin blockwork barn that we are converting, the outside will be EWI (yes we do have permission), but I'm wondering about inside. We are planning on putting plasterboard inside om a DIY basis, but I'm wondering what is the best way. Should we put battens and then screw in the boards, or dot & dab onto the blocks or screw to the blocks, can we use nails rather than screws using the nail gun. If we use battens should we put some insulation in the batten spaces. How do we stop cold getting in if we use screws. Should we tape each board edge. The wall will be skimmed before decorating. Is there a different process for wet rooms. Most articles I read suggest dot & dab, but as we are trying to follow a fabric first approach and insulate the house as much as possible, as it won't have a cavity. We are planning ASHP & UFH & MVHR, does this make a difference. Most of the internal walls are staying and are block although we will be building a few stud walls for things like wardrobes. TIA

our barn using to be part of an intensive pig rearing unit, so same thing, concern that as it used to be a farm there might be something there, but nothing found. There main concern, hence the gas monitoring, was what the piggies leave behind.

we were quoted £500 for a skip, which must then be double wrapped as does each individual item that goes in it. We have 10 full sheets, 2 half sheets, 5 ridge sheets and 2 gutters.

We are doing 240m2 x 30-40cm deep of old concrete ourselves, so not quite as much as you. We bought an old digger, just delivered this week which we intend to sell at the end of the build, so we expect this to cost very little. Of course we do need to find the time. We are also at the top of a slope and ridge constrained, but ours isn't a new build it's a barn conversion. The reason we are going down is because the floor is currently 4 different levels and the rear of the barn is only 1.88m currently. We looked at getting it done, but didn't even get as far as receiving any quotes, the groundworkers who came just gave the sharp intake of breath and said, "that's a big job", then left.

have you had your phase 2 done? that did take ages for us as they had to monitor gas for 3 months. flood zone didn't affect us as we are at the top of a slope, the valley we look at is flood plain, but we are 6m higher than that luckily.

I submitted my CIL commencement at the same time as submitting the plans to satisfy the conditions, CIL replied by email same day saying, great thanks. I don't think the timing matters, just make sure that it's done before you do anything. We are converting an old agricultural barn and started clearing the site whilst waiting for the conditions to be discharged. Taking apart doesn't seem to be a problem, building anything may be a problem in my experience, so don't do those drains, but interior panels should be okay. By the way my conditions were discharged in 3 weeks, they just wanted a Phase 2 contamination survey, which found nothing so I guess they just looked and did it then, so it may not be as long as you think.

thanks, I shall investigate that as well.

Does anyone know re insurance, is the digger covered by the site insurance, which does cover tools, or do we need to get independent insurance for it.

That's a good idea, we are going to store inside a shed, but even so if people see us using it they might decide to pay a night time visit. With all the other farm stuff we have as well we could be in a lot of trouble if they take the whole lot.

Whether you are converting a barn, like us, or building from scratch I just don't know where the time goes. Agreed hubby works full time and although I'm only supposed to work 3 days per week I've been doing a lot more lately as we are so busy with the work new build. It's also been dark and cold which doesn't inspire enthusiasm to get outside to do things. I'm also very limited in what I can do, I'm not very strong and don't always know how to do things. I've also found that keeping the site clean and tidy is a thankless and time consuming job, but essential, last week we lost a crow bar and took days to find it buried in a pile of old newspapers that should have been thrown away. One of our bigger issues is the barn being so full of all sorts of things gathered over the years before we even start, as it was pig units it's split into 7 large areas with a corridor with a wall down the middle. Some of the stuff is rubbish and can be disposed off, but I'm loath to get rid of anything at this stage in case it may have a use in the future. One area we used for hay and horse feed, which they are almost through being the end of winter. Of course by next winter I'm going to need somewhere else to store this, it may be next year that it's still in the barn as we are most likely still going to be putting the outside together. The other areas have tack and cat food, another one wood, then there is the farm implements, the tractor, the digger and other machinery. So, to store the things we really need I cleared out the old bike sheds, these had collapsed roofs which had to be removed, cut up and taken to the tip. Then to provide us with storage space they had to be rebuilt. The wood wasn't a problem, over the years we have knocked down lots of old sheds so we had lots of wood around which was good enough for this purpose. We also had some roofing sheets from old sheds, enough for one of the bike sheds. Even though the sheds suffer from subsidence they should be good enough for the duration of the build (we hope) when they can be knocked down. We then needed more sheets and some long lengths of wood to put a roof on the 2nd bike shed. So, I had to take some off the roof of the barn to provide what we needed. Not being a building expert in any way I was surprised at how much was involved in this, with battens, insulation, rafters, roofing sheets attached with lots and lots of long nails. Also, after that more wood on the top of each wall, wall plates I guess, I thought that they would be one piece, but oh no, it was battens with 2 pieces in between, lots of mouse nests and more nails. So, that's one shed, with the roof off, only another 6 to go and then the corridor. Each roofing sheet is 20' plus and far too heavy for me to move so I remove the nails with hammer and crowbar and then get hubby to get the sheets off. This week I've also removed the old gutters and what used to be wood holding them up. It did make me wonder, this barn is about 50 years old and lots of the wood is completely rotten, so what protects timber framed houses. I guess that they are just not exposed like this. This side of the barn is south facing as well so gets lots of sun. This lower roof that I'm removing at the moment will be raised to be the same height as the other part which along with digging out the floor will give us enough roof height at the lower end to pass muster. We also went shopping this month and spent a large chunk of our budget buying a digger, wacker plate, breaker, nail gun and some tiles. All auction purchases at Cheffins plant sale in Ely. We spent more on this than intended because of the VAT that we can't claim back, and will lose when we eventually sell it. But, it's going to make our life so much easier. The first task though is to dig out some huge troublesome brambles that have spread very quickly. Good practice before we need to dig out the floor in the barn. That will be done once I've finished removing the roof. Another urgent task is to get some concrete fibre roof sheets removed as they may contain that pesky asbestos. These are on the 'L' part of the barn, the majority is the metal sheets. On as more sedentary note I spent many weeks going through everything that I think we need for the build from nails to zinc roof. This was 100's of items which I then manually searched for the best price for. Then I contacted 8 builders merchants asking about trade accounts, only 4 responded with Wickes saying "do it yourself from our website". The big boys didn't even reply at all. The 3 that did respond were all local merchants who returned my spreadsheet with largely varying prices, but all offering good discounts due to the volume of stuff that we need. They also said that they sometimes have special deals, in one case 75 - 80% for some items. Of the 4 I looked at 3 priced Kingspan insulation whereas one of them listed Celotex. This is what is in the barn at the moment to keep the piggy's warm, is there much difference as the Celotex was a lot cheaper. During April, I want to get the rest of the back roof off and also get the asbestos cleared and removed from site. This does necessitate some water and electrical changes as this roof is in the area where the power and water come in from the host house.

my planning specifies 1 fast EV charger and 1 overnight, so I think the fast is 32amp. showers, not sure yet cooker is hob and 3 ovens as I cook and bake a lot so want main oven, second oven, baking oven (no smells) and grill. I will need to speak to hubby re 3 phase equipment, the workshop is his domain. what sort of things use 3 phase as he is up in the barn at the moment making a door for the storage shed.

final decision not made yet, I'm hoping to run from tank, but need enough hot water for 4-6 people so also at the least needs emersion, I'm hoping to get lots from solar

when I was talking the person I was talking to said similar, chargers 1p and workshop 1p except he wasn't sure that 1p would be enough for ASHP & MVHR & Solar PV. To be fair he was there to quote to replace our current oil boiler and said he would get the company sparky to help me, but I need to chase him. In our current house we have 1p in the house and 1p in the annex and 1p in the workshop / garage / stables etc.

I know, but UKPN are asking me what KVA I need and although I've looked I don't understand the calculation to get this. I asked my sparky, but he's a bit slow on answering.

Hello Our electric board UKPN has asked for our KVA requirements to complete their quote. I may have posted this previously, but I can't find the answer. This is for 2 * 32amp EV charging 3 * power showers 2 * cooker hobs 4 * ovens 4 bedrooms office with 6 computers plus 2 x printers 3 * TV's plus DVD etc Solar PV, 10 - 12 panels ASHP MVHR Cart-lodge / Garage / Large workshop Water Treatment plant 120m drive with lighting and electric gate at road side We have asked for 3 phase, which is available, but they want to know the KVA needs TIA

They can be had for about £45 per m2 for a u value of 0.14 which is very cheap. That is cheap, we have been quoted between 25 & 40 for standing seam zinc, house is 240sqm so between 100 & 166 per sqm. This is what has put us off as it eats so much of our budget. Other steel is cheaper, totals about 20, but that's still quite a lot, but I do prefer the look of standing seam. As far as the cavity versus EWI, we have permission for EWI, but not to build a second cavity, planners being what they are they have their idiosyncrasies. I'm beginning to understand that it is impossible to understand all the different build methods, planning, conversions. If I could do what I want I would attack the barn with the tractor, dig up the site and start again, but when I spoke to the planner it was made very very clear that this would not be allowed. There have been all sort of comments on this forum about building one wall then another etc., but if I got caught then I would lose out big time and it's just not worth it. I will stick to what I'm allowed, including using the existing walls, openings and the roof structure.

our roof has to be metal, ideally zinc, but that's pretty expensive so I'm looking at steel. It's a single story barn of 240sqm so a lot of roof. We are also going to have Solar PV. But, the above does link does look like a viable option as it looks very similar to the existing steel roof. We can't reuse that as it is rusted in a lot of places and has no insulation. It was a barn for an intensive pig rearing unit, only stopped when the regulations changed. I must say that I'm happy about that, looking at it when we first purchased the site it can't have been very pleasant for the pigs who would never get to see any daylight.

Thanks for your suggestion, but we decided on EWI because of how much space we would lose internally.