The Barn

This barn was built over 200 years ago, and had recently started to collapse. The roof-timbers were detached from the walls, and it was only timely propping with trusty Acro’s that saved the day. Because the barn is a listed building, the planning process took over a year from start to finish.

From a distance, it looked in pretty good shape, but on closer inspection, the back was leaning outwards by about 15 degrees.

The first job was to take the roof tiles off – some from the front, then some from the back, to help prevent the weight of one side pushing the other side over. There are literally dozens of different types of roof tiles, old and new. Mostly handmade, some recent mass-produced. All salvageable ones were neatly stacked for re-use.

With the tiles off, the state of the roofing timbers could be assessed. Current building regulations meant that we were unable to re-use the rafters, so they are all going for recycling.

Some of the detail – the old cast iron window frames will be repaired and shot-blasted before being reused.

With all timbers down, it’s time for the walls to come down. Like the roof tiles, the walls consisted of many different types of brick – as the barn changed use over the years, walls were added, openings closed up, and each time a different brick was used.

With the walls down it was time to clear the ground and add the foundations.

Next stage – Brick work up to damp proof.  Watch this space…