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The Healthy House

It is only over the last few months that I’ve become aware of the concept of the healthy house. This is a design approach that focuses on the effects upon human health of the design, materials,...

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VAT for barn convertors – Update December 2007

I thought it was about time to review the VAT situation regarding the barn to ensure that my understanding is correct, so an overview of the current legislation follows with appropriate extracts. My...

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Microgeneration installations now ‘permitted developments’

A piece of good news that is of great interest personally and I’m sure of interest to many people planning conversions and other projects, is that the installation of solar thermal & PV panels,...

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BREEAM ~ Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method

The term BREEAM is one that I’ve come across in various contexts over the course of this project and thought I’d better find out what it means… BREEAM is a widely used environmental assessment method...

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Code for Sustainable Homes

The Code for Sustainable Homes is an essential read for anyone considering a sustainable home building project. In its own words: The Code for Sustainable Homes has been introduced to drive a...

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Cleaning oak beams

I wanted to minimise the use of steel in the building and I like the texture and appearance of untreated hard woods – that led to the importation of two eastern European oak beams for use in the barn....

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VAT for barn convertors – Update March 2009

It’s been a while since a VAT update so I thought I’d review the current position, especially in view of the pre-Christmas credit-crunch fuelled reduction in the standard rate of VAT from 17.5% to 15%....

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How much does a barn conversion cost? Part 1

A general question that’s long been asked and as yet never answered on My Barn Conversion was summed up by miss dee ennis back in 2006: I am thinking of buying a barn for myself … could [someone] give...

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How much does a barn conversion cost? Part 2

Here I’ll consider architects, architectural technicians and touch on the other potentially pricey professionals such as structural engineers, that we’ll need to employ to bridge the link between the...

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How much does a barn conversion cost? Part 3

Here I’ll consider the actual costs of converting your barn and making it habitable. The Conversion So we’ve safely purchased our pile of stone, slate and wood and it’s quietly decaying away in the...

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Feed-in Tariffs

Whilst I have no immediate plans (or money) to install any electricity generation technology at the barn, I like to keep an eye on future opportunities and thought a review of Feed-in Tariffs may be in...

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Energy Performance Certificate – EPC

The Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) is a piece of certification that has come along since I’ve started this project and is now a compulsory piece of paper required by building control as a part of...

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Biomass Boilers

With a small patch of woodland containing mainly young ash trees, a patch of willow around the pond and plenty of hedges I’ve long been interested in the potential for burning ‘home-grown’ biomass,...

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The myth(?) of rising damp…

…and Rigsby is not in sight… I was watching an episode of QI the other night when the ‘myth’ of rising damp – or rather, the lack of evidence for the existence of rising damp as a ‘real’ issue, was...

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Building Regulations

In general terms, building regulations approval is required for building work in the UK...

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Building Regulations, Approved Documents – Part A Structural Safety

An overview of Building Regulations, Approved Documents - Part A Structural Safety

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Building Regulations, Approved Documents – Part B Fire safety

An overview of Building Regulations, Approved Documents – Part B Fire safety

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Building Regulations, Approved Documents – Part C Site preparation and...

An overview of Building Regulations, Approved Documents - Part C Site preparation and resistance to contaminants and moisture

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Building Regulations, Approved Documents Part D – Toxic substances

An overview of Building Regulations, Approved Documents Part D - Toxic substances

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VAT Reclaim – VAT rate history

VAT rates over the last 30+ years...

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