Barn in Lingfield, Surrey.

 

We were drafted in to tackle a half started frame in a garden near Lingfield. The owners had been throught the mill following a ill-fated restoration attempt by another contractor. The frame was in a partial state of completion and open to the elements for just over two years whilst the red tape was untangled.

Once all the paperwork was rubberstamped we started work. Firstly we had to finish the frame and get it down onto the foundations(it was still up on blocks!). Once we were happy with how it was sitting we called in Andrew Smith structural engineer, to help with the justification of frame for the building regs.  He specified a few simple mechanical repairs to correct some of the inbuilt mistakes in the frame.

 

The original barn was mainly used as a garden shed, the upstairs wastoo dangerous to use but was alway intended to be an art studio. The clients really wanted to capture the feel of the original frame whilst making the space funtional and comfortable to use.  We felt that using traditional materials and finishes would give the building an authentic feel.

Once the frame was complete, settled on its foundations and fully pegged up we set about closing in. Rather than using a breather membrane we opted for 22mm and 52mm Stieco universal, an insulative sarking board made from wood fibre and tongue and grooved for an exact fit. It is a breathable product that is waterproof and quick to install.  It was felt that seeing the frame was very important so after cleaning it entirely to bring out its natural colour we infilled between studs and rafters with 100mm Steico pavaflex wood fibre batts.

The final finish was haired lime plaster from Mike Wye  associates on a backing of hand riven laths from G&M Marshman of Petworth.  We were fortunate enought to get hold of some 1″ thick elm boards and used them to make a beautiful floor with random width boards held down with rosehead nails. Astley took time to bookmatch some of the boards down the centre line of the room.

For the exterior finish we used 8″ greenoak feather edge(sizing came from a surviving piece of original cladding) held down with rosehead nails. We detailed the shutters from an original oak door. It was a simple ledged door with lapped boards and a simple scratch moulding along eachedge. We used hand made ironmongery and small wooden latches to hold them shut.