An Extended Barn Conversion

Jane and Richard Desmond have enlarged and remodelled their converted barn by building a new two storey oak framed extension.

Jane and Richard Desmond had always hankered after a country bolthole where they could escape their busy London lives — so eight years ago they jumped at the opportunity to purchase a convert­ed barn in Kingsbridge, idyllically situated between a farm and a thatched Devon longhouse. The Desmonds had originally plan­ned to use the property as a second home but, with a number of friends in the area, found that they were spending more and more time in the West Country and, on retirement, decided to move there on a permanent basis.

“The barn had old oak beams and plenty of character, but the galley kitchen on the first floor was very cramped and difficult to use,” remembers Jane. “We enjoy cooking and entertaining so this was a drawback, but we just loved the quiet location and country views. We were even relieved that the property didn’t come with acres of land, as neither of us are great gardeners and we didn’t want to be spending all our spare time tending the grounds. Anyway, the garden drops down into a field, so it looks enormous even though the field belongs to someone else.”

The barn had been converted to accommodate three bedrooms on the ground floor and a large living/dining room on the first floor, next to the galley kitchen, pantry and WC. The previous owners had converted a former double garage into a two storey extension, forming a south wing to the main stone barn which contained a tiny first floor sunroom and bedroom with a master bedroom and bathroom on the ground floor. This extension had been completed without planning permis­sion and was poorly insulated and draughty.

“We slept in a bedroom in the main barn and rarely used the extension because it didn’t have any heating,” says Richard. “We hoped to replace it with something far more practical and attractive, but weren’t sure if we would be given planning permission because, although the barn isn’t listed, it is in a very beautiful part of the South Hams where any kind of building work is carefully considered.”

When the Desmonds saw a television programme about oak ‘barn houses’ they were smitten, and tracked down architect Roderick James, who specialises in design­ing new structures built from green oak. Roderick’s practice was based in Totnes, just a short drive from their barn, so the couple visited him to discuss their ideas.

“At first I wondered whether we might be able to connect the main barn to an old linhay we use as a garage,” says Jane. “I thought we could convert the outbuilding into a new kitchen, but the neighbours didn’t like that suggestion at all. Instead, Roderick came up with a more practical plan.”

The existing two storey extension was to be demol­ished and replaced with a larger green oak framed extension that would contain a first floor kitchen/dining room, with a master bedroom and en suite bathroom on the ground floor. The former kitchen would then become a study and the living room would remain where it was on the first floor, with glazed doors opening onto a new green oak balcony running along the length of the old barn.

“Initially we considered having our bedroom upstairs and the kitchen below, but Roderick felt that as we already have the sitting room on the first floor, it would be far better to keep bedrooms on one level and living accommodation on another,” explains Jane. “He was right — the inconvenience of bringing food shopping upstairs to the kitchen is far outweighed by being able to entertain on a single level and enjoy the views.”

A building contractor was appointed and work began on site to demolish the old stone-clad garage extension, at which point it became evident that the structure had been built on landfill – requiring far deeper footings than expected – and adding £6,000 to the budget.

New sections of blockwork walls have been clad externally with 150mm random rubble slate stone, which was cut to enable the 100mm cavity to be retained. It was important that this new stonework harmonised with the existing barn and this was achieved by laying the stone in a cement/lime/sand mortar, which was matched to the weathered mortar using coloured sand and a coloured pigment additive.

The oak frame took just two days to erect. Timber frame infill panels were then attached externally to the frame and clad with sawn green oak horizontal boards, fixed with stainless steel head screws. “I wanted to clad the entire building in stone to match the barn,” says Jane, “But Roderick persuaded us that the oak would look better, and it has weathered to a soft grey which blends in with the new balcony on this side of the house.”

Roof slates and walling slate stone generated as a result of the alteration works were able to be set aside and re-used. Everything else in the extension is new, however, with bespoke kitchen units and an island to one end of the first floor kitchen/dining room, which has rooflights and sliding glazing between the oak uprights that can be opened up during warm weather — creating the impression of being perched high up among branch­es in a grown-up tree house. This glazing was initially open on all sides with a slim oak safety rail, but the building control officer insisted on adding the stain­less steel guard wires as an added precaution.

“We told our project architect, John Pace, that we would be living in the main barn for part of the build, and he made sure that the work was planned to ensure that we were barely disturbed and the existing garden was protected,” says Richard. “Generally we were able to carry on using the house as before, which was a real bonus. As well as adding the extension we have also cut down windows in the barn to create doors onto the new balcony, and fitted the bathrooms with white sanitary­ware and power showers.”

Once the extension was finished, the underfloor heating was turned on very gradually over a number of days to ensure that the oak timbers did not dry out and shrink too quickly. Even so, the frame is designed to move as it ages — a process which helps to tighten the joints and which can produce cracks or shakes along the wood.

“The house certainly makes a few noises, which can be quite disconcerting when you are lying quietly in bed,” says Jane. “The other drawback we hadn’t consid­ered was the flies which the wet oak seemed to attract, although now that the extension has been drying out for a couple of years the number of flies has greatly reduced, and it’s a small price to pay for living in such a beautiful building.”