The Search for Stable Oak

A few weeks ago we began our search for stable oak that we could use to put in a traditional exposed oak beam and joist floor. We decided that this style would be used in both of the traditional barns, taking our queue from the style in the main  farm house. Sadly that structure is not salvageable due to the huge deflections in the beams, but we felt it was appropriate that we recreate this and both restore and enhance the character of the traditional buildings.

After consulting with our structural engineer, measuring once, twice, thrice, we ended up with an oak cut list for THA and THB oak. With deflection being an issue and stability being of the highest importance we could not risk using green structural oak… and so our search began for the most stable and costs effective oak supply in the UK. I wouldn’t be so arrogant as to believe we actually achieved that, but we are very happy with the result.

After much deliberation and clarifications we chose to go with the father/son team of Neil and Russell Traditional Oak and Timber Company. Not only were the prices competitive but the oak is dried for 5-8 years and delivered within 10-14 days. Having dealt with Russell primarily we finalised things with his father Neil whilst Russell went off on honeymoon. Neil closed the deal with honesty and a friendly supportive service, and whilst the oak is yet to be delivered we all have a strong feeling that this was the right decision and their Normandy oak will become one of the important features of the property.

Cob, stone, lintels and secret passageways…

One of the features of the Playroom we are currently working on is a secret passageway within which is a “window seat” from which you can look into the room through the eyes of a painting… we wanted to create some unexpected surprises and encourage “play”. Entry to the passage will be by opening a book case… mechanism likely to be the cliché of pulling the spine of a book!

Right now John has been suring up the walls and now adding the pads and lintels to support the cob above. The stone coming out has also been invaluable in filling gaps and supplying some large chunks for the underpinning in one corner.

     

Lime happy

Well we got our first delivery from Mike Wye today which put a smile on everyone's faces. This felt like the first constructive task after so much deconstruction… John immediately got into some pointing and it just felt, smelt and looked right, natural. The 3T delivery vehicle was perfect for our small lanes and allowed the 1st lot of product to be dropped nice and close to the building.

 

Secret passageway

Well aside form the frightening bits of the foundations we are now starting to get an idea of how much fun the building will be when finished. One of the features is a secret passageway for kids to play in and surprise people from… complete with bookcase door.

Here John measures up for the pillar and beams whilst I am scrutinising the plans.

 

Stone the cobs…

Putting in the groundwork…

John (Natural Path) and Neil Bentley of BDC  still smiling  after a long session trying to get to grips with a stone/cob wall with no foundations… Neil has been great finding really pragmatic solutions to some very challenging problems.

Mike Wye also joined us earlier and was invaluable in discussing the options available and how these could mesh with the natural materials.  John  is heading off tomorrow to do part of the lime rendering course with Mike before we get stuck into our first “harling coat”…

Slice of Lime

Yesterday John and I spent the day at a CPD course with Mike Wye Associates learning all about the applications and benefits of lime technologies. It was a really good day and I would recommend it to anyone who wants an introduction to this natural alternative to renovating. We talked a lot about the issues of damp and in particular about our project.

 

 

The hardest thing is that there is no “right” answer so we now have to marry some new ideas with those of our architects, Squirrel Design, and try and find the best course of action for our property. We have a very complicated set of issues around the back of the barn, with rising damp, structural support,  cob/block/stone mix walls, earth banked up against the side, no drainage in a high weather exposure area and orientation… we will find THE solution… it’s ultimately what we do: analyse the problem, seek the experts opinions, develop a consensus, implement, monitor and adapt if required. It certainly requires more use of the grey matter than new builds, but if we are to keep our architectural heritage it is essential.

In the near future we will post some cross sections of our solution to this particular problem… just in case anyone ever comes across the same situation!