Stag House Barn Renovation

Photographs of Stag House's Barn Renovation Spring 2000 - Spring 2001 (37 pictures, 1,301 KBytes, approximately 9 minutes download time at typical modem rates, 2.5K/s).

This is Stuff, off-topic and possibly ephemeral.

There are those of you out there that may have heard Martin Sullivan rant on about the Barn. You may even have seen some photographs. To those of you havn't, however, the following may be of interest. These are pictures of the restoration (or near total rebuilding) of the large outbuilding (know as the Barn or sometimes incorrectly, the Tannery) at the rear of Stag House. There are some pictures from before the work started to give an idea of how dire things were inside this building and why the work was needed.

Map

To give you and idea of the geography of the place here's a map, use your browsers `Back' button to get between it and the rest of the photos.

Fig1.

Before

The Barn consisted of a three story outbuilding to Stag House aligned North-South with the Conkey's Court part of Stag House buildings adjoining in the middle on the east side, the garden to the west. The main use of the building seems to have been in connection with finishing hides from a former owners tanning business. To this end it had been divided up into three low floors, the top most without a ceiling. It was in a parlous state of repair.

Barn east elevation (that is the garden or rear side). Note the wooden slats for windows on the upper floors. This apparently used to be common in industrial buildings of this type in Cockermouth. Refer to the map or elevation.

The Barn interior on the second floor. Refer to the map or elevation.

The Barn roof and top most floor. There was apparently no space for a ceiling and at this point there were several large gaps in the roof. What was covering the floor was indescribable. Refer to the map or elevation.

What Was to be Done

The building needed to be practically rebuilt and after flirting with maintaining the existing three-floor layout it was decided to make the Barn join up with the existing floors of the abutting Conkey's Court house. This eliminated the need for separated staircase and the actual loss of floor area wasn't that large. The change to two floors did however mean that the windows and external doors need to be moved and internal connections made.

Fig2.

During Tear Down

After much planning and consultation, work actually commenced in the Spring of 2001 and continued for the best part of a year. There were two distinct phases, a period of destruction when the building was gutted, window holes made and the roof slates removed.

A mini-digger was used with a dumper truck as mechanical aids on the major part of the works. This picture is to the north from the south end as the first floor is removed. The cream painted partition separated parts of the first floor. Refer to the map or elevation.

With the first floor removed the digger was used to prepare trenches as foundations for new internal walls. This view is along the building toward the north. Refer to the map or elevation.

This is a view, again toward the north end of building with the dumper truck in the foreground. Refer to the map or elevation.

When some walls had been completed the new floor level was built up with stone delivered at the front of Stag House. This meant that sizable amounts of material landed there and it all started to look like a builders yard. In the top left window of this picture, unseen, Martin takes time-off from solving CICS problems to stand slack-jawed at the scale of it all. Refer to the map or elevation.

The new floor level had been built up (over half a meter). The floor was then made up with insulation material and wire reinforcing, before the concrete was poured. Refer to the map or elevation.

Meanwhile, on the roof the roofers were busy removing the slates. The slates are the traditional (and expensive) Buttermere variety, mined at the top of the nearby Buttermere valley. Refer to the map or elevation.

Here's a partial view of the garden elevation while the slates were being removed. Refer to the map or elevation.

The slates removed it was considered safe to remove the final floor (that was the old second or top floor). The precarious nature of the barn is amply illustrated when one of the beams fell down by itself. The roof joists were left after the slates were removed to bolster the remaining structure. Refer to the map or elevation.

In this view (again looking north along the axis of the barn) one can see just how thin and poor the beams were. Refer to the map or elevation.

Once the pre-existing internal structure had all been removed large `slots' that were cut in the walls so that new windows could be formed. The new windows were called for because of the change in the levels of the floors. This elevation from the garden side shows how big these gaps were. Refer to the map or elevation.

This is an internal view of the one of these proto-window gaps. Refer to the map or elevation.

After the gaps had been cut the new window opening could be made. Refer to the map or elevation.

The cutting of the new window openings represented the most drastic of the structural alterations. With this work accomplished the remaining frame work for the roof could be removed. The barn was then completely open to the sky. Refer to the map or elevation.

During Build Up

The second part of the work was the building up of new floors, walls and windows. The slates were trimmed and put on the new roof.

The first floor over what would be the Garden Room would need some massive beams. It was decided, in keeping with the rest of the property, that the new beams be of wood (rather than, say, steel). These were altogether more massive than the beams they replaced. There are two of them, cut from oak they are nearly 50 cm square in cross section and span just over 5 meters apiece. Anne (then age 2) demonstrates how big they are prior to installation. Refer to the map or elevation.

The beams for the Garden Room roof went in through the wall from the garden side. They were extremely heavy and took some maneuvering. Refer to the map or elevation.

John (then aged 6) surveys the progress from the garden. The white sheets in the foreground are steam expanded polystyrene insulation. Refer to the map or elevation.

The new roof trusses arrive and are stacked in the garden against the Apple trees. Refer to the map or elevation.

The roof timbers go up. There are many of them, set close together, to allow the heavy Buttermere slate roof to be replaced. This construction will not sag and leak as the old one had done. Refer to the map or elevation.

Again a garden elevation. The roof has been completed and is just about ready to take the slates. Inside the tent made of blue tarpaulin, a number of chaps are trimming and preparing the slates (foreground, right) for replacement. Refer to the map or elevation.

The digger makes a re-appearance to make the trenches and do the needed ground work at the garden side of the barn (picture taken facing north). The existing ground level and drainage were to high and poor and would have otherwise lead to flooding. The rain water on this side of the barn will go into a large soak-away the pit for which has not yet been dug but will be about the centre of this picture. Note the wall behind the digger; this proved to be in such a poor state of repair that it was in danger of collapsing into next doors garden and needed to be replaced. Refer to the map or elevation.

The trenches dug, plastic perforated pipe was laid to the soak-away (under the wooden covering at the front of the picture). Refer to the map or elevation.

Drainage work was needed on the other sides of the Barn too. Here trench work is being done in the southerly yard (the so called Wood Yard). The picture is taken from Stag House to the east and toward the barn. Behind the digger is the passage that links the Wood Yard to the garden under the first floor of the barn. Refer to the map or elevation.

The exterior (at least on the garden side) nears completion. Before the scaffolding is removed the walls are rendered and some initial paint work is done. Refer to the map or elevation.

On the other side of the barn work was done to increase th size of an existing door. This is door that provides access to the northern yard (Conkey's Court). Refer to the map or elevation.

Internally the Barn could then start to be linked up with the existing house. The utility room at the north end is linked with the new storage/workshop area with a door and some steps. Refer to the map or elevation.

This a picture from inside the store/workshop area toward the south-west and the doorway, now full size to Conkey's Court (the northern yard). Beyond this the new doorway to the utility room in the existing house is just visible. Most striking is the three levels that are required to link up the court yard, the utility room and the garden (photograph taken from this level). Refer to the map or elevation.

The mini-digger makes it's final appearance to remove an existing earth retaining wall that was in danger of collapse and replace it with something more modern and solid. This picture toward the north, in the garden with the barn on the left hand side. Refer to the map or elevation.

With all the ground work on the garden or eastern side of the barn completed flags were laid to from a patio area. Refer to the map or elevation.

Work continued to link up the existing house with the newly refurbished Barn. Here an the initial stages of forming an opening between what will be the Garden Room and the Kitchen take place (southern end of the works). Refer to the map or elevation.

The Doorway from what will be the Kitchen to the Garden room has been completed. The Kitchen is awaiting fitting of units and appliances. Refer to the map or elevation.

After

The project is not yet complete. When finances allow the upstairs needs to be done, it's a shell at the moment, a 75 square meter space where the children amuse themselves. Downstairs, the Garden Room can be seen to take shape together with the Store/Workshop.

This is the new Store/Workshop taken from the doorway to the existing Utility room. The new floor hight, level with the garden can be seen as well as the safety rail which separates it from the Conkey's Court level western half. Refer to the map or elevation.

This picture taken just after painting, but before the floor was laid is of the Garden Room toward the existing house. The Kitchen can be seen through the opening. Refer to the map or elevation.

Conclusion

The refurbishment (an understatement if every there was one) completes the major building works that were needed on the Stag House site. When finances allow the finishing touches will be made (possibly another understatement) and this page updated. Register your interest and I'll e-mail you and let you know when that happens.