Work started in earnest on the restoration of the barn and associated old post office building at The Red Cow in early November.
The builders stripped away the old thatch and emptied some junk form inside, we cleared out the old post office and this too was stripped back.
The barn had developed, over the years, a tilt toward the north of the plot. The conservation officer agreed to allow us to correct the tilt to allow the barn frame to be upright, so the builders can restore the existing timber, replace any beyond repair and fill any gaps of missing timber.
The plan is to restore and protect the frame before inserting a brand new structure inside the existing frame and then encasing the old frame into the new interior walls and external finishes. This will preserve the original frame.
During the stripping down process, it came to light that the conservation officer at Uttlesford District Council required more detail about the engineering specifications for the roof, and how the timbers will be constructed in order to support the weight of the new thatch. This has delayed the project for approximately 8 weeks as the proposals will need to be agreed and signed off by the planning committee. So at the time of writing the builder is doing all he can to make the site ready for the real work to begin.
There are winches and pulleys attached at the rear of the barn which have been tightened daily to gradually pull the barn structure to an upright position, thus reversing the tilt.
Other things we have had to do include transferring our banking arrangements to our new finance provider and start thinking about marketing our guest rooms to local businesses and of course for leisure purposes.
Most exciting and stressful of all is the process of deciding furnishes and colour schemes for the rooms. We want to get it to be a place we can all be very proud of, so getting it right is a priority for us.
Watch this space for further up dates.
The builders stripped away the old thatch and emptied some junk form inside, we cleared out the old post office and this too was stripped back.
The barn had developed, over the years, a tilt toward the north of the plot. The conservation officer agreed to allow us to correct the tilt to allow the barn frame to be upright, so the builders can restore the existing timber, replace any beyond repair and fill any gaps of missing timber.
The plan is to restore and protect the frame before inserting a brand new structure inside the existing frame and then encasing the old frame into the new interior walls and external finishes. This will preserve the original frame.
During the stripping down process, it came to light that the conservation officer at Uttlesford District Council required more detail about the engineering specifications for the roof, and how the timbers will be constructed in order to support the weight of the new thatch. This has delayed the project for approximately 8 weeks as the proposals will need to be agreed and signed off by the planning committee. So at the time of writing the builder is doing all he can to make the site ready for the real work to begin.
There are winches and pulleys attached at the rear of the barn which have been tightened daily to gradually pull the barn structure to an upright position, thus reversing the tilt.
Other things we have had to do include transferring our banking arrangements to our new finance provider and start thinking about marketing our guest rooms to local businesses and of course for leisure purposes.
Most exciting and stressful of all is the process of deciding furnishes and colour schemes for the rooms. We want to get it to be a place we can all be very proud of, so getting it right is a priority for us.
Watch this space for further up dates.
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