Project Diary #3 - October 2016

Oct 2016

The barn/cookery school structural steelwork was erected in three days and fitted perfectly. Considering that the roof portal steels are curved to very specific radius, the installation was a testament to everyone’s efforts, from architect through engineers and steel fabricators.

Timber frame structure arrived the following week and was also erected without drama. The design is for the timber frame to wrap around the steel structure so leaving it (steel) exposed on the inside as a feature, with lots of bare timber cladding to the inside walls to be fitted later.

Since the design is for the barn to look like; well a barn, the curved roof covering is galvanised corrugated sheeting. This sheeting has also to be manufactured to the specific radius which in turn has to take into consideration the thickness of timbers, insulation battens etc when calculating the exact curve. The whole roof curve is created with three sheets; one from each side and a third over the top of the arc with the necessary laps. Times this by 23 sheets wide and you get a feel for the size of the building.

Now that the rough sawn cedar vertical timber cladding is being fixed, the building is certainly taking on a feel of its own and James at Charlie Luxton Design should be complimented for his design flair.

The entire ground floor is having polished concrete for the finished surface. This was poured last week in a similar way to most solid floors; over the block and beam we have membranes and insulation (140 mm), then over the insulation are laid the underfloor heating pipes and then the concrete is poured over and power-floated to a very smooth surface. We then leave it a minimum of a month then the floor company will return to give it its final polishing. Even without this final treatment, the floor looks superb.

The Home Office building, which is also timber frame, has been erected and the standing seam zinc roof installed. We are now waiting for windows that are the same as the barn; Aluclad with triple glazing.

Elsewhere on the site, the Farmhouse internals are almost finished with Mr & Mrs client due to move in within a few weeks. Since this building is Grade II listed, the attention to detail has required patience and craftsmanship which is evident throughout.

External works to driveway and pool area are under way with a fair amount of earth moving required. Luckily, since this is a huge site, the spoil can be lost over several areas to help sculpt for the final landscaping.