Buying a barn conversion

Introduction

Buying and living in a barn conversion is something of an idyllic dream for many of us; we feel a longing to lead a simple life within rustic stone walls emboldened with ancient timbering and topped with a hefty golden thatch. A simple dwelling, rough-hewn from the very skin of the earth that surrounds it - with nothing but fields and trees at every vantage point. Barns and barn conversions are hugely sought after pieces of prime real estate, able to fetch a tidy price even before conversion. With our rich, varied tradition of dependable rural construction techniques and innumerable market towns in commuting distance to major UK cities, more and more people are opting for the simple life and going back to basics in the countryside. In the case of the barn conversion however, the animals have long since been relocated, leaving a sturdy construction full of history and character that makes it an excellent home. In this guide we are going to take an in-depth look at the types of barn conversion on offer, where you can find these and what to look out for when you find the barn of your dreams.

The history of UK barn conversions

Although living in a converted barn is currently all the rage, this trend is nothing new. Indeed, there were many conversions undertaken in the 70s and 80s whose unwanted legacy was net-fringed PVC dormer windows, crazy paving and interior box-room butchery, attesting to the questionable taste of suburbanites moving from the outside of town to the outside of a village. As a result of this all too often irreparable loss to the UK's rural heritage, planning authorities are now extremely strict on exactly what can and cannot be done with a barn. Although local authorities are under governmental pressure to preserve historic rural buildings, primarily by finding new uses for them - converting these into individual dwellings is fairly low on their list, coming in behind community centres, schools and other amenities that enrich the local community. Nevertheless, there are still many barn conversions on the UK property market and many as of yet un-converted barns with planning permission ready to go. If, on the other hand, you have discovered your dream abode where no one else had thought to look you may well be able to undertake a conversion yourself. First of all, there are many things that you need to be aware of - some of which we will be covering in this article.

Types of barn conversion

Barns were constructed for a variety of reasons and from a range of building materials. In the all too short working life of a rural peasant, form was a servant to function, even more important was practicality, so only local building materials could be used. This gives rise to regional and stylistic variations resulting in a rich variety of barns and barn conversion to choose from. To name just a few, we have Sussex Sandstone and flint barns in Sussex, stone barns in both the Cotswolds and frosty Scotland, clay lump barns in East Anglia, oak barns on the Welsh borders, and pine barns in Surrey, while in East Anglia barns were made from both local timber and weatherboarding. Barns built for the processing and storage of agricultural produce will have high doors to allow cart access and windows placed both to shed light on the work that was undertaken within them such as winnowing (the separation of wheat from chaff) and to create a healthy through draft - making them far from easy to convert into human dwellings! Smaller barns were used to shelter livestock from the winter elements, while the Church built vast tithe barns to horde their parish taxes. Within these regional and functional variations, UK barns can be divided into three main architectural types:

1. Box Construction Barn. The four walls of the building support the entire structure.
2. Cruck Framed Barn. Internal timber A-frames support the roof of the barn as do the walls.
3. Post and Truss Barn. An internal timber frame supports the entire weight of the roof by adjoining with vertically placed posts.

How to buy a barn conversion

Well, now that we've whet your appetite with all the glamorous possibilities of barn conversions, building materials and hinted at some choice locations, you will be keen to find out exactly how you can go about getting your hands on such a piece of historic real estate. This section will be divided into two parts and will be more or less relevant to you depending on what level you wish to enter the conversion process - either fully complete i.e. Buying a converted barn or starting from scratch in, Converting a barn.

Buying a converted barn

How do you buy a barn conversion that is already complete? Easy! There are loads of estate agents offering barns around the countryside, simply head out and peruse their locations or search online. An excellent service to help you find UK barns is Barnsetc.

As with other historic and / or converted buildings you must make sure that your mortgage lender is willing to make the investment. Many have special rates for this kind of building so check first before making any kind of commitment.