A couple in Yorkshire with construction know-how were not intimidated by the prospect of redeveloping an old barn as their home, but its still proved a major challenge
TEXT HEATHER DIXON IMAGES BEVAN COCKERILL
Friends of Gareth and Rebecca Connell told them they were “crazy” to sell their comfortable, modern family home and buy a dilapidated old cow barn – complete with cow dung on the floor and pigeons in the rafters –
in its place.
But the enterprising couple visualised a stunning living space in this empty building; glazed walls instead of rotting barn doors, and a landscaped garden in the overgrown yard. “My parents had always done up properties, and Gareth has loads of vision,” said Rebecca. “Other people were put off buying the barn because of the enormity of the project, but we were really excited by the prospect and could see its huge potential. To us it was a
big adventure.”
It helped that Gareth runs a Leeds-based construction company and is familiar with ambitious residential builds – although he admits that this project was so personal that it proved more challenging than most. “It’s very different when it’s your own place,” he said. “Usually other people are making the decisions and you just follow the brief, but in this case everything was down to us. We spent a lot of late nights searching the internet knowing that if we made the wrong decision, we only had ourselves to blame – and we had to live with the results!”
The 250-year-old barn in Boston Spa, North Yorkshire, belonged to the Church and was virtually derelict when the couple bought it in 2018 for £327,000. It was Rebecca’s dad who spotted the property and suggested they take a look. “We had two young children and wanted more space,” said Rebecca. “We had sold our house but we were struggling to find anything we liked – until we saw this.”
The barn came with outline planning permission to convert it into a three bedroom house, but Gareth and Rebecca were keen to include an adjoining cow shed in the renovation to increase the overall space. They also wanted to improve the proposed design of the property, changing the layout to give it a greater ‘wow’ factor, and to suit their lifestyle.
They employed a planning consultant who advised them to get full permission on the barn first and then apply for planning permission to convert and include the cow shed as an extension. They also employed Leeds based architect Studio J to help them create an interior layout which would maximise the views and natural light from the property’s rural location.
“We have worked on our business projects with Studio J and knew they would come up with ideas we would never have thought of,” said Gareth. “They came up with some great suggestions, which included moving the entrance to the side. This really opened up the space and meant we could include a feature staircase.”
It took a full year to finally get the go-ahead for both the conversion and the extension, but for the Connells it was worth the wait. They started work in January 2019 – just weeks ahead of lockdown. As their contractual work slowed down as a result of the pandemic, Gareth redirected his team to the conversion which was completed in just seven months – even taking into account delays in the delivery of windows and roof slates.
They began by demolishing the cow shed and digging out the barn floor by 800 mm to increase the overall ceiling height. “Local farms took away most of the building materials from the cow shed, so there was very little waste,” said Gareth.
More than 200 tons of muck and mud were removed from the barn floor – which had no footings – before the entire area was sealed with a damp proof membrane and covered with steel mesh encased in 100 mm of concrete. Spikes were left in for fixing 300 mm thick steel cage internal retaining walls, which were built inside the stone wall exterior to create a secure inner casing.
A steel skeleton was then built to shore up the roof while new first floor joists were bolted to the external walls, and timber frames constructed to create the internal walls downstairs. Some of the original roof trusses were retained, supplemented by new sections to run the full length of the barn, before the old corrugated iron roof could be replaced with slate and the supporting steels removed.
The house was fitted with water-based underfloor heating and high spec insulation. First and second fixes were completed relatively quickly, along with plastering and decoration. The ground floor includes large areas of polished concrete which took a week to complete, but is now one of the Connells’ favourite features in the house.
“The conversion was very straightforward, but it certainly helped to have a ready-made team of tradespeople to ensure everything ran smoothly,” said Gareth, whose background in plumbing came into its own during the build. “Although we didn’t include any eco-features – especially as we wanted to retain the barn’s historic character – we were respectful of its original structure and recycled everything we could.”
This included the building of the extension using materials salvaged from areas of the barn which were dismantled to create space for bi-fold doors and feature windows. The original stone at the front of the property was then cleaned and repointed with lime mortar, and damaged stones replaced with reclaimed ones, to give the old barn walls a new lease of life.
All access to the back of the barn – including traffic caused by deliveries and building vans – was supported by the Church, who allowed the Connells to use a piece of wasteland that they owned to the side of the one-acre plot during the build.
“They were very helpful and it certainly made our job much easier,” said Gareth. One of the biggest (and least budgeted for) expenses came in the landscaping, which they decided not to handle themselves. It added £50,000 to the build cost – as opposed to the £15,000 initially allocated – but is again a key feature of the property’s success.
“It would have been a huge job on top of everything else,” said Rebecca. “Bringing in a landscape designer was money well spent.”
The couple managed to counter this expense with a big saving on the feature staircase. “We got a full package quote for the staircase, which was way above our budget,” said Gareth. “We went back to the drawing board and broke it down into sections, then contracted out each stage, from fabrication to fitting. As a result we saved around £20,000, virtually half the price we were quoted for the package.”
Gareth and Rebecca still managed to fall within their original estimated budget of £450,000, excluding the landscaping. The property is now worth an estimated £1.6m – not that they are planning to move again any time soon.
Gareth enthuses about their self-build experience: “We have really enjoyed the process and the whole thing ran remarkably smoothly, considering the challenges posed by the pandemic.” He adds: “There is nothing I can think of that we would have done differently or that I would change.” In retrospect however Rebecca says she would have included more storage and since moving into the property in August 2019 they have invested
in fitted wardrobes.
“It has certainly lived up to all our expectations and we can see ourselves living here for a long time, but we still think we have one more big project in us,” she said. “We really enjoy the process of taking a derelict old property and giving it a new lease of life.” Their vision was shared by their neighbours – who raised no objections – and architects Studio J, who worked closely with them to turn their vision into reality.
“The original plans for the barn were very unimaginative and pedestrian,” said Gareth. “Studio J came up with new ideas and concepts which went way beyond our own ideas and expectations. It was their idea to move the main entrance from the front of the barn, where it would have been fairly utilitarian, to the side of the property where it became a key architectural feature of the house.”
The resulting double-height glazed entrance into the hallway, with its polished concrete floor, feature stairs and curved wall leading to the rest of the accommodation, creates the ‘wow’ factor the original design had lacked.
The hallway leads seamlessly into a large kitchen-dining-living room with two sets of bi-fold doors leading directly onto the patio area. There is also a separate living room, with a feature fire and bi-fold doors to the patio
and garden, along with a cinema room, utility and cloakroom.
The entrance hall features a galleried landing leading to five spacious bedrooms, three with ensuites, and a house bathroom. The master bedroom has feature glazing with views over the fields behind. The total footprint of the house is 4,000 square feet.
“One of the best things about converting an old farm property is that you can create a bespoke home that works for you as an individual family,” said Rebecca. “Our children are 12 and nine and they love the fact that there is so much space to run around in. We’ve been able to tailor everything to the way we live, in a location which has the best of both worlds – fields and open countryside to the back, shops and local amenities on the doorstep.” She adds: “A lot of people were put off buying the barn because it was such a huge project and not for the faint-hearted, but we are used to the process, so it didn’t bother us.”
She says that self-build has huge benefits, despite the difficulties: “You can oversee the standard of the work carried out and make changes along the way if necessary,” Rebecca concludes that the finished project is worth all the effort, and they’re intending to stay; “We talk about tackling another project in the future, but this is so perfect for us I’m not sure we would be prepared to give it up in a hurry.”
HIGH POINT
“We were so excited to spend our first night here,” said Rebecca. “The kids love it. For them it’s been one big adventure.”
– Rebecca Connell
LOW POINT
“Moving 200 tons of dirt and manure out of the derelict barn!”
– Gareth
CONTACTS/SUPPLIERS
ARCHITECTS
Studio J Architects
0113 2449905
MAIN CONTRACTOR
CC Construction (Yorkshire) Ltd
cc-constructionyorkshire.co.uk
STRUCTURAL ENGINEER
Holdgate Consulting
01274 566696
BUILDING INSPECTOR
JHAI
01308 428022
WINDOWS
ACM aluminium
01484 549 151
KITCHEN
Kreativ kitchens Leeds
0113 269 2784
BATHROOM FITTINGS
Lusso Stone
0203 3820 4206
LANDSCAPING
Helen Voisey, Harrogate
01423 711588
POLISHED CONCRETE FLOOR
Relentless Interiors
0333 577 2611