Planning a barn conversion

[sumi]

We have a bit of a mess on the farm that we refer to as "the barn". No-one knows what it's original purpose was. It's in complete state, but looks structurally safe and has, in our minds, lots of potential for a small 1 or 2 bed dwelling. Here's what we've got:

The building measures (very approximately) 24ft x 18ft, which doesn't give us a heck of a lot of space to work with, so we're thinking open plan kitchen/living area.

That back area, where the toilet is, will most likely be the bedroom(s). I would like to squeeze 2 bedrooms in there with the bathroom on the right, forming an L. Which means the little bathroom windows in the left would end up in the lounge/kitchen and the huge window in the bathroom. Existing plumbing arrangements...

We have some very nice, huge wood framed glass doors which we can replace that old door with (I know! It's gorgeous, but it's falling to pieces). We're still undecided on where exactly to put the kitchen, but we're leaning towards the lefthand side where the big square window is. The bathroom will be squeezed in-between the kitchen and the bedroom, more or less where the coiled red pipe is.

Our budget is smallish for this job, so we're going to do much of the work ourselves and keep it simple for now. The property belongs to a friend of ours and we're planning on staying here about 2 years, after which we suggested the owner tarts it up and rents it out as holiday accommodation. (It's a coastal farm and we're about 1/4 mile from the most beautiful beach here.)

We're making this up as we go along, but exited about this project. I will post pics and updates as things happen. Feel free to comment/make suggestions as I've never done anything like this before and I have no idea what we're doing (Good thing the owner of the property owns a home remodel/renovation business).

 

[canesisters]

Wow! That's going to be SOME project. It made me immediately think of some folks I know who turned an old plantation home into a B&B. They worked out how to squeeze a full bath into each guest room without making either the bath or the bedroom feel cramped. They also took a tiny little out building and turned it into a bedroom with a full bath and a mini kitchen - which is what hooked up your project in my brain.
http://brunswickmineralsprings.com/index.html if you would like to contact them.
I hope you're going to take and post LOTS of pictures of your progress.

 

[sumi]

Thank you for that! We definitely need tips and ideas as this is a tricky conversion, with space being so limited. I really really want a bath in the bathroom, so it's going to be a bit cramped, I'm afraid. The problem is the bathroom will sit next to and share a wall with the bedroom (if we do 2 beds) and we will have to plan around leaving enough space for the bedroom door... I will ask DH to draw up a floor plan of what we have in mind so I can show you all.

I will take lots of pics once we get going. I need to get in there and move all that junk out for starters...

 

[canesisters]

Of course..... you COULD always build a MONDO-Wonderful chicken coop there.....

or a barn for sheep

or maybe cows..

Just think of all the fresh eggs, milk and/or steak!

 

[sumi]

The chicken coop is going next door, where we have a good size half build structure already and there are 2 nice pig pens behind the barn We don't have good grazing land for cows here, but there is a section I'm thinking would be perfect for goats, except for one small problem... It's not exactly fenced! And yes, I've heard that saying: if it can't hold water, it can't hold a goat.

 

[Nifty]

Wow, that's a crazy project for sure! I wish you had a little more of a substantial structure to work with... that one looks like it will need a ton of additional framing, supports, etc.

I wish you the best of luck with it and look forward to pictures and info!!

 

[Pushkins]

If your looking at the improvements being inspected by an city or county building inspector, your going to be in difficulty. the structure itself as it stands right now is not safe, I know I know your saying...well it's still standing now !! Unfortunately building inspectors don't take that into consideration (nor should you) if it were to fall down a barn with tools in it is much less of a worry than people in it.
There are so many areas at issue from structural, lack of studs, headers over windows, distance between the trusses <<<< that's a biggie and not an easy fix, then add in the floor.
Have you thought how you plan to address the issues of plumbing and how and where your going to run the waste lines ?
Renting out a property that doesn't meet codes (all codes including electrical, plumbing, fire and structural, even toss in insulation) is a liability nightmare, thinking about that, the owner of the property would be liable for you and your family should he/she allow you live (even rent free) in a none approved premises.

It's a very slippery slope, make sure you do your homework.

 

[HayZee518]

Is the structure basically a steel framed building with purlins along the walls? Because I don't see any studs as in a conventional building. AND the floor looks like crumbling osb siding. Is there a concrete slab underneath all that osb? What do you have for a waste system? And what about water? Well? How about heating?

 

[sumi]

Don't worry, we are aware of the building laws, requirements, planning etc and what we can/cannot do. Since we live in Africa it's a delightfully grey area. I am going to leave it to the landowner to sort out though, while DH and I sort out the what-do-we-need-to-do-to-make-this-place-habitable bits. The building does need a lot of cleaning up as it looks much worse than it is at the moment, but I am realistic. We're going to to have to do quite a lot of work here.

It is a welded steel and wood (mostly steel) structure and is quite solid. It was the first thing we looked at when we started thinking about converting it. There is now way I'm moving into a building that is not safe! The "walls" are a bit flimsy though and we're going to have to put a lot of work and money into them. We are going to fit panelling along the walls on the inside and replace some of the boards and sheets on the outside, where needed.

Here are some details of the frame:

The floor is concrete and also in a good condition, no damp or cracks.

Plumbing wise we have a plan in place, but the septic tank arrangements, which is already in place, is on one side of the building, so we are going to have to put the bathroom and kitchen on the side where it will be the easiest and cheapest to run the outlet pipes. The landowner is friends with an electrician who sorted the electricity out in the other outbuildings and he already gave us quite a reasonable quote for putting electricity into this building.

Our climate is very mild, so insulation and heating will not be needed. We might put some light insulation in when we put a ceiling in, but we're still undecided on that.

 

[Nifty]

Wow, pretty interesting Sumi!

I know it will be tricky for those of us that are really used to local building codes, ordinances, requirements, etc. to fully understand that some countries are a bit more... um... "relaxed" on that kind of thing than we have here in the majority of the US.