At last, progress with our barn

Ian came round this morning to talk us through the pricing of all the various parts of the job of building the barn on the site of the garage. It was make-or-break time, since the cost of building materials, labour and tax have all gone up wildly since we first had the idea a year and more ago.

If we are prepared to build a three bay structure, however, rather than four bays (i.e. do without one stable-sized space) we can still afford to go ahead. And so that's what we'll plan to do. I can't describe what a relief it is to have got to the point of actually commissioning the building. Martin the architect will now redraw the barn we have agreed with Ian, will sort out planning permission and so on. This should take about eight weeks, so building should be able to start in early summer, with a twelve week build schedule.

The last detail we asked Ian to put on the drawing was the hay loft door, wide enough to allow access for canoe storage. When we get the plans, I'll scan them in to give a better idea of what we're building.