Kevin Brown
22 Victoria Street
Settle
NorthYorkshire
BD24 9HD
Wednesday 24th November 2010
Our ref; W1092/wh
Dear Kevin
Proposed conversion of barn, Lower Barn, Browns Farm, Cold Cotes,Clapham -update
Further to the recent request by Duncan Hartley, we report further on the structural condition of the
barn.
We originally visited the site on 19th October 2009 and carried out a structural appraisal of the building
(see our report dated April 2010 attached) based on a scheme for conversion approved at that time. A
revised scheme was later prepared for the barn and drawings were prepared by the architects showing
the conversions to be carried out on the building. There were no significant changes to the structure in
the new scheme as compared to the original scheme. We carried out the structural design of new
beams and prepared details of various structural items, required on the new building as part of the
conversions.
We last visited the site on Monday 4th October 2010. Construction work had started on site and the
structural works being carried out up to date have been acceptable to us. The structural members of the
roof have been dismantled for repair/replacement as recommended by us, and will be re-erected when
the walls are completed. Some of the masonry in the barn has been repaired. I confirm that there has
been no change in the structural condition and integrity of the main structural walls since our initial visit.
I understand that there has been some concern about an external wall of a shippon lean-to at the rear
of the site. This wall does not form part of the main structure of the barn. New openings were necessary
in this wall as part of the approved planning drawings and it was impracticable to form the openings
without some rebuilding of the adjacent masonry.
We confirm that in our opinion the structural elements of the building are stable and that the building
can be converted without involving any substantial rebuilding.
We have been informed that the enforcement officer has been on site and the officer has stated that the
works up to date have been carried out in accordance with the approved plans.
Yours sincerely
Willie Haigh FIStructE FICE
© Willie Haigh Consulting Engineer Ltd
Cc Duncan Hartley
Enclosure Report of April 2010 is attached
Attachment
REPORT ON STRUCTURAL APPRAISAL
LOWER BARN
BROWNS FARM
COLD COTES
CLAPHAM
Consulting Engineer: Willie Haigh Consulting Engineer
Higher Fleets
Rylstone
Skipton
North Yorkshire
BD23 6NA
W1092
April 2010
1.0 Brief
1.1 The structural appraisal was commissioned by Mr Kevin Brown to determine the
structural condition of the barn and to assess if it is suitable for conversion.
1.2 The report is based on a visual examination of readily accessible areas of the structure
and it was not possible to access all of the structural elements, however the information
obtained was adequate to give an overall structural appraisal of the barn.
1.3 Although there may be references to the fabric of the building in this report, it should be
pointed out that this report is concerned with the building structure only and that the advice of
specialists should be sought in regard to the condition of items of fabric of the building i.e.
doors, windows, timber treatment, services, etc.
2.0
Location of buildings and site details
2.1 The barn is located at Browns Farm, Cold Cotes, Clapham, North Yorkshire. The grid
reference of the site is approx 371600, 471300. The ground, on which the barn lies, falls from
approx north east to south west. The height of the land is approx + 200 metres.
2.2 For the purpose of wind design of the structures, the basic wind speed (Vb) in the area is
24 metres per second (see Figure 6 in BS6399 Part 2 1995).
3.0 Structural investigation and comments on development
3.1 Type of investigation
The barn was inspected on Monday 19th October 2009. Where possible a visual examination
was carried out of the structural elements and the structural condition of the buildings assessed.
Sizes of the main elements of the structure were noted. Plumbness of verticality of the walls
was checked with a spirit level and photographs were taken of the building. Due to problems of
access it was impossible to inspect every element of the structure however the results of the
survey were adequate in assessing the overall structural integrity of the building.
3.2 Details of existing structure
There are no as- built drawings of the barn as far is known. For the purpose of planning the
development of the barn, TT Architectural Services have prepared drawings for the barn and
copies of these drawings have kindly been made available to us by the client. The barn’s
longitudinal axis is approx south west / north east axis and for the purpose of this report the
front and rear elevations are described as south east and north west respectively, as shown on
the architects drawings. The structures consist of a main rectangular 5 bay dales barn,
approximately 15 metres long by 6.5 metres wide with lean-to buildings on the front and rear
of the barn. The barn and ancillary buildings have been used for agricultural purposes in the
past with the front and rear lean- to’s probably used as shippons. There are signs of there
having been a shippon inside the northeast end of the main barn with a mezzanine floor over
supported on timber posts and the external walls. The buildings are currently being used for
storage. The building is further described as follows:
Vertical structure:
The main external load bearing walls are generally approx 500 to 600 mm wide random rubble
stone masonry with stone quoins. There is a stone arch over the cart opening in the front
elevation. The lintols over window and door openings are generally stone externally and timber
internally, except in a few areas, where there are reinforced concrete lintols.
Roof
The main roof is a pitched roof with graduated stone roof slates, supported on timber rafters.
The rafters span onto two timber purlins on each slope. The purlins are supported on the 4 no
timber simple A frame timber trusses. The monopitch roofs over the lean-to buildings are
generally supported on timber purlins directly spanning between the gable walls.
3.3 Structural condition and comments
3.3.1 Due to missing slates, water has been allowed to enter the roof and this has affected many
of the roof timbers which have become dilapidated. However the masonry structure is
generally acceptable.
Specific observations for the structural elements are given below:
Roof
There is no roof felt and there are large areas of the roof with missing slates, which have led to
rainwater entering the building and affecting the timbers. It is assumed that the roof will be
generally reslated using as many of the existing slates as possible, with new battens, rafters,
ridge beams and wall plates.
Purlins
It is likely that most of the purlins will need to be replaced. The existing purlins should be
checked for infestation, and especially the ends of the timbers in the external walls, for wet rot.
Trusses
There is some slight racking of the trusses and two of the trusses are dilapidated and will need
to be replaced. The remaining trusses should be dismantled and inspected and if adequate,
reused after being repaired. The ends of the timber truss ties previously exposed in the masonry
should be checked for woodrot. The roof trusses can then be re- erected plumb.
Vertical structure
Generally the masonry needs repointing and holes filled in. We comment on the major walls as
follows:
South east wall - There is some slight bowing inwards of the masonry with some minor cracks
over the arch, indicating some slight movement of the arch
North west wall - There is some bowing inwards and outwards.
South west gable- The wall is plumb. There are vertical cracks at the ends of the wall.
North east gable -. The wall is plumb and there is a vertical/diagonal crack in the masonry.
We recommend that the all cracks and holes be filled with mortar when the masonry is
repointed.
Overall stability
Overall lateral stability in a dales barn is usually poor and depends on the roof structure
providing proper support to the tops of the walls, in the absence of internal cross walls. A
benefit of the proposed conversion would be in giving additional lateral stability to the
structure by providing a main internal cross wall and a first floor structure.
Proposed conversions
We have been given a copy of TT Architectural Services’s drawings no 186/08/PP/1 and /PE/1,
showing the proposed conversions. It is intended to convert the barn into workspace with
ancillary residential accommodation. A new mezzanine floor is being introduced and new
internal cross walls are to be provided both in the barn and rear lean-to, which will improve
overall stability of the structure considerably. We confirm that the proposed conversions are
acceptable and that the building is suitable for the development being proposed, without
substantial rebuilding.
Willie Haigh FIStructE
© Willie Haigh Consulting Engineer Ltd