This North Yorkshire Radical Retrofit project is an extensive renovation of a 18th century Yorkshire stone barn. Natural materials have been prioritised throughout the design of this project. The pine king-post roof trusses have been left exposed in the existing building, and a new Douglas fir in-the-round column and glulam beam structure is used in the new glazed extension.

UK Hempcrete could not ask for a better clients with this hempcrete barn conversion. They are committed to the use of hempcrete & other bio-based materials and see the added value this method of construction brings: brilliant thermal performance, improved indoor air quality, longevity, the natural beauty of the materials, and supporting the British bio-based material industry.

Projects like this allow us to engage with and train the kind of contractors we want to be involved with, thereby allowing us to expand the growing circle of natural builders in the UK. Our clients for this project are in fact repeat customers; having already renovated a townhouse in the nearby town of Settle. In their first project ‘Wonky House’ they internally insulated the thick stone walls with site cast hempcrete, and were immediate hemp converts! This initial smaller project gave them the confidence to use natural materials on their hempcrete barn conversion.

The original building footprint was of two offset, adjoining rectangles with a small internal connection between them. Both existing buildings have been extended to the South with two chamfered glazed new-build sections, and a larger opening connects them together. The roof pitch of the original building has been reduced slightly in order to allow the roof line to continue over the new extensions, maintaining a single roof line. The sloping site has provided the opportunity to design-in a lower ground floor, providing ancillary rooms and storage areas.

Main contractors, Adam Carr Builders, have been wonderfully receptive in learning how to use hempcrete & the other natural materials that we have specified. UK Hempcrete conducted an on-site training day prior to the hempcrete installation work stage, to give their tradesmen the skills and confidence to complete the hempcrete installation. Adam Carr have an eye for details and an enthusiasm for trying new methods of natural construction, both very valuable characteristics for any client’s contractor to possess.

Find out more about our Design Services here: UK Hempcrete Design Services