# 4.4mt x 6.8mt Workshop In a Grade 2 listed Property



## davethebb (18 Apr 2022)

Good Morning everyone. I thought I would join and post my experience on my project even though I am part of the way into it. We live in Kent in a very old (mid1500's) property and wanted to remove a small, old (20 years old) timber-framed building and build a large 4.4 x 6.8 workshop.

We of course needed LBC and planning approval and so used a good architect and planning consultant to assist. Needless to say, the process with the local authority was very long-winded mainly with COVID issues etc. but we finally managed to obtain approval at the end of last year. Ironically it turned out that we did not actually need LBC as the new building was not within the curtilage of the Listed building - at the time the house was listed that part of the garden was owned by someone else....however we still needed to take into account the character of the listed property etc.

The basic design is to have a concrete plinth, a single brick wall 2 or 3 high, 100 x 50 stud walls insulated with 90mm PIR, kent peg clay-tiled pitched roof with two gable ends. We will have two windows (1200 x 950) and a patio door approx. 1200 wide for access.

I will post some outline drawings later.


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## RobinBHM (18 Apr 2022)

Ah the joys of living in a listed building!!!
Ive just done a listed building consent application for a client - just to replace one window in a pub. I had to do a design and access statement, heritage statement, planning statement, full set of drawings……..etc etc.


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## davethebb (18 Apr 2022)

We also went for pre-approval then incorporated their comments mainly regarding the roof design and then submitted the formal application with an access statement, heritage statement detailed drawings etc. The case officer then after two months rejected the application based on the roof design and proposed what we had originally put forward in the Pre-ap. We of course very politely let her know that the design incorporated the pre-app comments and that she should look at the case file......


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## RobinBHM (18 Apr 2022)

davethebb said:


> We also went for pre-approval then incorporated their comments mainly regarding the roof design and then submitted the formal application with an access statement, heritage statement detailed drawings etc. The case officer then after two months rejected the application based on the roof design and proposed what we had originally put forward in the Pre-ap. We of course very politely let her know that the design incorporated the pre-app comments and that she should look at the case file......


I used to do some work with an architect - he referred to conservation officers as “the stasi” 

given that you used an architect and planning consultant, I bet your application cost a fortune.…but yoouve got there now and it’ll be a very interesting build.

Out of interest what part of Kent is it?
I know Kent quite well, I grew up in Edenbridge and went to Tunbridge Wells school.


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## davethebb (19 Apr 2022)

We are mid-Kent near Charing/Pluckley area.


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## davethebb (19 Apr 2022)

Sorry for the delay in posting the drawings. I will post some photos soon.


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## niall Y (20 Apr 2022)

Looks pretty good to me. Reminds me of a granary at a farm in Eynsford, where I once worked . It was lifted up on saddle-stones, all.very 'Country Living'. It was available for rent as a workshop, but was too small for me at that time. Fast forward to now and it would suit me just fine.
I note from the drawings that there are only a couple of windows in one of the elevations. My present workshop, of a similar size, has a third window to the side wall. Even so, I still find I have to have the lights on most of the time And I tend to have the door open to give me more natural light. There are always constraints of some form on any build, whether it be budget, or planning. In my case I also had to take into account high winds and high rainfall.
Not sure what sort of work you will be carrying out in the workshop, but I found it of benefit to have a wider door than usual to get larger things in and out, with ease,

Best of luck with the remainder of the build


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## Jameshow (20 Apr 2022)

Could do with some Marley moderns and sky lights... !

Only joking! 

Is the roof pitch a local venacular angle?


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## davethebb (22 Apr 2022)

I'm hoping to do some hand joinery but I have allowed for a 1.2 or 1.4mt door just to make it easier to move machinery etc. in when I'm ready to start using it.

Unfortunately, yes it is the "local vernacular" roof angle along with kent peg clay roof tiles to match the existing outbuilding and main house.

The photos are of the ground after it was cleared and ongoing groundworks. Due to the ash tree, we needed to use a raft concrete slab and not the normal concrete trench foundations. The concrete slab needed to be 150mm RC30 and we used fiber impregnated in place of steel reinforcing mesh which saved a lot of time. The concrete was pumped 50mts into the formwork and then leveled off to within 6mm of level. Below the concrete (which we actually used 200mm), was 300mm of type 1 on top of a ground membrane and then 50mm of sand (combined was 15 big bags all unloaded and leveled by hand due to a hydraulic failure of the digger...) followed by a DPM and then concrete.


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## Jameshow (22 Apr 2022)

Nice!

Great weather for it!!!


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## RobinBHM (22 Apr 2022)

davethebb said:


> We are mid-Kent near Charing/Pluckley area.


Ah ok, I don’t know East Kent terribly well.

You must be awfully close to Operation Brock!!


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## davethebb (25 Apr 2022)

May I ask for comments on my design? I have built the brickwork up to three bricks high with class "B" engineering bricks and 3:1 mortar. I was going to use 100 x 50 (95 x 45) C24 to build the framework walls (600mm stud spacing with noggins halfway, double depth at the top) which I will add 11mm OSB to the exterior (screwed and also glued to the stud work). Inside this will be 90mm PIR and possibly another 11mm OSB on the inside. From a structural point of view will this be sufficient for a clay tiled roof circa 4000kgs on 6.8mt x 4.4mt area?


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## davethebb (25 Apr 2022)

RobinBHM said:


> Ah ok, I don’t know East Kent terribly well.
> 
> You must be awfully close to Operation Brock!!


Yes operation Brock has been a nightmare in the local area in previous weeks - it is almost back to normal now.


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## davethebb (25 Jun 2022)

It has been a while so I thought I would post a photo of my progress. One thing I have learned is undertaking a project like this by yourself is hard work - just physically moving the materials around by yourself is a task in itself. It is critical to plan your material deliveries both timing and where you have them delivered so that you do have to move them too far.


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## Jameshow (25 Jun 2022)

Lovely!! 

I hope it's tied down otherwise I'll send a Chinook to lift it up north!!


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## davethebb (25 Jun 2022)

Jameshow, It's going to have 4t of clay tiles on it but yes I embedded 25 metal ties into the concrete base and these are in turn screwed into the wood frame just in case.


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## Jameshow (25 Jun 2022)

davethebb said:


> Jameshow, It's going to have 4t of clay tiles on it but yes I embedded 25 metal ties into the concrete base and these are in turn screwed into the wood frame just in case.


Doh!


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## mark w (26 Jun 2022)

Great looking workshop, hats off to you for your hard graft.


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