Working with an old wonky building made from fieldstone

[JunkBuilt]

Hi all, long time lurker here. I've recently purchased a rural property in the UK which has an old fieldstone barn with a slate roof. It's much bigger than my previous 2 car attached 1970s garage, but I'm finding it a bit of a challenge to lay things out in the new space. The main issue is that its got solid field (cobble) stone walls which are really irregular, and the barn itself doesn't have a straight wall. My benches and workshop kit that used to fit neatly along the brick walls of my old shop, now don't really fit anywhere properly, and the walls are so uneven that hanging cabinets isn't really possible directly to the walls. I'd be interested to know if anyone else had a similar building and see what they've achieved.

There's an added challenge at the moment which is damp, but I'm working on improving that by clearing around the exterior and adding some drainage/excavating a slope away from the building.

Thanks
Jim

 

[Just_Steve]

@sawduststeve

 

[JuncleJohn]

Welcome JB, how about posting a few pics?

John

 

[JunkBuilt]

Thanks for the replies, I'm away with work this week but will add in some pics ASAP.

 

[finn]

Martijn Doolaard is a Dutch guy restoring a couple of stone buildings, well, really better described as huts, in the Italian Alps.

He’s got a long running YouTube channel that might give you some ideas.

 

[JunkBuilt]

Thanks finn, I'll have a look.

 

[tremiso220]

Had the same issue with a stone outbuilding. Gave up trying to mount stuff flush on the walls, just built a freestanding bench a few inches off them, way less hassle and helps with airflow too. For tools, a rolling chest beats wall cabinets when the walls are that uneven. Good you're sorting the damp first though, that's the real priority before anything else goes in.