Original 1890’s banked barn.

This beautiful 1890 banked barn was converted to a home by Integrity Restoration of Essex, Massachusetts. Most barn conversions use the open barn spaces to create large and lofty living areas. Such areas are prone to accumulated heat gains, as the roofing and framing perform as a heat sink, storing volumes of BTU’s and warming a volume of air in the upper reaches. The traditional solution here is a convection ridge vent, or cupola. This barn structure was not originally so equipped, but Integrity, with its knowledge of traditional performance and design, furnished a traditional cupola which was, in addition, equipped with mechanical windows and a whole house fan. These mechanicals, properly programmed, are used to economically control heat accumulation during the summer months.

Aftermarket mechanical cupola, in traditional style.