The barn, our eclectic creation of recycled wood and metal, continues to inch towards completion.
Completion being a flexible term. For us it means a good enough shelter for our animals this winter. Future completion would include the walling in of Keith's shop as well as the storage room within the barn which will house our meat freezers, extra refrigerator, well pump and vacuum pump for milking our cow.
Later in the future
All in good time my pretty, all in good time.
Two weekends ago friend Jay came again and with son Jason's help the roof was half completed. Without any fancy (i.e. expensive) man lifts or rented scaffolding, we slid the long steel panels up the ladder where Jay grabbed on and pulled them up the rest of the way. Kneeling up high (prayers are always appreciated) he screwed in each panel. After that he and Keith would move the wood kneeling boards back another three feet, and we would repeat the process.
The weather was perfect.
Later this week it turned rainy and cold which slowed down both the barn build and the final leg (breast and thighs) of our chicken butchering plans. Oh well. Next week the weather will warm a bit, if weather predictions are correct. Usually they are meaningless, but we look anyway. Hope allows us to plan the outdoor tasks we need to complete, not to mention about three loads of laundry I am behind.
A couple of days ago the concrete guys came and dug out the areas for Keith's shop and our storage room. These rooms are two different levels due to the slope of our land. A trench was dug for the foam insulation boards and the concrete footings and then they filled the area with limestone. If the weather cooperates they plan is to pour the concrete then.
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| Keith standing in his shop area |
Inch by inch and dollar by dollar, we pay as we go rather than use credit, the barn becomes a reality.
Hi Donna :)) I think it's really smart of you to pay as you go. The debt trap is way too easy, as it's meant to be right? ;) The barn looks great so far! I love reading your updates!!! :)
ReplyDeleteThanks Rain. In the old days we made a very good income on our organic farm. We also had high debt. Now, both our income and our debt is low. It means we must "earn" what we need-literally. At first it was tough, but now I find it very liberating.
DeleteComing along!! It will be nice to milk your cow in a sheltered area. -Jenn
ReplyDeleteIt will Jenn. Right now she is milked in a three sided shelter which is more than adequate except on the windy rainy snowy days. In the new area it will be enclosed on all four sides and it'll be like milking in the Bahama's every day!
DeleteIt's gotten very cold here (upstate NY) so I hope you can get more sides and top on before winter sets in for good. It is amazing what you've already done.
ReplyDeleteWe're hoping for the same, more on the tops and sides. Concrete was poured yesterday and I'll post about that soon. Inch by inch
DeleteThis takes me back to when we started to work on our barn. Pouring the concrete base was a real advance, and changed it from a dusty old tobacco barn to a potential home. Yours is looking good.
ReplyDeleteIt's funny Cro how I find myself looking at this barn as a potential new home. I think deep down I miss right angle walls!
DeleteI'm glad you guys decided to take your time, rather than build something smaller, to meet the materials available. It looks like it's going to be a really useful shed, as animal shelter and workshop. I hope the pour is uneventful.
ReplyDeleteConcrete pour went fantastically! Weather in the low 50's so a good day to get it down yesterday. Enough extra leftover for a couple of sidewalks. Pics soon
DeleteYour barn looks amazing. Are you reusing the timber as it has an aged look? It will be lovely when you're finished :D
ReplyDeleteYes, about 60% of the lumber is old and recycled. Much came from an old machine shed we paid to have torn down so we could rebuild. Some of that wood did not survive the tear down so new was purchased.
DeleteYour beautiful barn is going to look like it's been there for many years by using the old materials. Here on our place we've deliberately built all new sheds in salvaged recycled iron and timber so they match in with the other old buildings and our 100 plus year old house. We both love old iron, it has such character, giving the new structure an immediate personality. What a great job your'e all doing!
ReplyDeleteOh I bet your place is so beautiful! It does feel good to be using old materials in new ways especially since this farm, the old house and a couple of the buildings date back to 1865. This property was neglected for decades and finally, slowly we're bringing it back to life.
DeleteIt's coming along nicely !
ReplyDeleteHere's wishing you a mild winter this year, giving you time to finish up the barn without hardship.
I didn't realize how big it will be, lots of room for chore-doing and creating in the workshop.
Hugs,
~Jo
It does feel big at this point but once the tractor and hay and straw and animals and hubby's shop tools go inside...I think it will shrink a bit. :)
DeleteDonna, you are so right about the definition of "completion!" I love it. And I love seeing the progress on your barn, it kinda parallels ours, but the two barns have such different personalities. Won't it be great to get them both done?
ReplyDeleteThat's a great way to out it, our barns having different personalities. I believe they also need names. lets think on that shall we? "Rose" perhaps for ours, as in Second Hand Rose.
DeleteRose sounds so much prettier than the things that we usually call ours, "Goat Barn," "Buck Barn," "Buck Shelter," and "Little Barn soon to be Dan's Workshop." Definitely will think on that, although eight years later we're still trying to name our pastures and gates, LOL
DeleteI like Leigh's comment about 'personalities' as I do think every barn, like every home, has a completely different 'feel' to it.
ReplyDeleteThere was an abandoned barn once in Warrenville Illinois, where a reckless friend of mine and I would climb up into the hayloft and then swing by rope across a pile of hay and drop many feet into it. It was so frightening and so exhilarating at the same time. It was a barn full of joy (and a little danger). Absolutely FULL of personality!
DeleteI completely agree with your "pay-as-you-go" comment, Donna and we do that to a point. We use credit cards for grocery and gas purchases, but are sure to pay them in full when due so we like to think of it as using someone else's money for a couple of weeks. Keith's workshop and the barn are looking good.
ReplyDeleteMy husband so deserves a shop again. We had alrge heated one on our old farm but for the last two years he's been making do with the kitchen of the old decrepit house. An unstable floor, No heat and electricity by drop cord only. This will be so much better, and safer.
DeleteWe're trying to do the pay it off as you go as well. That's why progress on the farm property is slow at times. Now we've saved up for a new roof, just have to pull the trigger on that and now we are saving for some other exterior things. It's always something. Writing that check at the moment is not fun when you're doing it but oh so rewarding later to know it's paid in full. I might have missed it but is the barn two story? That shot of him standing in the future workshop area looks like it's a 3 story building, ha. So much space, can't wait to watch it grow!
ReplyDeleteYes, two story. Over the shop area will be aloft area tall enough to stand in. Will use for general storage and hay. The area over the animal stalls slopes more and will be shorter but still room for lots of goodies, like the furniture I am still hanging onto from the old 3000 SF farmhouse that won't fit in the 700 SF grain bin!
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