Day 3: The Barn Whispers

I was surprised to see the extensive cribbing in the hayloft of the barn today. I hadn't expected such a spider web of lumber. Roger The Barn Man helped me clarify the terms that he uses for this technique. A "brace" will stay in place; "cribbing" lumber will be removed.

Late in the morning there was a little crisis when the water line into the barn was cut about six feet out from the south wall. I honestly had not been in the basement of the farmhouse for several years so I was totally unfamiliar with the shutoff valves for the water lines to the garden and barn. One call to McCain Plumbing brought Jack McCain with his knowledge of what goes where.

Jack's home and business are south of Bay Port, about six miles from the farm. He's always ready to help out and knows his stuff. I had a dental appointment in the afternoon and was kind of hoping for a time without water. I hadn't taken a shower yet and was envisioning calling the dentist and postponing. Sigh and alas, the water issue really wan't a crisis and I did make the appointment, easily.

Mid-afternoon brought a wonderful moment of something that I had never seen before. When I got back from the dental appointment, the crew was inside the lower level of the barn, placing posts and jacks to support the long beams. At one point Roger asked the crew to be quiet.

"I have to hear the barn," he said. There was silence except for the jacking. I was standing outside and couldn't hear anything, but I did spot dust and chaff falling through the floor. The barn must have moved imperceptibly. A feather fluttered down. In the quiet afternoon, it was like the massive barn was whispering.

I know from living in our lakehouse (a timberframe building) that timbers, as they dry and shift, will crack loudly. These old timbers seemed to sigh. Roger says there are sounds that are okay and some that you don't want to hear when you are jacking up an old barn.

Tomorrow, if the rain stays away, they might pour the piers for the south wall. They will be short concrete walls built perpendicular into the south wall of the barn.

As a side note, Miguel Cabrera of the Detroit Tigers clinched the Triple Crown tonight. The first of the 2012 Presidential Debates was held in Denver. All in all, it was a busy and historic day, especially for our Michigan barn and Michigan baseball fans.