Day 56: Season is over

Boy did I get a surprise this noon. After discussing several issues yesterday, Roger said he'd be calling it a season by Friday. Well I saw Roger in the parking lot behind Main Street Cafe and Bakery this noon. I had an item for him. He said when he got that done, they were done until spring. It just doesn't make sense to keep going because so much depends on the replacement of the west wall and fixing the roof.

Now we'll take one last 'walk' around the barn. Here is the south wall with its three new piers. The two 4x4s are on jacks helping to hold part of front wall in place. Something will have to be done with them. Also the yellowish brown spot in the center of the stone wall is an area that needs to be built in. Years ago I covered that opening with translucent panels. What you can't tell from the photo, the door to the right closes and latches. It hasn't been able to do that for years.

South side

Next the west wall is the area that will have much of the work next season. Notice all of the boards that are missing. Yesterday's photo shows the wall from the inside with the light shining through. Given some other holes the barn had, these really don't look too bad. If you look closely at the left most missing board. That's a fresh break. So its high time all the boards are nailed or re nailed.


West side

The north side probably has the most change and seems the least left to do. There's the new piece of wall and the new doors in an area that was wide open on Day 1. Of course the roof will be redone, but what you cannot see is how much work the barn grade needs to have done to it. There is a section of grade missing out from the barn about 10 feet where the rest of the grade continues. The hole will need to be filed so the grade can be used. Also the grade needs some retaining work done to it.

North side

And now the side that seems the most complete, the east end. Of course the area in front will be cleaned up which will make it look different. Also the door I built so many years ago on the lower right will be replaced. Remember back to earlier posts, the interior wall was raised and the door will need to be rebuilt to fit. If you look closely you can see into the barn along the bottom of the door.

East side

There are probably more things that could be shared, but the season is done. It'll probably be sometime in March, two months or so from now (weather permitting) when the work begins again.

Day 55: Season nears the end

Today Roger and I discussed several items that needed to be resolved. We'll mention them during this, the last week of the 2012 season. In the agricultural area weather is a big part of the mix and usually the final arbitor of what can be accomplished. The mild beginning to the winter would make one believe work could still be done, but it's better after awhile to not fight mother nature so we'll be done with work for now.

Rotten timber

 The rotten upright timber will be the point of concentration for the next season, starting in 8 or 9 weeks. There is a timber from another barn lying under the pile of material by the west wall. As noted in an earlier blog, the west stone wall will be removed and a poured wall will replace it. We hope the cement forms will make the cement give the impression of stone.

West wall of second floor

 I like this photo because of the lighting, but it serves more than that. It shows some of the holes that will be filled with boards from other barns.

Protection for the weak corner

And finally this photo that has blue tarp covering the corner area that has the rotted timber. Also what is not noticeable in the top photo shows up here as blue streaks in the roof. There is much of the roof that has holes in it that will need to be repaired.

But the first thing that will be done in the spring is the shingles will be torn off the roof. One of the things we are looking at is putting solar panels on the roof to supply some electricity to help power the barn.

Day 54: Bottom Floor Post

Today we look at the bottom floor's layout, but first a look at a 'timber.' When the work is complete these two 2x10s from down below will look like other timbers. For that matter, when the flooring is put in place it will look like a timber from on top.

When is a timber not a timber

Now back to the issue of the day, the bottom floor's basic layout. If you look back to Day 51 you'll see aisle one which includes that braced timber you see to the left here. Aisle two, seen here, is a straight shot east to west. There's about 16 feet between the timbers in the row and 10 feet between the rows of timbers.

Aisle two

Below is aisle three. It's not much different in look than aisle two.

Aisle three

And at last the new north wall and aisle four.

Aisle four

Don't worry about the wood in the fore ground. That's the back of Roger's trailer. I couldn't get a photo from the east door without including it. What I'm trying to work through is that in the old layout that post center left didn't exist. Also most of the rest were in slightly different places which "seemed" to make the barn more roomy. The reality is the total square feet of the barn hasn't changed. We'll just have to work with the new layout.

Day 53: First work day of new year, but still on last season

We have tried to salvage and reuse as much lumber as possible in refitting the barn. As noted in an earlier blog, floor boards from the center section would be lifted and used in the east section with the center getting a whole new floor. Well more new lumber will be required to finish the east because existing lumber was in worse shape than first thought.

Need a hole in the floor

We need a hole going between the upstairs and the down just about in between the end of the second and third timber which will in part match the one on the other side of the center section. That hole you can see below a little off center right.

Original chute to the main floor

The two holes in the floor allow material such as loose or baled hay or straw to be easily pitched down to the first floor for use with animals from the storage on the second floor.

Added bracing

In an earlier post the bracket at the center of this photo was mentioned. Near the beginning of  the work the joints of this timbers were soaked with water. The moisture allowed the timbers to be moved around a bit without breaking because of being brittle from drying out over the years. The timbers were adjusted to square up the barn. To help this timber hold into the future this bracket was crafted to fit and hold the timbers and keep them from slipping apart. There are other timbers treated in this manner. To the center right along the timber going into the center of the barn is a vertical timber that was added to help shore up the roof. You'll also notice the turn buckle and steel cable that runs from one side of the barn to the other which also helps hold it all together. The barn is old and somewhat brittle. Therefore, assists like we see here and other types used in the barn, will help the barn stand another 50 - 100 years. At least that is what Roger says. And because it's very probable that neither of us will be here to see it, we all just have to believe it will. I have no reason to doubt Roger based on the work he has done.