The Barn. Day 3 – Tying the posts together.
 Day 3 – Click for larger image |
Today was a short day – rain is coming. But the builders made sure the posts were tied together with headers and ready to withstand wind and rain before the builders resume their work. It really is starting to look like a barn now – actually, more like a cathedral. The building is so tall – just awesome. I think it will not only be great for the horses, but will really add value to the property.
The Barn. Day 2 – All the main posts are up now.
 Day 2 – Click for larger image |
The builders put up all the remaining posts for the main barn body today. All that is left regarding posts is the work for the sheds on each side. My guess is that they will start adding the horizontal supports tomorrow to ensure that the posts remain level and plumb. The posts they added today were even bigger than the ones yesterday! And the posts to hold the outside stall doors (on the side you see facing you in the picture) are as tall as the others – this was a pleasant surprise. Man, this barn should last a long, long time. It's 7pm now and the guys are still at it, starting to spread the rock that was delivered today. Brown's Construction, the folks handling this project, are doing a really nice job. Now I need to do my part and get the electric and plumbing lined up. I meet with another crew Friday to get an estimate.
By the way, here's the basic floor plan. As always, click to see a larger view.
The Barn. Day 1 – Digging post holes.
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What a day today! The builder was here at 7:45am and got started. Mike the excavator also came in and put in the culvert extension. Everything looks wonderful. I cannot believe how TALL the barn is. It looks massive! I have no plans at present for a loft, but there sure will be lots of room for one someday. The builders have poles in now for the main barn periphery. The holes are in place for most everything else. It looks beautiful to me. Impressive too. Click the photo for a closer view.
The barn excavation is complete
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Here is a view of the footprint for the new barn. This photo was taken from the front porch of our house, up on a steep hill. The land is so hilly that it is difficult to depict everything in photos. If you click the image, you'll see my approximation of the new barn footprint. The dotted lines mark off where the overhangs will be – an 8ft over hang on the closer side (that will cover 4 stalls) and a 12 foot overhang on the far side (equipment storage). The body of the barn is 36×48 with a 12 foot center aisle and four 12 x 12 areas on each side of the center aisle. The colors are white with red roof and red trim. The barn builder is supposed to start next week (!) and I plan to begin a photo gallery for this. More to come!
Wow – the new barn is becoming a reality!
The excavator (Mike) came out this week and finished grading the site for the new barn. On this hilly land I cannot believe what a nice job he did – it is like a miracle. The barn builder came by and looked it over and he too was dutifully impressed. Ronny, the builder, called me later in the day to say they may start the barn next week! We can hardly believe it – other than buying a house, this is definitely the biggest purchase we have ever made and we are excited and nervous. Things have worked out pretty well – I still need to file the electrical and plumbing permits and lock in someone to do that work, but Ronny has a few ideas of someone good to help out. I am planning on adding a photo gallery to the blog so visitors can see the progress. I am still sorta stunned to see everything falling into place. Wow!
