MoonShadows
Almost Self-Reliant
Great story!
Our Farm-2 Years Ago to Now
- Thread starter baymule
- Start date
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- #22
baymule
Sustainability Master
Our Barn....First came the clean up.....9-5-2015
There were lots of dead trees on the ground from the 2011 drought. They all had to be cut up, piled and burned. We couldn't even run the bush hog in there until we got the tree trunks and branches cleaned up.
This tree stabbed the skyline and was dangerous. The limbs were so rotten that they could fall on anyone trying to cut it down, and it had to go. Fortunately, we had a storm and it blew down!
We hired our neighbor Russell and his friend Tim to build our barn, but first some standing dead trees had to go! This is Russell tying off a dead pine, the rope looped around another tree then was tied to his truck bumper, to keep the tree from falling on the fence. Our other neighbor, Robert came over to watch.
Russell's boys had fun.
Two weeks earlier, on August 24, 2015, my husband was released from the hospital after having a triple bypass, open heart surgery. He had to stand in the house, watching out the window as I went by with a load of branches or logs, on the tractor, taking them to the burn pile. He looked so pitiful, I was having all the fun!
He bounced back quickly and by October, the Doctor released him to drive again.....so he did. He and our neighbor Robert hauled pine shavings from a horse event center, he drove the tractor, and he helped me and Robert build a fence around the garden. Then we put 3 pigs in it for the winter. We finally got back to the barn site, having finished all the clean up. One side dropped off, so in November, we had dirt brought in.
BJ had a blast pushing dirt. After a couple of loads, he was tired and I took over. He knew when to quit, he was still getting over his surgery. This picture was taken November 25, 2015 At the same time, we had a contractor and his crew building our porch!
There were lots of dead trees on the ground from the 2011 drought. They all had to be cut up, piled and burned. We couldn't even run the bush hog in there until we got the tree trunks and branches cleaned up.
This tree stabbed the skyline and was dangerous. The limbs were so rotten that they could fall on anyone trying to cut it down, and it had to go. Fortunately, we had a storm and it blew down!
We hired our neighbor Russell and his friend Tim to build our barn, but first some standing dead trees had to go! This is Russell tying off a dead pine, the rope looped around another tree then was tied to his truck bumper, to keep the tree from falling on the fence. Our other neighbor, Robert came over to watch.
Russell's boys had fun.
Two weeks earlier, on August 24, 2015, my husband was released from the hospital after having a triple bypass, open heart surgery. He had to stand in the house, watching out the window as I went by with a load of branches or logs, on the tractor, taking them to the burn pile. He looked so pitiful, I was having all the fun!
He bounced back quickly and by October, the Doctor released him to drive again.....so he did. He and our neighbor Robert hauled pine shavings from a horse event center, he drove the tractor, and he helped me and Robert build a fence around the garden. Then we put 3 pigs in it for the winter. We finally got back to the barn site, having finished all the clean up. One side dropped off, so in November, we had dirt brought in.
BJ had a blast pushing dirt. After a couple of loads, he was tired and I took over. He knew when to quit, he was still getting over his surgery. This picture was taken November 25, 2015 At the same time, we had a contractor and his crew building our porch!
- Thread starter
- #23
baymule
Sustainability Master
December 6, 2015, we got started on the barn building!
A tree branch needed trimming off, so Russell scrambled up the tractor bucket and took care of it. Tim was ground support. LOL
BJ came out to supervise.
12-17-2015 We stacked cinder blocks as a retaining wall on the built up dirt where there was a low spot. This has failed and the blocks need to be taken up, moved in closer to the barn and reset. Yay.
A tree branch needed trimming off, so Russell scrambled up the tractor bucket and took care of it. Tim was ground support. LOL
BJ came out to supervise.
12-17-2015 We stacked cinder blocks as a retaining wall on the built up dirt where there was a low spot. This has failed and the blocks need to be taken up, moved in closer to the barn and reset. Yay.
- Thread starter
- #24
baymule
Sustainability Master
12-23-2015 The barn poles are set. Look closely for the cedar tree pole!
Then it rained. Flooded a monsoon. It rained so much and so hard that roads were washed out. Pictures taken 12-30-2015
Then it rained. Flooded a monsoon. It rained so much and so hard that roads were washed out. Pictures taken 12-30-2015
MoonShadows
Almost Self-Reliant
I think everybody is waiting......for more.....
- Thread starter
- #27
baymule
Sustainability Master
It was so exciting to see the barn take shape. This picture was taken on 1-4-2016
The next two pictures were taken on 1-20-2016. Progress!
Joe, our cremello Quarter Horse, checked out the barn. Funny story, while the barn was being built, the horses hung out among the poles. Once the roof went on, they went back to their grove of cedar trees. It was pouring down one evening and they were standing under the cedar trees! I put on my coat, pulled up the hood and went out to talk to them. "We are having this nice barn built for ya'll so you don't have to stand out in the rain! What are you doing here under the trees? Go get in the barn where you'll be nice and dry. Get out of the rain!" They looked at me. I went back in the house. A little while later I looked out and saw them standing under the barn roof. LOL
Russell and Tim worked on most of the weekends, building on our barn. They riffled through my scrap piles, used lumber, Lowes reject lumber, to find what they needed. We had to buy 29 brand new 2x6's 20 feet long for the rafters, there weren't enough in my pile of treasures. We also bought new OSB for roof decking, and brand new R panels for the metal roof, sides and the metal trim work. This picture taken 2-28-2016.
The barn is 36'x36' and the alley down the middle is 12' wide and 15' tall. When I was a kid, my best friend and I would go to her grandfather's farm. We rode a barn sour old mare, bareback, and she would only go so far before whirling around and galloping back to the barn. We had a choice of jumping off or bashing our brains out on the low barn rafters. So I insisted on "ride through" room for our barn, adding that if I wanted to drive a cab tractor through the barn, I could. Well, we don't have a cab tractor, but Russell does and in July we had him set the round bale in the cool of the barn for the horses. Look closely, you can tell the used lumber from the new. LOL
The next two pictures were taken on 1-20-2016. Progress!
Joe, our cremello Quarter Horse, checked out the barn. Funny story, while the barn was being built, the horses hung out among the poles. Once the roof went on, they went back to their grove of cedar trees. It was pouring down one evening and they were standing under the cedar trees! I put on my coat, pulled up the hood and went out to talk to them. "We are having this nice barn built for ya'll so you don't have to stand out in the rain! What are you doing here under the trees? Go get in the barn where you'll be nice and dry. Get out of the rain!" They looked at me. I went back in the house. A little while later I looked out and saw them standing under the barn roof. LOL
Russell and Tim worked on most of the weekends, building on our barn. They riffled through my scrap piles, used lumber, Lowes reject lumber, to find what they needed. We had to buy 29 brand new 2x6's 20 feet long for the rafters, there weren't enough in my pile of treasures. We also bought new OSB for roof decking, and brand new R panels for the metal roof, sides and the metal trim work. This picture taken 2-28-2016.
The barn is 36'x36' and the alley down the middle is 12' wide and 15' tall. When I was a kid, my best friend and I would go to her grandfather's farm. We rode a barn sour old mare, bareback, and she would only go so far before whirling around and galloping back to the barn. We had a choice of jumping off or bashing our brains out on the low barn rafters. So I insisted on "ride through" room for our barn, adding that if I wanted to drive a cab tractor through the barn, I could. Well, we don't have a cab tractor, but Russell does and in July we had him set the round bale in the cool of the barn for the horses. Look closely, you can tell the used lumber from the new. LOL
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- Thread starter
- #28
baymule
Sustainability Master
On August 4, 2016, we checked the cull rack at Lowes and found a bonanza! Plywood, 2x12's, 2x4's, 2x8's half a dozen roof edge metal strips, but the absolute best was the treated twenty feet long 2x6's!! There were 11 of them, a builder had special ordered them, then returned them, leftovers from a job. Since our Lowes didn't carry them, they were on the cull rack. Regular price was $26 each and they were marked down to $10 each!! We unloaded the trailer and stacked everything in the barn.
In January, my husband said he was ready to start the feed and tack room in the barn. All our stuff is crammed in that portable building we moved here and I can get to the back of it if I turn sideways and step carefully! So I was more than ready for the feed and tack room! First we spent a day cleaning out the barn. In the front pasture we had piled up various piles of dead fallen tree branches so I came up with the idea of covering them with horse manure. We got the tractor and the Kawasaki Mule. BJ scooped with the tractor bucket, but I had to finish filling it with the shovel. While he went to go dump it, I filled the back of the Mule. We relayed both until the barn was scraped clean, then BJ used the tractor to scoop wood chip mulch and dump it in the barn while I spread it with a rake.
The second day, we got the 2x6's screwed to the posts, outlining the feed and tack room. Then I measured and screwed in place the metal 2x6 hangers for the floor joists. Robert came a few days later and the 3 of us got the floor joists cut and screwed in place. It sure hurt our feelings to cut those 20' 2x6's into 12' lengths, but we spliced the cut off ends together to make floor joists and used them. We had a stack of 3/4" plywood under the carport and we got the floor laid. We were pretty proud of our work!
This picture taken 1-23-2017. Joe is giving his approval.
We had never built walls, so Robert came over to help. We got the front walls built and raised. While BJ and Robert built the walls, I put up 2x4's on the end wall, against the metal. We left space to hang two 4' doors, as we'll probably divide the area into two rooms. The last day we worked on the feed and tack room was 2-7-2017, BJ had shoulder replacement surgery the next day, February 8.
Every piece of wood with the exception of the plywood floor, came off the cull rack at Lowes. Our joke is, If it is crooked or curved, it's OURS!
This picture taken 1-31-17.
In January, my husband said he was ready to start the feed and tack room in the barn. All our stuff is crammed in that portable building we moved here and I can get to the back of it if I turn sideways and step carefully! So I was more than ready for the feed and tack room! First we spent a day cleaning out the barn. In the front pasture we had piled up various piles of dead fallen tree branches so I came up with the idea of covering them with horse manure. We got the tractor and the Kawasaki Mule. BJ scooped with the tractor bucket, but I had to finish filling it with the shovel. While he went to go dump it, I filled the back of the Mule. We relayed both until the barn was scraped clean, then BJ used the tractor to scoop wood chip mulch and dump it in the barn while I spread it with a rake.
The second day, we got the 2x6's screwed to the posts, outlining the feed and tack room. Then I measured and screwed in place the metal 2x6 hangers for the floor joists. Robert came a few days later and the 3 of us got the floor joists cut and screwed in place. It sure hurt our feelings to cut those 20' 2x6's into 12' lengths, but we spliced the cut off ends together to make floor joists and used them. We had a stack of 3/4" plywood under the carport and we got the floor laid. We were pretty proud of our work!
This picture taken 1-23-2017. Joe is giving his approval.
We had never built walls, so Robert came over to help. We got the front walls built and raised. While BJ and Robert built the walls, I put up 2x4's on the end wall, against the metal. We left space to hang two 4' doors, as we'll probably divide the area into two rooms. The last day we worked on the feed and tack room was 2-7-2017, BJ had shoulder replacement surgery the next day, February 8.
Every piece of wood with the exception of the plywood floor, came off the cull rack at Lowes. Our joke is, If it is crooked or curved, it's OURS!
This picture taken 1-31-17.
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MoonShadows
Almost Self-Reliant
Fantastic barn!
- Thread starter
- #30
baymule
Sustainability Master
Thanks! The insurance guy came out and appraised it for $30,000 replacement value!!
We sure didn't pay that for it, thanks to my scrounging of things nobody wanted. If you have a big project in mind, start scrounging and stacking up materials, it will pay off.
