Years in the Making!

I used to sit up in our dusty dirty barn and dream of making it come alive. I would marvel at the handmade spikes holding all the rafters in place on the ridgepole that runs down the center forming the roofline. If you look at the picture, the very top beam on the left edge, you can still see some of the original bark on the tree that was used for the rafter.

What our barn needed to brighten it up was light and I had an idea. You see that vent at the very peak of the roof, that sits above a main beam. I knew we wouldn’t need that vent for ventilation once the barn was renovated so I climbed up on a ladder and did a little measuring…. I measured from the inside, to high on the outside for my taste.

A look from the inside where that vent used to be, that upper hole. That's the end that looks down our driveway and people can see it from the road. It's also the end where mister man built the first granite stone wall underneath the support beam from my last post. I knew after measuring a half round window would be perfect up there so armed with measurements mister man and I started our search for a window. 

And Voile, after a couple of years we found exactly what we were looking for and the perfect size. This half round window came out of a now defunct bank but there was only one problem, the window had single panes and would never pass code. So off it went to a window restorer and he simply cut the mullions in half, placed insulated glass in and made mullions to match for the other side. A boatload of money later and some else’s hard work and we have our window that will pass code! An antique/vintage window for our antique carriage barn.

What do you think of our window? Trust me the money we spent on the window and having it restored cost us less then buying a new window and this works perfectly. Wait until you see it installed!



Barn Renovation Part 2: An Engineering Feat!

I told you in my last post about our barn that the carnage wasn’t over and just look at what our contractors did! Can you imagine my face when I walked outside and saw our barn hanging by a thread? It was necessary in order to fix the water problem since water and wood don’t mix. I know it’s a little dark but if you look inside under the barn you’ll see that our foundation for the barn is made from stacked boulders. It won't fall since it goes back into the earth twelve feet! The foundation for our home is like that too in our basement and it’s stunning! Isn't the barn pretty nestled in the forest?

The earth came up on the sides of the barn and was rotting the wood so in order to stop that little problem we decide to use something that would never rot from water…stone! Both end walls will be built up out of antique granite block to the second floor crossbeams. Since this is the granite state and our home foundation is all granite we weren’t going outside of what is normal for our home.

That would be the husband laying the footers for the walls, he’s very handy to have about. No he isn’t a mason by trade but used to do it once upon a time in another life. You would think I would be married to the hulk since those cement blocks weigh 67 pounds apiece. Good thing he didn’t get mouthy with me since he’s already standing six feet under….;)

Up go the granite blocks, those only weigh 18 pounds apiece and he’s doing a double wall, one inside the barn, and one outside. The cement and one or two of the granite blocks will be buried once the earth is graded on the outside. The rebar in the middle helps to stabilize the walls.

Mister man had to hand cut those thick solid granite blocks to fit snugly around the boulders. Everything had to be precisely measured so when he reached the beam he wouldn’t have to cut any blocks or end up with any gaps. It’s amazing how he worked it all out but he has a saying: prior preparation prevents piss poor performance and trust me he did his prep work.

A corner that wraps around to the front or face of the barn, that corner will support one barn door when finished.

This is the end of the barn you can see from the street and as you’re coming up our drive.

Look at that, to the left of the picture, see that support beam hanging out in thin air…another water incident that will soon be taken care of and look, the wall is up to the beam!

Mister man finally got smart and hired our contractors’ 18-year-old son to labor for him and the kid didn’t whine once….now that’s amazing!

You can see from the inside how the block wall came right up to the crossbeam. Look right there in the very middle, you can see how the blocks were fitted right into the boulder wall. Oh and that yellow tubing you see snaking through several of my pictures....yeah, that would be the propane for my stove and oven. Imagine how exhilarated I was to see people cutting and sawing around it?

One wall up now to get mister man to clean up this colossal mess! Yes, this whole mess is just from the husband not to forget that the contractors were here working and making messes of their own!

Not only did everyone have messes working on the driveway but they took over my front yard as well!

And then more trucks arrived with more deliveries. The excavator thought it a good idea to park his bobcat on top of the husbands’ stone dust. To top it off the cement guy thought the stone dust was a great place to wash leftover cement into, do you know how that stuff sets up…it’s concrete! Trust me ladies this sort of work is not for the weak of heart to live around!

Stay tuned for next week when we feature….oh yeah more mess!

There is hope!

Look at this picture, I mean look at it, it’s grass and the dreaded tree root I always trip over poking through the snow and ice. I had a tear in my eye when I saw it this morning. After the winter we’ve had so far Mother Nature has taken pity on us and has given us two days of warmth unfortunately the cold returns tonight…ugh!

You can see the slump in the snow along Dylan dog’s path. Poor dog is so tired of being land locked on those paths and tried getting through the snow the other day only to sink up to his bloomers.

A garden bench and a marble angel finally making their way through the snow, she should have flown away when she had the chance!

Look, you see that dark round thing in the middle of the snow, that’s a garden urn making a reappearance. Sort of to the right of that urn there looks to big a large round area under the snow, that’s a very large round raised stone garden bed I built, it’ll be out soon…I HOPE!

If you click on the pictures you can bring them up bigger and you should on this one and look at that sky it’s the deepest of blues. I took this picture this morning from one of Dylan’s paths it looks back from our side field towards the side of our home.

For those of you following our barn renovation you can see some of the stonewalls holding that mountain back. Just think those walls have been there for over 200 years! Pretty amazing even to me and I look at them everyday. OK everyone think spring please!

Next up the second installment of our barn renovation!