The Lofts
   Im sure that you would all agree that a barn just isnt a barn without "hay lofts". Well the lofts in this barn were dangerously overdue for an over haul.   I dont know why but there were 2 floor levels (one about 12 inches lower then the other), that comprised the floor and packed in between them was a layer of old mildewed hay with a layer of cardboard under it. The chemical reactions of the hay mixed with moisture and bat urine were creating hotspots that were generating so much heat that it charred the cardboard! How this barn never burnt to the ground is beyond me. If you take a look back in history you will find that fires from damp hay have caused the demise of many a barn.

The first thing I did was build a stairway (3) up the loft. It has always been ladder access only which was growing tiresome and since I would be spending a lot of time up here working on it I felt it would be a good starting point. Once that was done I kicked out the hay loft door on the end of the barn, strapped a dust mask to my head and started cleaning house ! That was probably one of the most disgusting experiences I have ever had in my life. Between those floors in that old hay were petrified rats, bats and even a cat. All I found of any interest was a crappy old pocket knife. Anyways, it took me two solid days with a shovel and a shop vac just to clean out this loft.

As you can see in picture (1) there were many odd sized boards comprising the floor and you can see the "double floor" I described earlier. A lot these boards are junk and will end up in a burn pile but a lot of them I am saving for future projects. Once my shop is done I will be building some birdhouses from this old barn wood. Its hard to buy good wood like this and when you can it is very expensive. A little power sanding and the wood grain is beautiful in them.

  Well now that it was cleaned out it was time to remove the wood. I was merciless with my hammer and crowbars and removed both floors preparing it for the new oak. The entire floor will be replaced with rough cut 1" Oak planking (4) from the sawmill and luckily I was able to use all of the original floor supports. All of the floor support beams were in great shape and it sounded easy enough until I tried to drive that first nail into them. With the wonderful quality of the cheap ass steel in todays nails that wasnt going to happen. Its funny that old bent rusty nails I have pulled out of the wood will drive right back in, but the cheap steel used in what they call nails now will bend and quiver at the mere sight of real wood ! I just cant help but think that our homes these days are being built with weak wood and cheap steel ! How will these homes be in 150 years?
  Anyways, since the nailing didnt work out well, this meant that each and every board would need to be screwed. I found that pre-drilling the holes saved an immense amount of time and saved the drill tips from torture. In the long run I am sure that the screws would be stronger then nails anyhow, especially as the oak starts to shrink and cure. Its not green but its far from dried.

  The center of the barn (5) has always been wide open from the first floor up to the roof creating two seperate smaller lofts. I didnt want to waste any space and I really didnt want to build another set of stairs for the second loft so I decided to join them with a half floor leaving just the front open. At one point I considered laying down an entire second floor but I kind of like the open feeling the barn has with the opening. 
HOW IT WAS...
HOW IT LOOKS NOW...
NEW STAIRWAY ADDED...
NEW FLOOR STARTED...
These lofts were driving me nuts in the condition they were in (2) but now that they are done Im in cruise control. This was the last "major" part of this barn that had to be done. There is no more odor of bats and musty hay...only the smell of new wood and the sprawl of a wide open space!
HOW IT WAS...
5
3
4
2
1