The previous owner did this crappy ass patch job with sheetmetal panels. I have pretty much given up on trying to figure out his reasoning on anything he did around here and now I just deal with the mess. I knew that the right side would need all new timbers, I could see that, but the rest was a surprise to me as I was stripping rotted materials. After stripping the exterior I ended up having to rebuild the entire rear wall. Again I used rough cut 4x6's and 6x6's so while framing it, I left a nice wide door into the pen to accomodate any size animal we may decide to get in the future. Beef is getting expensive you know !

Now that the building was solid and had a new roof , it was time to get power. I did not want to draw power from the house, so I hired an electrician and it now has its own power service seperate from the house with interior/exterior lighting and interior/exterior outlet boxes to plug in heated waterer's for the goats. I got sick and tired of changing frozen water buckets at 5am before work and again at 7pm using Coleman Lamps for light. I found they dont light worth a crap when its 10 degrees outside. Speaking of lighting, the lights I decided on are Vaporproof RAB lights and we installed one outside under the overhang. All of the stalls lights and exterior lighting are operated with seperate switches at a panel as you enter the barn. Life is much easier now !

Too many days that first winter the back door froze shut and I would have to jump the fence and chisel it open so I built this small 10' x 10' overhang and wind sheer wall that creates a good buffer zone during the extreme winter weather.
Life got even easier! Now them goats are styling and Im much happier.
  As you can see from the photos above, this little barn was a total mess. If it were not for the three 8'x8' animal stalls inside I would have put a wrecking ball to it. I knew the left side of the roof was bad and that I would have to replace it but I never anticipated all that I had to replace that I could not see ! I think in the end you will agree thouigh that it was worth saving this little barn. This barn is 16' x 32' and is now fully functional with its own electric meter and is home for our goats and chickens.
  I ripped out everything that I knew was bad in the roof and the more I removed, the more damage I found from all the years of a leaky roof. I took the front wall down to the frame, replaced all the left front wall stantions, a new header and then had to reframe the door with new 6x6's. NOT what I had in mind !
I used all rough cut lumber to rebuild with from a saw mill only a few miles from my house.

Woodcreek Sawmill
(860) 642-7697 92 Kahn Rd, North Franklin, CT 
The Goat Barn
  Floor Plan Symbols
    = Interior Lights
    = Exterior Lights
    = Power Outlets

I rebuilt the 2 windows in the front and used cedar shakes for the siding. I wanted the door opening large to be able to get the tractor in for cleaning which left me with a decision to make. Doors that would swing in would block the stalls, and I definately didnt want doors that would swing out so I decided to build a one piece door, hinge it to the header and use a hand winch like that on a boat trailer to crank it up and out of the way. It works like a dream and closes quickly and easily should severe weather be coming. The door remains open most of the year and only closes for the winter months. You can see the small gate I built that keeps the goaties where they belong when the door is open.

They have free passage out of the back of the barn to their pen to graze and laze and this front gate is where everyone goes to visit and feed the goats...its like a petting zoo here in the summer and they get spoiled.
In the beginning...
The rear wall...
Come on in ...
Not much to say here, just a few photos of what I have done on the inside.
The Easiest Side
All I had to do here was strip the shakes, prep the wood and paint. Oh yeh, I did cut the window opening bigger and installed two windows for more ventilation in the summer, but thats about it.
I hope you enjoyed my little project, there are many more to go !