After removing the brush and stumps I realized that the damage was more significant to the lower exterior wood then I had anticipated. All the main support beams are still very solid and were not of much concern. However I did have to replace the entry way footing that supports the floor.
The Loft Door above the entry way was also in pretty rough shape but I was able to use the original wood and "rebuild" it to maintain the original status. I was also able to reuse the original forged hinges.
This is a photographic journal on the restoration of a barn that has stood on this property in Lebanon Ct for over 150 years.The photo to the left is how the barn looked when we bought this place. As bad as it looked, it was a major selling point for this property to me. These days there are a lot of people who would have just torn it down, but to me it was a piece of history that someone spent many countless hours building in a time when tooling was basic and materials were better !
So when I saw the beams, the lofts and the layout, the love I have always had for the Old New England Barns kicked into high gear.
Brush and trees cleared...
You couldnt get within 15 feet of the sides at first. There were 3 large trees growing up against the barn's foundation that were removed and lots of large stone and shrubs ripped out to open up the sides as you can see from the comparison photo above.
Here is how this side is looking so far...
I still need to build a new slider door for the left side .That corner of the garage area to the left has sagged quite a bit so I want to fix that before I build the doors and rework the slider hardware.
During a trip to the Amish Country, my wifes parents bought us this hex sign as a gift and I couldnt have been happier to place it on the barn for luck !
What the sign means...
"Another of the classic hex signs is Home Wilkum. This design is often seen on porches and other entry ways. The large stylized Pennsylvania Dutch greeting, "Wilkum," extends a warm and friendly welcome to all. Facing Distelfink birds provide a generous measure of happiness and good fortune for all. A "lucky" star and greenery add luck and bountiful life, respectively."
For more info on the Amish Hex Signs go here...
Loving The Life and Times In Lebanon , Connecticut
The North Side
This side I knew was going to be a nightmare because I could visibily see the damage from the inside of the garage area. The corner beam and lower wood had rotted and the roof sagged. I ripped out the wall, jacked the roof up 4" and replaced the sill beams and added new 4x4's the entire length of the wall. I used 5/8 T-111 sheathing for the siding and cut in a window that was left up in the loft by the previous owner.
This is an old silo pad that at one time I considered keeping and doing something with for fun but it was cramping my style and getting in my way so I decided it had to go. Let me tell ya, that pad was thick ! I would love to see an old photo of this place when it was all newly built.
You can see how thick the piece in the tractor bucket is. That was just one small section of the side wall of the silo pad ! I removed all the biggest pieces and just buried the smaller stuff with topsoil.
All the wood siding in the peak is original and in decent shape so it only needed to be scraped and painted. I built a new loft door and and had to replace some of the framing for it but doing the peak area turned out to be the easiest part of this side. I have a window going into the top in the fall after all the bats vacate for the winter. There are 50 or so bats that over the years have claimed this barn as theirs but next year I will have bat boxes mounted for them to call home instead. I dont want them to leave my property, I am just tired of the guana factory! Yup, I saved it in many coffee cans for fertilizer...
After the T-111 siding went on I added a 2x10 edging down the entire side to dress off the edge and make a good nailing edge for the roofing.
For roofing I decided to try out these Ondura Panels. I fell in love with the "John Deere" Green coloring it was available in. Nezt year I plan on replacing all the old shingles on the main roof with the same color, I think it will look sharp and be an eye catcher for the passers by.
I added all new slider hardware and built this new door. Its only primed in this photo, it is not staying white.
Now, run your mouse over this photo and see if you agree with me that this barn is worth saving !!
2 sides "almost" done... 2 sides to go !
The Old Milking Room
Wasp and Hornet Heaven ! If I didnt pull down 100 old wasp nests, I didnt pull down one! As much as I sprayed and tryed to keep up I could never get rid of them and now I know why. For some reason there was a double wall built surrounding the entire room and there were wasp nests all between them. As the outer siding deteriorated they would go into the tiniest cracks and build enormous nests that I couldnt see, nor could I hit with wasp spray...now I got 'em beat !
Demo time...siding and wall removal. Love the new Deere backhoe !
A new 6x6 sill and 4x4 uprights added for support and nailers.
Inside view showing the wall.
Why couldnt I kill the wasps? Double Walls! I still dont see the purpose for the second wall of this room but there it is !
ALL PHOTOS CAN BE ENLARGED
The Main Barn
I used T-111 for the exterior wall.
This is the front wall of the old milking room, bottom sill and siding is dust...
Well its almost Thanksgiving and with it comes the weather so the rest of this barn will be waiting for me next spring. Its been like this I hear for the last 20 years so , so whats another 7 months gonna matter ! Time to start working on the house interior again until the spring !
Stay warm this winter...
