The West Side
This was the first side of the barn that I worked on since it is the first view you see when you look out of our kitchen window. Because of the brush and trees you couldnt get within 15 feet of the barn sides . It amazed me that anyone could let the brush get that much out of control. There were 3 large trees growing up against the barn's foundation that were removed and shrubs/briars ripped out to open up the sides. After removing the brush and stumps I realized that the damage was more significant to the lower siding then I had anticipated. It was only the siding though, all of the lower structural beams were still rock solid and were not of much concern to me.
Here is how that loft door looks now.
I was able to just tighten up the original door and then I added a frame to dress it off. During a visit 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 !
This entryway was a mess as you can see in the photo. From all of the years of exposure to the weather and wear from use, I had to remove the old sill and replace it. I repacked the base stone and added a new 6x8 sill beam then capped it with a 1x10 for a better transition to the floor.
I am trying to keep this barn with as much of its original materials as physically and sensibly possible which left me with a big decision to make. I really did not want to lose this entire wall of siding just because of the bottom 18" of damage. I decided to cut out all the rotted wood , replace it with same thickness of wood and then overlay the entire base with 1 inch pine boarding that acts as a cover and also a splash board to protect the lower beams.
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Once the entryway was set I built some new doors out of pine. I tried to save the old strap hangers to use on the new doors but they were worthless in their condition. Then I added a small fence behind the right side to use as a door stop and it looks nice too. Also in this photo you can see the small loft door above the entryway. Of course I had to fix that up too.
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Some fine tuning and a couple new windows added.This side is almost done. All thats left to do is paint the door red and the sophet white.
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