Gotta save this old barn
The interior - taken while standing in the milkhouse
The barn swayback problem is two-fold. First, the back (built into the wall side) is limestone and it is deteriorating. Secondly, many of the large supports are resting on spans that have rotted and are being propped up with a collection of old car jacks and cinder blocks. Before we can repair the back wall, we need to restabilize the support of the barn. To that end, we are breaking open portions of the barn floor to pour new footings for new supports to allow us to jack up the barn, straighten it, and then repair the back wall. Instead of trying to repair the old limestone, we are going to build a form and pour concrete over the stone. Oh, and we need a new roof too. Yikes.
See photos of the some of the framing stabilization (and the state of the limestone) that we did earlier this year here.
So we are in this project for real now.
Bill is scoring with the concrete saw
After scoring, we have an 18" square to jackhammer out.
Bill recently purchased a jackhammer. (I know....) It has proven to be invaluable for this project and small enough (less than 75 lbs) so I am able to also use it.
Bill is jackhammering inside one of the holes to break up stone inside the hole.
This is only about 20" - we need to continue to 42".
I purchased a new pair of gloves in July from my friends Ann and Liz at Green Heron Tools, which sells farming and work gear for women. This is the type of project that involves digging by hand - literally pulling out the gravel and stone by hand. All of this stone work has worn out the fingertips so I've got to get a new pair. I love the message on these gloves - Strong Women Building A Gentle World. When I am frustrated and tired it is very inspirational to me.
4 comments:
Wow! That is a huge project. One step at a time right? Have you come up with a new projected date for the big move?
Hi Barb,
We have pushed our move to March 2012 (instead of 2011). We are just finally finishing the apartment remodeling that we have been working on all year in Chicago as well. It always takes longer than you expect, right? :)
Always...we are constantly looking up what we thought we decided on doing three years ago & are finally getting to now :-)
Man, that looks like serious work, Angie. We've looked at buying an existing farm as an alternative to building on our property, but it's often the tumbledown outbuildings that scare us off! I applaud your efforts to save your barn--it's a beautiful structure, and deserves to go on.
All best, and a happy autumn to you~ Brett
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