Barn II
In early 2000, I found a falling-down barn and asked the owner for permission to disassemble it. He said "no", concerned about liability and declared he would burn it soon. Well, in early January of 2001 he still hadn't burned all that treasured wood, so I asked again. This time he said "yes" as long as I'm insured. A day later, it was mine, with the agreement I would be done by April 30. Here's what it looked like the on February 1 before I got started.
It's a little hard to see things, but it's clearly in falling-down condition. To give you an idea of the size, I'm 6'4". The horizontal beam up there -- the one that looks like the top of a gallows pole, is about 16 feet long. The barn is mostly oak, with some pine. No one knows how old it is, but it's probably between 50 and 100 years old. I'm going to investigate a bit to see if I can narrow the barn's age to a more precise figure. The framing is all mortise and tenon with pegs.
I don't have to remove the silo, and I need to preserve that little building in front. With the barn already leaning out toward the white building, the challenge is on!
This will be the first wall to come down. The corn crib & implement garage is behind it.
Either she has learned the value of wonderful old oak timbers and lumber or she's just gotten used to me undertaking unusual projects (she didn't peep when I brought home tractor #3, for instance).
Stay tuned for progress pics!
These were posted on February 9th, and I've already made
good progress. More photos to be posted after I get back
from vacation after Feb. 20th.
