220 Years Gone In 30 Minutes

[BoylermanCT]

That is a pretty barn! Too bad it had to go. I would have come for some lumber for sure!

Where did you get your new pole barn kit from?

Bought the kit from DIYPoleBarns.com. They have a very good website that allows you to design your barn online with whatever options you want. Price was very good too.

 

[BoylermanCT]

I can see by your measurements that you are going to wish you would have built a larger building.

Yes, I know that. But I can't afford a larger building. This one will get me and the Mrs everything we have on our list. I am also having a 30x30 lean to off the peaked end. Two 12'x30' parking areas for trailers and a pontoon boat we want to get someday and space at the far end for my firewood bins so they can season in the sun but be under a roof.

 

[BoylermanCT]

BoylermanCT, thanks for sharing the story! What will you keep in your new barn?

Right now I will keep the tractor and zero turn mower in the tractor bay. Would like to someday get a 4 post car lift as well. The chickens and ducks will move out of their coop into the barn as well. We don't have horses yet, but want to get a couple of Frisians. My wife wants Nigerian Goats, so I am sure we will end up with 2-3 of those. I've always wanted to raise a beef cow, so there is room in the barn for him too.

Insurance paid me $10K to replace the barn roof due to hail damage. It did not make sense to put that into the old barn, so I am putting it towards a new one that will last longer than I will.

 

[s219]

Bought the kit from DIYPoleBarns.com. They have a very good website that allows you to design your barn online with whatever options you want. Price was very good too.

I had priced up a 24x24 kit from them over the summer and they were a bit high compared to local lumber prices, but I couldn't make an apples to apples comparison so they best I could guess is they were about 20-30% higher. I may go back and try again, as I liked the website, and the idea of having everything dropped off on site as a single kit is very appealing.

 

[ovrszd]

220 years old and lumber was not hand hewn.

Yeah, I was wondering that. I would expect hand hewn and wood pinned.

 

[Threepoint]

Right now I will keep the tractor and zero turn mower in the tractor bay. Would like to someday get a 4 post car lift as well. The chickens and ducks will move out of their coop into the barn as well. We don't have horses yet, but want to get a couple of Frisians. My wife wants Nigerian Goats, so I am sure we will end up with 2-3 of those. I've always wanted to raise a beef cow, so there is room in the barn for him too.

Insurance paid me $10K to replace the barn roof due to hail damage. It did not make sense to put that into the old barn, so I am putting it towards a new one that will last longer than I will.

Exciting and ambitious plans! That new barn is going to fill up quick! :laughing:

I admire your enthusiasm! If you and the Mrs. don't have much actual prior experience keeping horses, pygmy goats and cows, best thought I can offer is: Do a lot of research about it, and go slowly adding critters. It can quickly overwhelm you, especially if you're also working full-time.

The little Nigerian goats are wonderful, but they present real challenges keeping them safe and out of mischief.

 

[fried1765]

220 New England winters will do that to a barn!

I have a 290 year old New England house.
I still live in it!
Built in 1730 and is mostly saw cut lumber, except floor timbers.
Rafters/collar ties are pegged together, and hand made nails used where necessary.
Roof is intentionally bowed (by shipwrights), with vertical boarding over purlins.

Many 1"+ pine boards throughout are up to 24" wide.
Just had a new $$$$ Western red cedar shingle roof done this Summer.

No insulation,(no sidewall airspace) except for some corn cobs in ceiling.
Cold as he11 in winter, & hard to heat.
I spend Winters in FL. for that very reason.

When insurance company inquired about wiring updates, I explained that I did not have any dates, but was told by old neighbor that the original electrician was a guy named Franklin.
Insurance agent did not understand.

 

[bunyip]

National Trust would have slapped a preservation order on it here and made YOU pay for the restoration.

 

[BoylermanCT]

Exciting and ambitious plans! That new barn is going to fill up quick! :laughing:

I admire your enthusiasm! If you and the Mrs. don't have much actual prior experience keeping horses, pygmy goats and cows, best thought I can offer is: Do a lot of research about it, and go slowly adding critters. It can quickly overwhelm you, especially if you're also working full-time.

The little Nigerian goats are wonderful, but they present real challenges keeping them safe and out of mischief.

Thanks. We have experience with horses. My wife grew up on a horse farm and she and her sister kept up to 8 horses of their own and for borders. We currently have chickens and ducks, cats and dogs. No experience with goats or a beef cow, but I do like the idea of knowing what's in the steak we eat!

 

[BoylermanCT]

National Trust would have slapped a preservation order on it here and made YOU pay for the restoration.

That would put me into bankruptcy!

The town in CT I grew up in tried to pass a law to stop de-forestation that said if a tree fell in your yard, you had to replace it with a new tree of similar size. Residents pointed out that in order to get a truck in with a large tree, you would probably have to remove a dozen trees to get to the one that needed to be replaced.

I have no problem with the government requiring me to restore old buildings as long as they pay for it! The problem with socialism is eventually you run out of other people's money!

 

[BoylermanCT]

Yeah, I was wondering that. I would expect hand hewn and wood pinned.

The barn was post and beam with wooden pegs, but not hand hewn so apparently no one wants the wood. I was surprised.

 

[4570Man]

National Trust would have slapped a preservation order on it here and made YOU pay for the restoration.

It would be a shame if it burnt.

 

[BoylermanCT]

It would be a shame if it burnt.

I was thinking the same thing! I'm a firefighter, and I asked my chief if we could burn it down. Unfortunately the garage is 15 feet from the barn and we probably would have lost the garage in the process. Plus they frown on burning asphalt shingles so we would have had to strip off the shingles, and the decking would not support a person on the roof. Would have saved me money on the demo permit. No permit needed for fire dept burns.

 

[fried1765]

I was thinking the same thing! I'm a firefighter, and I asked my chief if we could burn it down. Unfortunately the garage is 15 feet from the barn and we probably would have lost the garage in the process. Plus they frown on burning asphalt shingles so we would have had to strip off the shingles, and the decking would not support a person on the roof. Would have saved me money on the demo permit. No permit needed for fire dept burns.

Apparently your chief has never heard of "Barricade".
It is a GEL product that was invented/developed some years ago by a Hobe Sound, Fl. firefighter to provide relatively short term fire protection to the exterior of threatened buildings.
It is a very unique product (sprayed on with a garden hose), and relatively inexpensive as well.
I suspect that had you known about it, you could have safely burned your barn, while not endangering your garage.

Check it out at: Barricade Fire Gel
Folks living in a likely forest fire area should keep some on hand.
A four gallon home kit is $550, and will cover about 2800 sq.ft.

I have no personal/financial interest in the company.
I just consider the product to be a great idea.
I recently sold my home in thick pine forest.

 

[clemsonfor]

I have no idea about how rural parts of CT are but it could be like our area. Our FD that I am a volunteer with operates on a $5,000 budget for all year. The county pays insurance, fuel and major repairs to the building. Untill several years ago there was not a single paid fire fighter in the whole county even to cover areas in town.

 

[ovrszd]

The barn was post and beam with wooden pegs, but not hand hewn so apparently no one wants the wood. I was surprised.

Me too. Thanks for the added pics. I look at them and try to imagine the crew working there that day.

 

[BoylermanCT]

I have no idea about how rural parts of CT are but it could be like our area. Our FD that I am a volunteer with operates on a $5,000 budget for all year. The county pays insurance, fuel and major repairs to the building. Untill several years ago there was not a single paid fire fighter in the whole county even to cover areas in town.

There are 45 towns in Litchfield county CT with over 180k people total. Only 1 town has paid fire fighters. The other 44 are all volunteer. We are funded for equipment and training etc, but not for salaries. There is a special bond between people who go into burning buildings for free! Our town also has no police dept, so we respond to all car accidents and medical emergencies. Still trying to figure out why my taxes are so high!

 

[BoylermanCT]

Apparently your chief has never heard of "Barricade".
It is a GEL product that was invented/developed some years ago by a Hobe Sound, Fl. firefighter to provide relatively short term fire protection to the exterior of threatened buildings.
It is a very unique product (sprayed on with a garden hose), and relatively inexpensive as well.
I suspect that had you known about it, you could have safely burned your barn, while not endangering your garage.

Check it out at: Barricade Fire Gel
Folks living in a likely forest fire area should keep some on hand.
A four gallon home kit is $550, and will cover about 2800 sq.ft.

I have no personal/financial interest in the company.
I just consider the product to be a great idea.
I recently sold my home in thick pine forest.

Interesting sounding product. How safe is it for the environment? Following the B-17 crash at Bradley Airport in CT a few months ago, the State has banned use of the firefighting foam the airport and all fire depts in CT use because it contains PFAS which they have deemed a grave hazard. We have to incinerate our foam supply and buy all new foam which they say is safer, for now!

 

[BoylermanCT]

Me too. Thanks for the added pics. I look at them and try to imagine the crew working there that day.

It is amazing to think this barn was in use during the War of 1812, Civil War etc. If it could talk, the stories it would tell.

 

[ovrszd]

There are 45 towns in Litchfield county CT with over 180k people total. Only 1 town has paid fire fighters. The other 44 are all volunteer. We are funded for equipment and training etc, but not for salaries. There is a special bond between people who go into burning buildings for free! Our town also has no police dept, so we respond to all car accidents and medical emergencies. Still trying to figure out why my taxes are so high!

Our County is similarly funded. One town big enough to have it's own fire district with one paid fire marshal, the rest volunteers. Three rural districts. The rural districts are all volunteer.

There are 9 towns in my County with 8,500 people total. 726 square miles.