Building an "old fashioned appearance" new barn

[Iplayfarmer]

Ready to set trusses tomorrow morning.

The quality of your workmanship is exceptional. I'm loving watching this build progress.

 

[linanddave]

Just finished reading the whole thread. Looking great. Love the fact that you are doing it by yourself, with help of your wife of course. The title of the thread is what got us to look at it. I with my wife have been doing an old look Monitor barn for some time now, four years to be exact. We are just now getting to start closing in the sides.
Doing it by yourself can not be fully appreciated until one has actually done it. We appauld you and your efforts.
Below is a picture of where we are at this time.

If you like you can check us out in the general section with the following link.

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/projects/245684-72-year-old-couple-build.html

Anyway keep up the good work and keep up the pictures.

 

[schweizer]

linanddave, your barn is awesome. I saw your thread a while back and was following it, too.

Thanks for the kind comments everyone. Here are some pictures from the past week. On Fri, July 13, I hired a friend and the boom truck from the local lumberyard and we set the trusses in place. Then, on Sunday, I started cutting rafters for the West side of the roof.

 

[MoreBoostPlease]

Absolutely beautiful. Can't wait to see the finished product.

 

[MoreBoostPlease]

Absolutely beautiful. Can't wait to see the finished product.

 

[jsimp2861]

Very nice, wish I had one, would love to get the sawmill running again and cut my own boards and build one.

 

[deamer1]

Marcus, I like your barn plans and your ideas. I have something you may be interested in. Our barn is (was) almost identical to what you are describing and planing to build. To get close to looking authentic I feel you will have to get creative, but it is doable. I wish you well with your project. Our barn was built in 1938. It is complete today as it was built then with the exception of one side had a lean-to or some sloping roof area approximately 8-10 ft. wide which had been removed when I bought the farm. (The foundation is still in place.) This barn was originally a dairy barn and the lower level and hay loft area is complete now as it was then. In the hay loft is mounted a complete hay trolley system minus the original ropes. If you would be interested I can send some photos. I have no plans to do anything with it, it's been sitting there since the barn was built. Wishing you well with your project.
Deamer1

 

[schweizer]

@MoreBoostPlease & jsimp2861: Thank you!

@deamer1: Yes, please! Does that mean you're interested in selling the trolley? I'd love to have more photos! I take pics of old barns that are relatively intact, when I have the chance, just to get ideas. I'm most interested in a new internal structure and the exterior having an old-fashioned appearance, but having a bunch of internal old stuff would be great when I find OK deals.

Marcus

 

[deamer1]

Marcus,
I'll take some photos and send them to you. I'm reassembling a tractor at the present, so it may be a day or two before I send them.
Keep up the good work!
Deamer1

 

[FarmLady]

Gorgeous! All of it--the setting, the home, the project: wow! This thread will never be 'dead' because there will always be folks like me discovering it anew. Early on you mentioned planning a hay trolley system. I recommend that you look at the book Haying With Horses by Lynn Miller. It is, despite the title, about all aspects of producing, storing, and handling hay. It's a treasure-trove of info (photos, diagrams, descriptions) re different systems for moving hay, getting it into the barn, and handling it once it's in the barn, including detailed pictures of hanging track-and-trolley systems. We inherited some of that same antique hay-moving hardware with our place, long since removed when they had to shore up the barn roof, however. We are trying out harvesting our own hay this year, even though we don't have enough barn space to store it all. Lynn Miller is out your way in Oregon, as you may know; he's the editor of Small Farmer's Journal which also has articles about haying from time to time. The CT River Valley is full of old tobacco barns, most still in use tho' not necessarily to dry tobacco. My town still produces tobacco & we have several of them right on our road. I get to watch the whole tobacco producing process & it's mighty interesting. Our barn is a small version of the classic tobacco barn. Since our kitchen floor (built 1870s) is made of the exact same planking as the barn, I often wonder whether house & barn were made from a dismantled tobacco barn. Congratulations on your barn! You must be so proud!
Jocelyn the Farm Lady
P.S. It has been painted since this was taken!!