Fixing an Old Barn

[GirlWhoWantsTractor]

Unfortunately my property didn't come with much in the way of storage buildings. Now I've got a new tractor on the way, and soon some horses will be on the way. So this is what I want/need:

Horse barn (I want this new and in a sunnier location)
Place to store hay (insurance company says store in a separate building)
Covered storage for the tractor (the cars sleep outside)
Place to maintain/work on tractors and other equipment

I realize tractors/implements can sleep outside. However, I find myself neglecting maintenance on my current equipment because I don't have a clean, dry, level, covered place to do it.

So here's what I have now in the way of an existing building:



Roof and sheathing is rotten. Fascias rotten. Bottoms of vertical wood siding, you guessed it, rotten. Some rafters sketchy. Posts seem very solid. Full of mice and spiders. (Also this is my only decent sized piece of flat ground) I've never renovated one of these old barns. Do I fix it, torch it, dismantle it, or what?

If I build new, one large building or several specialized ones?

 

[EddieWalker]

If you have no emotional attachment to the building, it is always cheaper to tear it down and build new.

If you remove the building, be sure to remove all the trees around it too!!!!

Old wood is in demand, so you might make a buck if there are people in your area who are looking for old wood. Old wood is not good for new buildings!!!

Determine how big of an area you will have once the building is gone and the trees are removed. You do not have to build as big as possible, but you should plan on being able to add on to the building in the future.

Budget and time are all that matter. Nothing is better then concrete for a floor, but sometimes it's better to put money into building the shell to protect everything from the elements first, and then coming back and pouring concrete. What type of roof do you want? Metal or shingles? Pros and cons to both. What type of walls do you want? Metal, wood, Hardie or 4x8 sheets?

I would build it as big as space allowed and have all my equipment, implements and tools all under one roof. Hay barn somewhere else.

 

[GirlWhoWantsTractor]

If you have no emotional attachment to the building, it is always cheaper to tear it down and build new.

If you remove the building, be sure to remove all the trees around it too!!!!

Old wood is in demand, so you might make a buck if there are people in your area who are looking for old wood. Old wood is not good for new buildings!!!

Determine how big of an area you will have once the building is gone and the trees are removed. You do not have to build as big as possible, but you should plan on being able to add on to the building in the future.

Budget and time are all that matter. Nothing is better then concrete for a floor, but sometimes it's better to put money into building the shell to protect everything from the elements first, and then coming back and pouring concrete. What type of roof do you want? Metal or shingles? Pros and cons to both. What type of walls do you want? Metal, wood, Hardie or 4x8 sheets?

I would build it as big as space allowed and have all my equipment, implements and tools all under one roof. Hay barn somewhere else.

Attached to it? I HATE the thing! We draw straws to see who has to go in there.....dark, dirty, spidery.
Old wood is a dime a dozen around here. I couldn't give it away, but might be able to saw off the rotten ends and use it for.....something.
Tree removal not practical. The heavier wooded side drops off like a cliff, and on the other side there's another large rise that contains our buried electrical. Space is always TIGHT on this property, with small useable areas carved out of dense hilly woods.

Was thinking if I kept the barn, would strip it down to poles and rafters, throw on a metal roof, and it could provide open storage for....something.

Oh, and here's the barn I want. Ain't she purty?

 

[MossRoad]

Attached to it? I HATE the thing!

Well, that eliminates the sentimental attachment portion of our quiz....

 

[EddieWalker]

Odds are that the existing posts are not where you want them, and adjusting a plan to save a few old posts doesn't make sense.

That's a very nice barn. Nothing complicated about it, you could easily build something very similar for a lot less then what they paid for it with different finish materials.

 

[GirlWhoWantsTractor]

That's a very nice barn. Nothing complicated about it, you could easily build something very similar for a lot less then what they paid for it with different finish materials.

Yes! That's what I'm thinking: simple to build but very attractive. I plan to have a local guy build it; I can do all the finishing carpentry. Should be less than the "kit" costs. Wood is pretty cheap around here.

 

[EddieWalker]

Go with the dream and you will never regret it. Try to fix that old building and you will never be happy.

 

[GirlWhoWantsTractor]

Sorry I wasn't clear. I wasn't thinking of making that old thing into the horse barn. No way. I want the horse barn to be new, and I have another location for that. I was thinking about stripping the old barn down, new tin roof, and just using it for storage. OR buying a new building for storage. I mean, I need 3 buildings in total. Trying to figure out if this thing can be one of them.

 

[Budweiser John]

Any dry storage is better than no dry storage. As long as the building is somewhat weather tight and in no immediate danger of collapse I’de be inclined to us it as is for the Madrid of farm stuff that lives better under cover regardless of the seasonable weather conditions.
I would challenge your insurance guy regarding hay storage in a separate building from your horses as that concept creates a huge extra labor factor. For 46 years we’ve stored hay on a loft above our horse stalls and aside from the once a year Labor to load the deck it’s all down hill every day from that point on.
Regarding shop space, build what you can afford with an eye to future expansion. There are hundreds of posts out there on what constitutes a dream shop/tractor/implement storage building(s).
I wouldn’ Spend any
money on the old building until it’s time to tear it down
B. John

 

[Stimw]

You don't say what your budget is.
It all starts and stops there!

 

[2LaneCruzer]

Attached to it? I HATE the thing! We draw straws to see who has to go in there.....dark, dirty, spidery.
Old wood is a dime a dozen around here. I couldn't give it away, but might be able to saw off the rotten ends and use it for.....something.
Tree removal not practical. The heavier wooded side drops off like a cliff, and on the other side there's another large rise that contains our buried electrical. Space is always TIGHT on this property, with small useable areas carved out of dense hilly woods.

Was thinking if I kept the barn, would strip it down to poles and rafters, throw on a metal roof, and it could provide open storage for....something.

Oh, and here's the barn I want. Ain't she purty?
View attachment 558699

She's gorgeous; but where will you put your Mustang and your table saw?

 

[GirlWhoWantsTractor]

I'm hoping to not spend more than $30K on the 3 structures.

Apparently I can get a very nice Carolina Carport open structure for hay storage, and maybe extra implement storage, for around $3-4k.

Figuring a small (1 bay) wooden garage/workshop locally built might run around $10k.

Would leave around $16k to have the barn built.

Will need to get actual estimates for the last two.

 

[Budweiser John]

Better plan on a lot of sweat equity.
Permits, site work, concrete, electric, water, and interior fittings eat up s lot of $$$$.
A recent three bay garage, 28 X 40 10’ tall with three overhead doors, a pass door and three windows with a simple 4/12 pitch steel roof and concrete floor set me back 24 Grand five years ago in Michigan.

B. John

 

[bunyip]

We have an old timber structure, SWMBO thinks it is repairable but there is so much rotten timber it simply isn't worth it, I just hope a storm will do its job and save me pulling it down before someone heritage lists it.

 

[GirlWhoWantsTractor]

Better plan on a lot of sweat equity.
Permits, site work, concrete, electric, water, and interior fittings eat up s lot of $$$$.
A recent three bay garage, 28 X 40 10’ tall with three overhead doors, a pass door and three windows with a simple 4/12 pitch steel roof and concrete floor set me back 24 Grand five years ago in Michigan.

B. John

That's a pretty deluxe 3-bay garage you built. I'm talking a simple 1-bay garage. Wood is cheap here, and labor. No permits/zoning. This is Appalachia.

Barn will need elect and water; it's about 40 feet to the well; about 70 feet to electric. Garage, around 60 feet to both, but probably only want electric in the garage. I leave those jobs to the experts. Possible extra cost will be if I need to upgrade my electric service.

Still, we'll see when I get hard estimates. If I have to increase my budget a bit, I will.

 

[GirlWhoWantsTractor]

We have an old timber structure, SWMBO thinks it is repairable but there is so much rotten timber it simply isn't worth it, I just hope a storm will do its job and save me pulling it down before someone heritage lists it.

haha. You can't swing a cat around here without hitting a weathered-grey falling-down 50-100 year old farm building. And mine is not special, as you can see. Was prolly just a tractor shed back in the day.

I actually wish people around here valued these old structures more. The old farmer retires or dies, and the kids put up a trailer on the property and let the old house/barns rot.

Anyone hankering for some gen-u-wine weathered-grey barnwood, come on up. They'll pay you to take it.

 

[Oldtractorfixer]

I'm hoping to not spend more than $30K on the 3 structures.

Apparently I can get a very nice Carolina Carport open structure for hay storage, and maybe extra implement storage, for around $3-4k.

Figuring a small (1 bay) wooden garage/workshop locally built might run around $10k.

Would leave around $16k to have the barn built.

Will need to get actual estimates for the last two.

My initial thought was to bulldoze that building but then I reread what you said. Maybe some more research. If you cleaned it out and l it down you would most likely eliminate the critters. Then if you could add a few rafters to carry the rotten ones you might be able to just cover the roof and sides in new steel. That would eliminate a lot of labor in tear down. If you start stripping the roof and sides you'll have more labor involved than just starting over.

Whatever you do don't make the door too small on the shop. Your next tractor may have a cab or who knows. Door needs to be at least 10ft high 12ft is better. Width about the same. Think about that 4wd crew cab dually you'll buy some day and want to change oil on in the winter.

 

[Oldtractorfixer]

My initial thought was to bulldoze that building but then I reread what you said. Maybe some more research. If you cleaned it out and l it down you would most likely eliminate the critters. Then if you could add a few rafters to carry the rotten ones you might be able to just cover the roof and sides in new steel. That would eliminate a lot of labor in tear down. If you start stripping the roof and sides you'll have more labor involved than just starting over.

Whatever you do don't make the door too small on the shop. Your next tractor may have a cab or who knows. Door needs to be at least 10ft high 12ft is better. Width about the same. Think about that 4wd crew cab dually you'll buy some day and want to change oil on in the winter.

Make that "sprayed it down"

 

[GirlWhoWantsTractor]

My initial thought was to bulldoze that building but then I reread what you said. Maybe some more research. If you cleaned it out and l it down you would most likely eliminate the critters. Then if you could add a few rafters to carry the rotten ones you might be able to just cover the roof and sides in new steel. That would eliminate a lot of labor in tear down. If you start stripping the roof and sides you'll have more labor involved than just starting over.

Whatever you do don't make the door too small on the shop. Your next tractor may have a cab or who knows. Door needs to be at least 10ft high 12ft is better. Width about the same. Think about that 4wd crew cab dually you'll buy some day and want to change oil on in the winter.

Thanks for thinking about it a little more in depth. I appreciate it, and all the comments.

Agree the stripdown would send most of the critters running.

Roof/sheathing is 100% a strip job. No question there.

I hate to throw away even one board. But I realize sometimes it costs more effort/money to try to fix something. If I could reuse some of the wood I'd feel better.

If the barn was more special it would be an easier decision. But it's really just a 60-year-old tractor shed. Looking at the pics I took just this morning, am realizing it has deteriorated a lot in 5 years. Used to be a lot more charming.

I hear you on the door; thinking 9 foot. If I ever have a cab, pretty sure it won't be on THIS property.

 

[GirlWhoWantsTractor]

She's gorgeous; but where will you put your Mustang and your table saw?

Not in there! Horses/tack only.

Already have a basement workshop for the table saw. But need a garage workshop as well for equipment maintenance, obv.

Cars sleep outside, including the BMW. I think my priorities are correct.