Raising a barn

cat fever · Dec 18, 2015

It's always a good thing to give your own handy work a test.
We had almost a foot of fairly heavy snow a few days ago and my barn is still standing.

The snow fell off in one big avalanche front and back within a day of snowing.
Doors are being installed Monday----can hardly wait. I'll post some pictures when they are done.

Rustyiron · Dec 18, 2015

Nice build CF! I'm a big fan of "lean too's" also.
Beautiful spot you have there! Never been south of SLC but know some folks out in Heber, also beautiful.

cat fever · Dec 19, 2015

Thanks Rustyiron,

It was a lot of work, but will provide covered storage for all my equipment the rest of my life. :thumbsup:

cat fever · Dec 23, 2015

The big doors have been installed. Much warmer inside now without the wind howling through it.

I will remove the fence in the spring and put gates up on both corners. (on the end facing the field) I'm going to seal the whole perimeter inside with concrete, (spring time) and then bring in some bank run/gravel to finish the main floor area. It will not be concrete. I don't want to sweep the rest of my life, kind of OCD about having dirty floors.

I have really enjoyed building this and look forward to getting the inside the way I want it. It will have a really nice stereo come spring. :thumbsup:

Trails End · Dec 23, 2015

I've been following this thread since it's beginning, and have to chime in now!
What a fantastic job - great looking barn and spectacular scenery.

What is the name of the mountain in the background in the first picture of post#64?
What's it's elevation and what is on it's summit? I see some structures in the picture.

Thanks for sharing this project with us. Happy holidays!

cat fever · Dec 24, 2015

Thank you TE.
That particular mountain is called Farnsworth peak. Named after the guy who invented the TV. Ironically enough, the structures on it are TV and radio antenna's for the Salt Lake and surrounding valleys. The mountain range is The Oquirrh range.(pronouned O-kur) Based on Google earth it's close to 9000 feet. 5 miles south of that peak is the Kennecott copper mine, not visible from my side of the mountain.

EddieWalker · Dec 24, 2015

Just beautiful. You live in a Christmas Card setting!!!! Congratulations on making it happen, and getting it done.

Trails End · Dec 24, 2015

cat fever said:
Thank you TE.
That particular mountain is called Farnsworth peak. Named after the guy who invented the TV. Ironically enough, the structures on it are TV and radio antenna's for the Salt Lake and surrounding valleys. The mountain range is The Oquirrh range.(pronouned O-kur) Based on Google earth it's close to 9000 feet. 5 miles south of that peak is the Kennecott copper mine, not visible from my side of the mountain.

Thanks, CF for the information. I googled the area on Google maps with satellite view, and you're fortunate to live on the west
side of the Oquirrh range. The Kennecott copper mine really appears to a blight on the landscape, as most open pit mines are.

Thanks again for your response.

cat fever · Dec 24, 2015

EddieWalker said:
Just beautiful. You live in a Christmas Card setting!!!! Congratulations on making it happen, and getting it done.

Thanks Eddie,
It really does mean a lot coming from you. I have read many of your comments on other threads and have come to respect and admire your knowledge of building. So thank you.

cat fever · Feb 8, 2016

Another update on my barn.
I have wired up all the plugs that I can foresee needing. I have one light wired up just so there is light inside. I am still deciding what type of lights I want inside. The corner where I'm putting in a workbench I want well lit. The rest of the barn just needs light but not really anything special.
I have been clearing out/leveling the perimeter of the barn so that I can put in concrete. When done the whole perimeter inside will be sealed to keep the critters on the outside.

For the first time in my life, storing firewood "inside" has sure been nice. When I need more at the house I just pull the tractor up to the stacked wood and load up the bucket. Drive it up to the house and re-stack it under a covered area.
I love winter because of my sledding desire.

But I am looking forward to spring so I can get going on the rest of the work I need to do with the barn. Mostly, taking down the fence on the south side of the barn and putting up the gates from barn to existing fence. When I get this done I will post pictures.

cat fever · Mar 2, 2016

With the warm weather we have had for a couple weeks I took advantage of it by removing the fence and hydrant on the south side of my barn. The picture shows the hydrant, but it's gone now.

I will be putting up the gates on both sides within a week or two. But no hurry, the cows are in a different field.
After I cut the hay I will turn them out.

EddieWalker · Mar 2, 2016

Looks really nice. Are you going to add gutters? On my roll up door, I get water under it after a heavy rain, so I added rubber curb from Amazon.com that glues to the concrete and gives me about an inch bump that stops water from coming in under the door.

cat fever · Mar 2, 2016

I am going to have concrete poured on both doors about 4' wide. (edge of barn going inside 4') When I'm done the whole perimeter will have concrete inside. I'm hoping since it will be 3.5 to 4.0 inches higher than the surrounding ground the water should stay out.
So the short answer is no gutters at this point. But, I never say never.:laughing:

wmonroe · Mar 2, 2016

The first garage I built would get a small amount of water under the garage doors if it was a hard, driving rain. When we built our current place I had the concrete guys add a "step"where the garage door is at and this has worked perfect to keep water out.

cat fever · Mar 3, 2016

Thanks for the input, I'll talk to the concrete guy about my options. Nothing is framed or poured yet so it's not to late for anything.

EddieWalker · Mar 3, 2016

That step, or just a slope at the door would is what I needed. The crew who did my pad where supposed to do that, but it never happened. They said they forgot, and of course, I didn't notice it until they where cleaning up and the concrete was hard.

cat fever · Mar 3, 2016

A nice steep slop away from the barn is what I would like to see.
Looking forward to getting it done. Unfortunately I will be in San Antonio all next week for work so I'm a couple weeks away from starting. Then I can finish the rest of the barn floor. Road base or lime fines, anything that packs and is not real dusty will be fine.

cat fever · Mar 31, 2016

Just an update on my progress; it's been slow. Between rain and snow I can't get a cement truck back to the barn. I'm hoping within a week or two it will dry out enough to get the cement work done.