Above 1200 Sq/FT 1899 Barn clean out and organization

[BSAschields]

Finally starting to get to me and as we will soon be living here full time its time to start cleaning out the barn... It was empty when we moved there 10 years ago . so this is all the mess I made during restoration of the house and out buildings.... I could not bring my self to through anything away while I thought it could be repurposed for some other project... Now its a noose around my neck and its time for a clean out... More importantly an organization and self intervention...

Here is the barn which you have probably seen before but not in recent threads...

Currently 8o degrees here so no snow on the ground currently but I like the photo


The bottom floor is where all of the junk is and will hopefully be the easiest to decide what is of no use any more.







The top floor is more motorcycle , wood working tools and collectibles.... That where the origination will come into play more




More photos of that floor later the server says they are too big of files so I will fix that and repost

 

[j p smith]

Cool building! hoping the clean out and reorg goes well!

 

[BSAschields]

Here we go --- resized ... Those Pano photos can get to be pretty big files....

This will be like christmas when I unpack and organize all the bins and boxes of the stuff I've collected over the years...

Find everything home and sell what I dont think I will ever use.... Do I really need 5 A65 motors? Maybe... Could I sell them and put the money towards one of my projects .. Maybe

 

[jollygreengiant]

Very excited to see what you do with the barn! I have a soft spot for old barns/buildings so I'll be watching this closely.

You said you were restoring a house and outbuildings? Any pics of those?

 

[MacTexas]

This looks like a thread I need to follow. Nice barn.

 

[BSAschields]

Thanks !! It will be a slow process to start since we dont live there yet .... But progress will be made... It has too.

I will post photos of the house and out buildings ... Have to dig some up or take some new ones .
Some of the outbuildings can be seen in my other thread ...

Temporary Satisfaction

 

[BSAschields]

One outbuilding before and afters

Some people thought I should tear it down but I couldnt bring myself to do that so I concreted the floor and redid the walls and beefed up the structural beams .... Been a good car garage ever since.... With the exception of keeping the mice out is a struggle and they are living in my Chevelle too much

 

[BSAschields]

This building didnt need as much work but it was spreading out and would have fallen down soon enough so I added rafters to hold the walls together and then replaced the front doors with some wood I had left over from another project.

 

[tj675]

Looking forward to your adventure!

 

[BSAschields]

I replaced the roof on the gazebo that was there when we bough the place .... I used Cedar shingles and learned as I went... Never did anything like that before... It is still holding up but we never use the thing.... Occasionally I will grab a beer when its storming and sit out there and look out at the property ...

 

[BSAschields]

Several things happening in these photos but all kind of related ... As in Repurposing wood.... Which is why the Barn is in the mess that it is.... First you will see photos of the wall in our basement. I used the old wood that I took off of the first outbuilding and finished off the basement with it. Just trimmed off the rotten bottoms (it was vertical on the garage) then used it horizontally in the basement.

Then you will see a bunch of beams and old 2x4s ... Actually 2 x4 and 2x6s not the smaller things we buy now a days.... This wood came from a farm that they torn down a few years ago 1/2 mile down the road ... I drove by one day without knowing it was happening... They were burning everything... I asked if I could have it and they agreed ,,, and delivered it to us... Only thing I have used so far is the main beam which was 35 ft long ... It has now been cut down into 3 pieces and two of them are now archways in the house... Photos of that later.

Then you will see the kitchen ... We took out the ceiling and raised it... The kitchen story is much more involved and could be its own thread but basically turned into gutting 2 rooms to become one... Tearing out a wall , raising the floor which meant raising the back door and so forth and so forth.... Never ending rabbit hole.... We still dont have a working kitchen.... but I have now ordered the cabinets so we are getting closer.






















I have a lot of books ... mostly photography coffee table books so I built a bookshelf to hold them.... Ive built 3 more since then... Still need more.

 

[msharley]

One outbuilding before and afters

Some people thought I should tear it down but I couldnt bring myself to do that so I concreted the floor and redid the walls and beefed up the structural beams .... Been a good car garage ever since.... With the exception of keeping the mice out is a struggle and they are living in my Chevelle too much

RAMICK will cure your mouse problems...

Like what you did with that!!

 

[BSAschields]

Since we have been the owners of this house we have meet two previous owners... And they each in turn gave us old ariel photos that were taken while they lived there.... The older photo was given to us by the grandson of the man who built the house , barn and the original outbuildings... Besides the house and barn , I believe only the apple shed (first red garage I posted ) and the chicken coup are still the original structures ...

 

[Kevkx125]

Nice spread BSA I assume it is in ny state? where about?

 

[jollygreengiant]

I love seeing the old pictures, nice to see the history behind a place.

How much land do you have there? I'm assuming it was severed off from the farm long ago.

 

[BSAschields]

The farm use to be 90 acres but most of it was sold off. Previous owner had 10 acres but sold some off to put on a metal roof and put new windows in the house so we are left with 5.25 acres... 10 would have been nice but Its a great piece of it... Lots of hills and trees.....and trails along the edge woods for riding dirt bikes... Enough trees and mature bushes that we cant see too many of the neighbors.... It is also at the beginning of hours and hours of Orchards. I can ride my BSAs or Triumphs pretty much all day without leaving orchards and or very little traffic. Gotta watch for deer... Ive hit one already on my bike... They dont scare me in my car anymore...
The property is about 20 miles from Gettysburg PA.

 

[ChefRex]

Very nice property, hate deer unless they're on my plate, had one hit me a few years ago, cleaned a saddlebag off but I stayed upright, draws needed changing though.
Folowing along!

 

[Kevkx125]

Cool you are in PA, sounds like we just might have to be more then internet friends L.O.L. The area sounds great for riding motorcycles!

 

[DennisK]

A65's as in BSA' s or Continental A65's, Need any B25's or Matchless?

 

[BSAschields]

Cool you are in PA, sounds like we just might have to be more then internet friends L.O.L. The area sounds great for riding motorcycles!

It is in deed ... Lets ride .... By next summer I should be in PA full time ... Maybe a work transition period but I hope to not have an apartment in the city anymore by then. So Ill have more time to wrench and ride.... But if it works out now we can ride now or just have a beer or something ...

I see you are not that far from Oley.... Two great motorcycle events there... Great roads out that was too but a lot more traffic it seems.

 

[BSAschields]

A65's as in BSA' s or Continental A65's, Need any B25's or Matchless?

BSA A65s ... I would love to have a Matchless.... Small bikes interest me too so a B25 is not out of the question... I just ordered the kitchen cabinets and still need to save for countertops so right now might not be the perfect time to tempt me with more motorcycles but ....... Lets see what you've got....

 

[BSAschields]

Well I havent made any progress with cleaning out the barn.. Its cold out there and plenty to do in the house. The whole downstair rooms were filled with kitchen stuff that never got unpacked since we moved house 10 years ago.... Boy oh boy doest it feel good to be making such progress on the kitchen!!! Stuff is getting put away and edited down accordingly .... The house is more relaxing to be in now that its not filled with unpacked boxes













The basement got messed up as well during the kitchen remodel due to plumbing and electrician work. So now that is going to get a good cleaning... I dont want to put the stuff back in the room it was in. That room will become my Black and white darkroom .... I miss printing... By then the weather should be better and I can get back to cleaning the barn....



Maybe I am a hoarder ???? Doesnt feel like it when Im in it.... And when I think all my stuff is cool stuff.... I'll find out when it comes time to getting rid of something I really care about

 

[Lookin4'67Galaxieconv]

Cassette tapes, you must be at least 45...lol. I'm 51 and still have a load of 'em.

Great thread. I'd love to have a spread like this someday out in the country.

 

[don long]

Looks like a nice place out in the countryside. Love the use of old wood. wish I could find more but I'm in so Cal and that stuff isn't around here much. I too like old collectables and organizing them is a full time project.
Good luck with the old barn projects

Don

 

[BSAschields]

Cassette tapes, you must be at least 45...lol. I'm 51 and still have a load of 'em.

Great thread. I'd love to have a spread like this someday out in the country.

I am indeed.... Dug out all of my cassettes when I got my 95 Ford F150 and it had a cassette player... Takes me back... Maybe too far back



Don , I got a lot of this old wood is from tearing down my own siding when replacing it and most of the beams are from an old farm house some idiot tore down half a mile away and put up a trailer instead :/ He was burning the beams until I stopped him and rescued them.... Im getting some good use of them....

 

[captain14]

First time I saw this thread BSA, I’ve followed your other thread with the small shop in the recently acquired shed.

How much time are you able to spend at this place if you’ve lived in NYC I’m assuming working for a living? And able to accomplish some of the projects you’ve shown us.

 

[BSAschields]

First time I saw this thread BSA, I’ve followed your other thread with the small shop in the recently acquired shed.

How much time are you able to spend at this place if you’ve lived in NYC I’m assuming working for a living? And able to accomplish some of the projects you’ve shown us.

I try to be there every weekend but its a 3 hour drive each way so I take breaks some weekends so I dont burn out... And 6 plus hours in the car really cuts into my productive time. But I feel pretty good about what we have accomplished in the 10 years we have been there considering we also have to mow the grass and we always make time to hang out with friends on Saturday night.... So we never sit down and sometime we skip meals cause we are just pushing on and forget to eat.... The only thing that I regret not having enough time for is my motor head projects... Motorcycles, Cars and maintaining the Ford 9N tractor better.... Keeping them running takes too much time now and actually building the projects may have to wait till we live there full time.... Which could be in the next year hopefully.... But the more we accomplish now, house wise , then the more time I will have to dive into the projects Id rather be doing later. The Kitchen was the big one. Time wise and money ... The wife was always saying that I cant build a garage until we have a kitchen... Well that is almost done so that wont be an excuse any more once we have the countertops... (another big expense I need to save for) Although she has been a trooper in not stopping be from acquiring all of the rare BSA projects and getting the free shed kitted out for the workshop ... So really the proper garage is the only thing she put her foot down on.... Fair enough.... Its nice having working appliances now , so I get her point...

Also To answer your question better. My wife is a school teacher in the city so when I am not working we spend as much time as we can at the house in the summer... Loads of work gets done then... Im freelance so sometimes I can have off a week at a time but that varies and I have been really busy the last couple of years.

 

[82355]

More pictures of the barn? What are you going to do with it? I love old barns.

Martin

 

[BSAschields]

Well ... I have done sh*t in the barn lately .... But the Kitchen is looking great

The plan is to stop finding vintage motorcycle part and other cool stuff that follows me home.. What was a nicely organized barn 10 year ago has become a pile of stuff that I have to move something out of the way just to get a bike out to ride ... or to get to something I need in another pile of stuff... My choice (if I had one) would be to build another barn or better yet a nice modern comfort kinda garage. Short of that .... The plan is .... I have loads and loads of wall cabinets and storage cabinets that I bought with the intention of using in my fancy new garage that isnt going to happen... SO ...All of these empty cabinets are taking up space. I will use the existing buildings I have and hang the wall cabinets and use the other vintage storage cabinets in those to store all of the stuff that needs a home.... Clearing needed space in the barn . The barn used to look more like a working museum ... Thats what I want again.... Space to build and working on bikes and cars. There is a dedicated wood working area that also needs to have a good purge ....

The lower level of the barn have become a dumping ground for all of the wood and doors removed from the house when doing projects.... While I have used much of it when rebuilding things , a lot could be reorganized or just thrown away as I near the end of the house remodel.

The trick will be to NOT bring home more stuff to fill the cleared floor space... That has happened several times over the years... Get the place looking great with lots of clear floor space then 5 more bike projects appear... RESTRAINT !!!

Here are some photos from over the years.... Mostly of the bike area... Which has become most of the barn.

These are in various states of cleanliness and all are taken in a way that tried to make it look presentable... Its much worse now.

 

[BSAschields]

two examples of how the space fills up quickly.... I drive to a motorcycle shop auction in NH with the intention of buying two rims that I needed for my 1958 BSA B33 project . Willing to pay 200 buck for them , they are not for sale individually but as a whole lot... I got 37 rims for 150 bucks... and another lot consisting of a few headlights I needed , 4 bins of headlights later ect ect...

Then another time I find a 1931 BSA Sloper in a basement in brooklyn for sale... Just the story alone cant be passed up .. let alone a rare and cool bike... Subsequently another rare BSA from the same basement follows me home a month later....

Friends call and say they know where there are 4 BSA motors and frames someone wants to get rid of.... and wala ... the barn is full.... Will I build all of these bikes? Use all of these parts.... Maybe ... Maybe not... Should I trade all of the parts for running bikes. Maybe... Easier said than done.... The rare bikes will be my first build priority .... After I have my mind and my space clear....

 

[BSAschields]

Another justification (to myself and more importantly to my wife) that I keeps the tide rolling in is that part of my income is renting out my bikes and cars to photoshoots so I need them and I need more
This was for a Bloomingdales catalogue that friend of my was shooting







And of course I do enjoy riding the ones that run.... Last weekend , friends and I decided to meet up in the Outer Banks with our BSAs and do a bit of drinking and riding and eating and bullshitting ....

 

[BSAschields]

More pictures of the barn? What are you going to do with it? I love old barns.

Martin

This garage and the other outbuild I use as a garage are too small to do much but I think if I hang the wall cabinets and otherwise utilize the vertical space, I can clean up some of the stuff in the barn.... Exhaust pipes , tanks , rims and other light stuff will all hang on the walls and rafters... Motors and other heavy things can be put on shelves and try to keep the mice out of them.

 

[Old Man Roger]

More pics of the 67 please. And is that chrome lady holding a wheel an actually bicycle?

 

[captain14]

Maybe downsize a little bit. Get rid of the 8 foot pickup truck bed and replace it with 6 1/2 foot bed to start.

Is the barn weathertight? No roof leaks and how much stuff is blown in through the cracks?

Mice will get everywhere and destroy everything is no time.

 

[ZRX61]

I rented 8 of my bikes out many years ago for a photo/video shoot. Got a call from the woman in charge who offered me $100/bike per day. She upped the offer when I pointed out everyone else paid $400/bike per day around the LA area. Rather profitable day

 

[BSAschields]

More pics of the 67 please. And is that chrome lady holding a wheel an actually bicycle?

The silver lady was a sculpture by a Philadelphian artist that I found at an auction in Harrisburg many years ago... DT Howard's motorcycle shop went out of business due to health issues . So many great signs and motorcycles there.... I would up with Scaffolding and a cloth British flag. and this sculpture ... Its basically a mannequin on bicycle wheels mounted to a base. The bidding got pretty hot and heavy... My wife who tried to stop me from going to the auction at all was doing the bidding .... She won obviously ... At my expense... I only went the there for the scaffolding that I needed to do work on the barn. I figured , who goes to the motorcycle auction for scaffolding? "i'll get a good deal" Which I did... My wife went along to keep me from buying more motorcycles I guess... But spent my money on the sculpture instead


As far as an 8 ft bed verses a shorter bed... I don't know why anyone would want a shorter bed apart from stopping themselves from being able to haul things like a sheet of plywood or 8 ft 2x4s or 3 motorcycles or anything else I need my truck for. . I get compliments on my truck everywhere I go... An older couple last weekend at AutoZone wouldn't stop talking about how happy it made them to see a real truck... Their words not mine

ZRX61 - That was a good day for you... I have never rented that many bikes at once... Good for you.
It literally is a major part of my income. I have tripled my investment on at least 4 of my more popular bikes. My Triumph TT Special paid for itself the first time I rented it . For a Maybelline TV commercial that was a three day shoot. With stunt riders and all. I heard each stunt rider made over 100 grand in residuals by the time it was said and done. In the final result that aired on TV you could only see the mirror and handlebar of my bike ...
Here is that bike.....


Another good investment for me was a early 60s BSA C15 that was a rolling frame with a motor and tank . I paid 200 dollars for it at a BSA owners club event and rented it a month later as a stationary prop for a fashion show for 1700 bucks. All they did was put it on a stage and through blankets over it....
Other bikes I have that I think are prettier never or rarely get rented. The red Lightning pictured above has only been rented once in the whole time I have been doing this. Its one moment in the spotlight was for a Corcoran commercial ... I'll post a link if I can find it.

 

[BSAschields]

Some more jobs Ive done















Two more of the Chevelle with the wife in all three. She has been there through it all... She even once told me I should get more bikes and cars ... I was renting them out several times a month at that point.... I wish it was that busy again.. And I really wish I had recorded her saying that !!!







Some more of the barn and of the silver lady when I first put her up on the shelf

 

[Old Man Roger]

What a coincidence you showed your car on fifth Avenue. Back in the 80’s I used to deliver blood to a lab in that area while driving a 1966 Chevelle. It had 67 tail lights.

 

[BSAschields]

Take a look at this prewar British family's photo album from my collection. Every photograph is dated 1925 or 1926. Some have the town name as well. They are riding a BSA outfit and another motorcycle that is a V-twin with solid wheels. I havent figured out what it is yet
Anyway . How cool would it be to follow in their footstep (or tire tracks) and see some of the sites that they saw.

There is no sound so put on you favorite prewar song and enjoy a turn through time.

 

[Old Man Roger]

I know it's not right, but the solid wheel bike engine looks a lot like an old Enfield or BSA. I know there were a ton of weird looking v twins though.