Good Bones?

[letz4wheel]

Here is the gist. I am starting with a block barn that has been neglected the last 20-25 years. I bought this property 3 years ago. The house was in about the same shape. Still isn't alot better I will get some better pics soon but this is the pic I have now.
The story goes like this. I get a call about 11 am from the guy that is going to replace the roof. He tells me the cost of the new roofing and labor to remove and replace. Good deal I said When can you star. He says how about today. I have no idea what time he got started but at 4:30 he had the old roofing loaded on his trailer and ready to go to the scrapper. My guess is that in 4 hours he removed 720 square foot of old, nasty and cheap barn metal. I really don't think he liked the fact that it was put on using ring shank nails in oak lumber
The other side goes tomorrow I would imagine.


Uploaded with ImageShack.us

 

[TommyD]

It didn't fall down nor did he fall through...seems good to me.

I wish I had me an old barn.

 

[Dan in Pasadena]

Cool. What kind of roofing will it be replaced with? More pics please. Any chance this'll be a traditional red barn when done?

 

[NASMAN]

Definitely need more pictures and info.

 

[Dan in Pasadena]

Oh by the way, iN answer to your title question: This looks like it has EXCELLENT "bones".

 

[letz4wheel]

It didn't fall down nor did he fall through...seems good to me.

I wish I had me an old barn.

So far so good

Cool. What kind of roofing will it be replaced with? More pics please. Any chance this'll be a traditional red barn when done?

Danged if I know. The fight is on over that. I want a green roof and the GF wants a red roof.
I will put it out here for a vote...red or green. Lets hear it!

There are 3 stalls inside which will be removed. At some point I would like to see concrete, but it won't be today The main thing I want is it to be somewhat watertight to allow storage for the mowers and a small workshop. When I first bought the place I removed the electric lines because they were bare from the sun rot. I plan on at least some lights for now and hopefully a bit of amprage for a saw and some minimal stuff. Might even run it off the genny for a bit...remember this is budget
The wing,which you can barely see on the left of the photo runs the width of the barn and wraps around the back and runs the length. Back 25 years ago I stored a boat in there. Seeing as I have removed the tree that was growing in there I could store a boat in there again

 

[JimVonBaden]

Red if the whole barn is going red, green if you are going nearly any other color on the siding.

Jim

PS I like it, I like it a lot!

 

[BSAschields]

Mine is Silver / Aluminum roof on a red barn . other buildings are red on red and the house is Green roof on Brick house.... I might go green on everything eventually except the big hay barn. The silver just looks right

 

[letz4wheel]

I can't imagine the whole barn being red. I really don't know if I will ever side it. That said I have thought about it but painting the block would be loads cheaper for the short term. My thoughts were green roof and tan paint or siding.
I had a new asphalt roof put on the house last year but eventually it will have a green metal roof also. Seeing as I am design challanged I like to keep it simple and match everything lol. That said...The GF is still pushing for red

 

[Wingnut65]

Nice starting point. Lots of potential.

And I'd go with Green. I think an accent color looks nicer than everything all one color. Have you decided on the color for the outside yet? BTW, would the roof color have any influence on the GF-to-Mrs transition?

So did I see that you just bought this 3 years ago, but stored a boat there 25 years ago? So you have a long relationship with this place. Cool! Great to get it back in shape.

 

[letz4wheel]

Well Green it is. The contractor had already ordered by the time I talked to him so that settled it. I am with you wingnut if it was all one color of any color I think it would be too much. As nasty as I am the GF sticks around so I don't imagine she will leave over a color
I bought this place from the GF. She had moved and it had been sitting empty for 3 or 4 years. That said I helped her move in 20+ years ago. We were just friends back then. She never really had any use for the barn and it pretty much just left it alone. That kinda brins us up to today.
I took a few pics today before I got started. i have been out cutting trees and clearing some of the brush. Hopefully you will see it a little opened up in tomorrows pics.
Metal comes tomorrow and then the progress starts. He didn't want to remove any more metal until he gets the first side on. He claimes it get a little wobbly without the old stuff stiffining it up. I wouldn't and will never know...I am not getting anywhere near that roof! I like my feet on mother earth .

Front

Rear

 

[JimVonBaden]

That place oozes cool and potential!

Lucky for you on the roof color!

Jim

 

[Wingnut65]

Agree on the potential. It will take a little manual labor to get it back to its prime. That and a little caulk.

 

[CHRIS P]

Man that is like a blank canvas just waiting, you could do so much with it

 

[fergus]

Subscribed. Good bones is right. Are you gonna save all of it? The little add-on in back?
Good on ya for resurrecting an old structure.

 

[STINEY]

Having saved a couple old barns from being torn down myself, I can't wait to see the progress.

Keep us posted and good luck!

(Oh, and what state are you in?)

 

[letz4wheel]

It is coming along. This was early in the day. He had all but the last strip on by dark. He didn't wat to harness up for just the little bit.Not bad for a dude working by himself. He paid me to stay out of the way
Stiney sorry but progress will be measured like glacial creep lol. I drive a truck and I am only home 4 or 5 days a month.
So far it looks like all will be saved. It will all be under roof anyways. The cracks I think will just be repointed. I was surprised that the wall is still straight.Seems to be a foundation sag.

 

[domecreek]

It is going to look great !

 

[letz4wheel]

The backhoe

Who me?

Back upper allmost complete

Front wing before the big cleanup and burning today. Still lots more to do but we had a great day.

Rear wing...not much done today

Inside the main barn. All the stalls will be removed

New roofing from the inside

Paying for the sins of the past

I know it looks like nothing was done but it was alot of hard work getting to this point This will be all the updates for a couple weeks. Time to go earn a living. Hopefully when I get home the rest of the metal will be on. Then more of the grunt work.

 

[Wingnut65]

That roof looks awesome, l4w. Green works!

A big project like this starts with little steps. Getting the place cleaned out to be able to walk through it really is a sense of accomplishment. Congrats on the progress.

 

[Nighttrain]

Very cool project.. I read you threw the old metal roof away, that tin is going for $5 a sheet down here on CL. People use it for decoration etc. If yoou have the second side of the roof still around you may want to sell it.

 

[letz4wheel]

We didn't exactly throw it away. We sold it for scrap. $150 for the 1st half so I would imagine 450 or so for all of it.
I bought the 1st thing for the new shop. A Harbor freight dust collector. I have seen a few reviews on this and it seemed ok. Hopefully it will last awhile. It was brand new but I bought it on Craigslist for $100. Not the best deal but better than a trip to the freight.

 

[loveall13]

Wow, I'm really looking forward to watching your clean up and restoration.
Good luck and please post updates when you are home.
Jeremy

 

[letz4wheel]

I am getting word that the roof is done I really want to be there instead of here

 

[letz4wheel]

Here is the front:

And the Back:

The next order of business I suppose is getting the buildings cleaned up. I think I will also pressure wash the outside to make it a little more presentable. It will be awhile before I can afford to clad the outside. My labor seems to be free . I also want to get the big slider rebuilt, doors built, and a wall built in the shed. I would like to secure the place so I can start using some of it.

 

[Omphaloskeptic]

Wow, what a project this is going to be! Subscribed.

Knowing you "like my feet on mother earth", what does the roofer think of the supporting wood structure? Dry rot, leaning, weak, twisted rafters, rusted fasteners, etc., etc.?

 

[letz4wheel]

In the main barn he was impressed. He only replaced 2 small pieces of cross board. He scurried around like he wasn;t scared of falling through. I woulda looked like the cat stuck high in the tree
The damaged cross board was caused by a piece or two of the tin blowing off. I think it was off when I bought the place. Two or three pieces blew off late last year or early this year, which is what got me started thinking about trying to save it. If I had waited much longer there might not have been much to save.
As you can see in the pics the lean too section was the worst of the lot. Several rafters were replaced..seems to me I bought 25 or so. He used them all.
My reasoning for not doing it any quicker was that I could not afford it. Of course I had no idea of the cost...I just knew . I really expected in the 10k range...again I have no idea why...just a number I had in my head, probably know it would take 10 times that much just for me to get on the ladder.
I called this guy and he said he would do it for 1k if I bought the materials. huh? SOLD All together I put appx $3500 into this thing and gained 1000sq ft of storage and mancave in just the main barn. The lean toos ought to add another 400 sq ft or so. I think this might turn out to be a win Just have to figure out how to get it secured and cleaned up!

 

[STINEY]

That new roof is SWEET!!

Looks 1000% better already, good on you for saving the old thing. Just getting that roof on gave it another 100 years of life!

Nice progress, keep on keeping us posted.

 

[letz4wheel]

Wel I did some work this weekend. Enogh to get sore anyways. Getting old isn't for sissies! I received a pair of tick destroyers today and turned them loose.

Loaded and unloaded this load of 5/4 oak, cheery and walnut lumber. It is all rough sawn culls. Not too bad for $150 sawmill fresh I didn't think. After unloading it all, actually somewhat before getting it unloaded, I was questioning my sanity.

Remember before?

How about now!

A couple cabinets that came out of a rental house. Made from good heavy 3/4 ply.

It doesn't look like much but it was alot of work and a decent start at least for an old fat truck driver lol

 

[markviii]

Very nice start on a project you'll be able to use for a long time. Thanks for saving it.

Chris

 

[letz4wheel]

Thank you. It has been great running all the ideas through my head as to what I will use it for. Update on the guineas...where did they go? Don't see them out here anywhere.

 

[rburke65]

The good news is that you don't have to do it all at once. We will all get there....just takes some time. Nice job on saving the barn!

 

[STINEY]

Thank you. It has been great running all the ideas through my head as to what I will use it for. Update on the guineas...where did they go? Don't see hem ou here anywhere.

We've never had much luck keeping them...... apparently the racoons think Guineas are a buffet.

 

[letz4wheel]

We've never had much luck keeping them...... apparently the racoons think Guineas are a buffet.

Could be but I have never seen any "leavings". Might just be they flew off and are making babies elsewhere

 

[Mmfh]

Looks like you have some decent sq footage there. Should be very cool when done. Its big enough you could park your truck in there maybe?

Is that trailer made out of a Econoline van? Have not seen that before. What's up with the birds? Never heard of them, and wonder what they do for you on the property?

I'll be watching to see how you finish the shop. Oh, I think you are right about a tan paint for the outside.

Mm

 

[letz4wheel]

The main barn is 31 x 36 I believe so 1100 sq ft or so. I really haven't put a tape to it. I recieved those figures fron the roofer.I suppose because it really doesn't matter. The building is already there
I don't think the doors are high enough to put the semi in there but the rest is fair game.
That is 2 econolines. It was a nice trailer in it's day. The bodies were complete and it had working doors. My uncle stored his band equipment in it. For one reason or another the trailer seperated from his hitch. After the rollover this is what is left. It make a great utility trailer though and the price was right

 

[letz4wheel]

Oh and by the way, if you can keep them around, which I aparently cannot the Guineas are hell on ticks. It seems like it is going to be a bad year for them and I found someone giving them away.

 

[Daniel Dudley]

Nice save. A couple more years and it would have been gone.

Gotta love it !

 

[nti06]

So wheres the progress on this project?

 

[fergus]

Yeah. What's up?