Old Barn to Become my Shop

[TheOtherChris]

Last Fall we bought an old farm house:

It was a little neglected and quite overgrown.

After clearing away the overgrowth:

Not a bad looking house once you can actually see it.

But the reason I really liked the property is because it also has a barn:

it is 35x60 with roll up doors on both ends and a full hay loft above.

 

[southalabama]

That's gonna be an awesome shop

 

[TheOtherChris]

The barn was a little rough inside:

Inside facing South.
That **** isn't mine. There was a LOT of stuff in the barn when we bought the house. This pic is after several trips to the dump. That little patch of concrete was all there was.

Facing North shortly after cleaning out "the other guy's junk"
You can see the little patch of concrete on the right and the stairs going up to the loft on the left.
Who ends a staircase into a wall????

After concrete I cut the stair stringer and built a landing to make the stairs easier to use.
Ohh, can you tell that birds had been living in it for a long time??

 

[TheOtherChris]

Inside facing South


It is time to get ready to pour the rest of the concrete so I had to get all of my stuff out.

In an earlier pic you can see 2 plywood walls on the South end that no longer serve a purpose but to break off about 8 feet of usable space on each side of the alley so I took them out.

 

[TheOtherChris]

Before Winter set in we were able to get the first third of the floor poured so I had a place to put my stuff when we moved.
All my stuff had to go somewhere so I stacked it on the part where we poured last Fall.
On the right is a storage room I built for My Dear Wife. That alley wall is load bearing. I jacked up the ceiling joists 2½ inches before standing the 2x6 walls into place.

Grading and gravel should be done next week followed by concrete.

 

[captain14]

What are your plans? Great building after you get it cleaned up.

 

[1/2 Cup]

Nice one, it should come up a treat judging what you have done thus far.

Regards

 

[rieferman]

Fun!! Looking forward to this! (Mod can you move to gallery so everyone sees it?)

 

[Cyberbear]

I assume you've repaired any leaks in the roof, and after all the floor is in you'll be ready for electrical and lights throughout. Are you going to add washroom/toilet facilities?
You may wish to enclose areas for an office, storage, etc. which will provide additional interior walls for cabinets, benches etc. But first, buy a pair of roller skates and enjoy the space while it lasts, because it will fill up fast. Good luck and have fun.

 

[TheOtherChris]

A new metal roof was put on a few years ago and the only leaks I have found so far is when the snow blows just right it will come in through the ridge cap. I plan to get some foam stripping in there this year.
The area opposite the wife's storage room will also get enclosed and I will use it for my mill and lathe and a work bench to allow me to better climate control that area for easier year round work.

This will still leave me 35x 40 of open area plus the alley between the 2 enclosures.
When we bought the place the barn's electrical "service" was a 10/3 run that was hooked up as 2x 120v circuits from the 100amp main at the house. I have since changed it to 240v with a sub in the barn. At least for now I can run the welder or air compressor when needed. I will upgrade the main at the house to 200 amp and then trench to the barn for 2-2-2-4 MHF to satisfy my hunger for power.

Alas, no bathroom as we are on a grandfathered septic system that is uphill from the barn and would require about $15k to upgrade. For that much money I will walk back to the house (or pee out back)

 

[Kevin54]

TheOtherChris....nice place for sure. Once you removed the overgrowth, it really made the house stand out. Looks good.

One question I have....how tall are the walls in your barn? My neighbor is looking to build a new barn to replace their dilapidated old barn and they need room for a couple of horses plus they would like to have a loft. Also do you know what roof pitch your barn has.

Thanks

 

[Kevkx125]

Looks like a awesome project, what are the plans for the upstairs?(I agree could a mod please move this to the gallery please)

 

[nadogail]

You should enjoy your Barn/Shop in Good Health.

 

[LXCam]

Wow what a great building to start with. Anytime you can buy a barn and they throw in a free house is a good day.

 

[TheOtherChris]

TheOtherChris....nice place for sure. Once you removed the overgrowth, it really made the house stand out. Looks good.

One question I have....how tall are the walls in your barn? My neighbor is looking to build a new barn to replace their dilapidated old barn and they need room for a couple of horses plus they would like to have a loft. Also do you know what roof pitch your barn has.

Thanks

The barn is not original to this property but was moved here in the 20's or 30's. It was originally a milking shed so the walls are not as tall as you might like. I currently have 102" from concrete to ceiling joists which will work well for me. Roof pitch is approximately 10:12.
The hay loft above 15 feet wide and runs the entire 60 foot length of the building. When I finally get a 4 post lift I will cut into the hay loft for the additional height needed.

 

[TheOtherChris]

Wow what a great building to start with. Anytime you can buy a barn and they throw in a free house is a good day.

Yes, the house was/is an adventure. It was built in 1890 and hasn't been lived in in many years. The foundation is stone and mortar and surprisingly sound. Only the wall supporting the abandoned chimney had settled.

Plumbing was first on the list as they ran out of propane one winter and the pipes froze. When I went into the crawl space (which is generously sized) I found galvanized, copper, plastic and PEX supply lines. I replaced it all with a manifold and PEX. The drain/waste line had been replaced with ABS a while ago and was in good shape. The old cast iron line was still down there. I would imagine it was too much trouble to cut up to pull out so I will leave it as well.

 

[DougWil]

The barn is not original to this property but was moved here in the 20's or 30's.

Almost a 100 year old concrete footing and still going strong!!
Like to see the wood is way above grade.


Fellas, that is the way you build for a long lifespan and to retain value.


Looks pretty tight, how did all the birds get in?
Through the unscreened ridge vent?

 

[TheOtherChris]

...Looks pretty tight, how did all the birds get in?
Through the unscreened ridge vent?

There were window frames that had fallen open and a few gaps between roof tin and the old roof slats. Also, the screen in the cupola on top had come loose.

The problem I have now is any time the large doors are open more than a few minutes, the birds come back. I will find them later that night or in the morning looking for a way out.

 

[upndown]

There were window frames that had fallen open and a few gaps between roof tin and the old roof slats. Also, the screen in the cupola on top had come loose.

The problem I have now is any time the large doors are open more than a few minutes, the birds come back. I will find them later that night or in the morning looking for a way out.

Don't know that there's much you can do about birds, other than get a cat. Great for mice too! If I leave my truck door or window open even for a few minutes, I've got either a dove, quail or cactus wren in there. Scares the **** out of me when they fly out from behind the seat while I'm driving!

 

[upndown]

Great looking place by the way! How much land came with it?

 

[chrispyny]

First, i am absolutely jealous of the barn. It's seriously most awesome.
To get rid of the birds, there are electronic devices you can plug in that give out audible clicking which chases most all birds away except pigeons.
If any pigeons still attempt to enter, then you have to keep them out for one life cycle. We had a pigeon roost in my dads garage i grew up in. Dad bought a house which was a rectory for a catholic church until he purchased it in 78. It has a garage which was a carriage house and horse barn back when the church was built in the late 1800's. Anyway, the priests and nuns living there must have had a fondness for raising pigoens.
Lomg story short, dad boarded up the entry for the pigeons, and it took a couple years but they eventually stopped coming. They gotta die off otherwise, to them, home is home.

Can't wait to see updates of the pour and additional work. Keep up the great work.

 

[Techie1961]

What a great looking place you got there. The house should be a lot of fun and I would definitely be curious to see more about it. That barn is fantastic though. So much space and it looks great from the outside too.

What are your plans for the inside of it? Are you going to set up some machine tools, automotive only, farm shop? I'll certainly be following this one and thanks for posting. Lot of pics please.

 

[TheOtherChris]

Great looking place by the way! How much land came with it?

Just 2.26 acres for me. Another guy bought the whole farm and then split off the house and barn for me to buy.

 

[TheOtherChris]

What are your plans for the inside of it? Are you going to set up some machine tools, automotive only, farm shop? I'll certainly be following this one and thanks for posting. Lot of pics please.

I will enclose part of it for machine work and smaller assembly work. The rest will be for welding/fabrication and automotive.

I don't specialize in anything.. I just tinker a lot and like to build and fix stuff

 

[TheOtherChris]

The scraped area in front of the barn/shop is about 3/4 acre and my dear wife has decided this is to be a park for the grandkids, complete with grass, play equipment, picnic tables, fire ring, etc. Bringing in some good sized pines will be fun. I have a friend with several that he'd like to thin out. They're about 10 foot but he also has a tree spade to dig them out.

So I said: "To do all of that and the other stuff that needs to be done I will need a tractor." She said OK which led to this:

It is small enough to get in wherever it needs to go.
The back hoe sure beats a shovel for digging out all the stumps left over from clearing around the house. It is how I will dig the holes for the transplanted pines as well. It will be very handy for trenching power to the barn too (Shop related).

 

[jd_1138]

Nice John Deere! Is it a 4x4 diesel? Your house looks super well made with the extended eaves and metal roof.

I like the park area idea. Maybe put in an outdoor BBQ unit, and it'll be like a real park, so you could cook up some dogs/burgers for the young uns.

Could build a border around the swingset area and put tanbark in it for safety, and it doesn't turn into a mudpit like if you were to leave grass there.

 

[TheOtherChris]

Concrete guys still haven't shown up so I decided to transplant a few trees for "The Park"

I have a friend with a 36" tree spade who also has too many trees so he dug a few up for me and loaded them on the trailer. We stuck with fir trees under 8 foot so they would have a better chance of survival.
I predug the holes with my little hoe and dropped them in. I am a little concerned about them because it has been quite wet of late and the holes were full of water. I hope they don't drown.

 

[TheOtherChris]

Nice John Deere! Is it a 4x4 diesel? Your house looks super well made with the extended eaves and metal roof.

I like the park area idea. Maybe put in an outdoor BBQ unit, and it'll be like a real park, so you could cook up some dogs/burgers for the young uns.

Could build a border around the swingset area and put tanbark in it for safety, and it doesn't turn into a mudpit like if you were to leave grass there.

Yes, the tractor is diesel 4wd. It has been very helpful and I like others wonder why I waited so long to get it.
The house has excellent bones and we are excited to retain the look of it.

I have a couple of large poplars that need to come out and I am thinking of chipping a lot of it for the park play equipment area. I know shredded rubber is preferred but it is also expensive. The wood chips will only cost me the rental fee for the chipper.

 

[MagKarl]

Wood chips work great under play equipment in my experience. Might as well do something useful with what you've got.

 

[madoc1]

really amazing that the barn is in that good a shape after so long. is your climate fairly dry, besides being cold? looking good, and those trees should help with any strong winds. (wind break). keep up the pics pls.

jim

 

[TheOtherChris]

High desert here in this part of Idaho so no rot to speak of.
The barn was resided with aluminum a few years ago. It also had a bit of a 'lean' to it so diagonal bracing was nailed to the wall studs.
I pulled it straight and started adding OSB sheathing to the inside to stiffen it up.
The metal roofing was applied over the top of the old purlin/slats after removing the shingles.
The large cupola on top is original to the barn as is the Holstein weather vane.

All in all it is in great shape for as old as it is and considering it was moved here.

 

[TheOtherChris]

My concrete guy tells me middle of next week for the rest of the floor.
Then I need to get the electrician out to upgrade the house panel to install a 200amp disconnect to feed the current house panel, the new panel for the addition and the panel for the shop.

 

[TheOtherChris]

Gravel truck showed up Thursday night. They will grade and lay the gravel Friday morning.

 

[TheOtherChris]

Yes Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. Tuesday they came by with trucks and pumps and such.

And now the back 36 feet of the barn has a concrete floor.
Now the REALLY hard part will be waiting for a good cure.

 

[Kev442]

Sweet!
I include the day my pole barn was poured concrete instead of dirt as one of the top 10 days of my life. Congrats!

 

[TheOtherChris]

Stress relief cuts were made this morning.

 

[TheOtherChris]

There is a full length hay loft above that already had lights but I was less than comfortable with them.

So I replaced them with keyed fixtures and LED bulbs. My Dear Wife really likes the difference.

 

[TheOtherChris]

Concrete is cured enough to drive on so I brought in the truck for brake work.
NOW I can start putting my stuff away so it can be useful again.

 

[madoc1]

nice truck! love the hay loft-super storage.

 

[NWOhioChevyGuy]

AWESOME barn.

We bought an 1880's farm house also but all the buildings were torn down before our purchase. My father says it was a blessing, I wish I had a barn to rework / utilize.

Currently waiting on kids to get out of college before my Shop build happens.