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The Barn

Oscarvan

Member
Joined
Mar 20, 2008
Messages
5
Location
Bethlehem, PA
Well........I should have known. If there's anything to be pasionate about, there's a forum on it. Wish I would have found this earlier....I could have used the moral support. :)

Six years ago we bough a new house. SHE wanted bedrooms, bathrooms, a playroom, and a few other rooms, and she wanted them FINISHED. (Unlike the last two homes where we lived in a project and then sold it when I was done......) She also wanted a neighborhood. HE wanted 12 acres away from people, with a big barn on it, and enough room to build/remodel whatever we wanted.....Of course the budget was not big enough for the both of them..... So, she got her house and her neighborhood, and he got to build his barn within the zoning confinements. The only requirement SHE attached was that it would match the house.

First thing I did was build a wall across the driveway to hide my sins from the Joneses...... Fortunately the attached three bay was turned sideways, so after the wall was done it all looked pretty civilised and I was able to have piles of stuff without being seen.....That pretty much took care of my summer in 2002....I'll spare you the details, here's the result:

wall.jpg


Then I dug trenches, and poured footings and hauled block, and more block, and laid block and more block.....about 1000 of them. Then it was 2004.

Barn1.jpg


Meanwhile I stumbled upon a trailer load of old barnbeams, from all different barns. $1000 I stored them best I could, but there was some water damage. I powerwashed them and sprayed them with bug killer, bought 4x1/4" steel stock and made hardware and erected a frame:

Barn2.jpg


Sold the leftover beams for $500 A floor over 3/4 of it, (have to leave room for a lift) windows and doors (bought a pile of 17 new odd lot windows sitting in a guys shop for years, long story, for $300) Then a roof:

Barn3.jpg


Poured a floor with 600 feet of PEX in it and put a 30 gallon Home Depot water heater and circulation system in.... I have cheap electricity at night, the thermostat is set for 50.....it has not been below 42 in there (that's when it was in the single digits outside.....) I also put a wood stove in. When I light that, it's 60 degrees in about an hour.

Barn4.jpg


Upstairs is fully insulated and sheathed with luan.....it houses the "parts department"......(Note toilet seat for proposed commode location)

Barn5.jpg
 
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Oscarvan

Member
Joined
Mar 20, 2008
Messages
5
Location
Bethlehem, PA
Then I went out the back with a rough sawn lumber lean-to. It houses mowers and blowers, trailers, tractors and Sir Gasalot the 1972 Coachmen Motor Home....

Barn6.jpg


There's a variety of projects in progress at any given time, but the most space is taken by the Rovers......(1962 and two basket cases from 1991 and 1989) Here's Mr. Toad, the 1962 on the lift....

FlyingToad.jpg


As I said earlier, the only thing the wife asked was that it matched the house..... Up to grade the block is 12", above it's 8" leaving me a 4" brick ledge. This summer I have to lay the brick to cover the front and the side facing the house. (The neighbor lady gets to look at some nice vinyl siding....)

housefront.jpg
 
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widerberg

Well-known member
Joined
Feb 15, 2007
Messages
245
Location
Down South
Wow, I love the old Landie! I've always wanted one, ever since watching Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom back in the day and daydreaming about being on safari! I'm limited to two "toys" at the moment, due to wife and space . . . but one day :)

Awesome garage, too!
 

jonny01blaze

Well-known member
Joined
Nov 23, 2007
Messages
156
Location
Pittsburgh, PA
Wow, nice job thusfar tieing it in with your house. I agree with the statement on the reclaimed wood! I have not reclaimed anything that monumental but I too am a packrat of wood. You never know when it can be put to good use.
 
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