BARN! and NEW PORCH!

[ninnymary]

Bay, make that sweet tea! Thanks Nyboy.

Mary

 

[baymule]

Inquireing mind wants to know why are you building a barn in a low area of your property ? I would have opted for the highest point.

Because the highest spot is already taken. We live there. Most of where the barn is going is high, but one end of it drops off, so we have the option of writing the check for more dirt to fix it with. On the back side of our dirt pile, I plan on using bags of concrete to keep it from washing out. There is a small gully back there that slopes back up to the back of the property and I wanted the barn closer to the house than on the back fence.

 

[baymule]

Loving the porch, nothing can ruin a outdoor get together quicker then mosquitoes !!

They almost never bite me but think my DH is delicious!

 

[majorcatfish]

love what the both of you are doing to the homestead....

 

[Chickie'sMomaInNH]

looking great!

 

[Smart Red]

I love the porch. Where you live it is like extra living space year round. A great idea!

I've been watching the neighbors new pole barn going up. When theirs is finished the disputed shed will be history.

I much prefer seeing photos of yours.

 

[baymule]

You are right Red, it is outdoor living space and we can enjoy it almost all year. We love to sit outside at night in the spring, summer and fall, but so do the 'skeeters.

Will post more pics of the barn as it goes up. It is a weekend job and they won't work every weekend, but we are ok with that.

 

[baymule]

Well, the storm last weekend dumped a LOT of rain in a very short time, spawned tornadoes that waltzed through town spreading destruction. My rain gauge overflowed at 5", a neighbor's rain gauge went to 6" and overflowed. So we probably got between 7" to 10". Our lovely dirt pad for the barn got rearranged. We lost at least a 14 yard load. There was a large hole at one corner of the barn that is now filled in. Dirt washed out in a thicket, no way to reclaim it. We had planned to use cinder blocks and concrete blocks to hold the dirt in place, but who saw this coming??

Yesterday DH and I went to Lowes and bought cinder blocks. Today our neighbor Robert came over to help repair the mess. We scooped dirt, tractored dirt and leveled dirt. We ran a string so we would get the cinderblocks straight. I plopped down in the almost mud and placed the blocks. On one corner, we ran a double stack because of the elevation drop.

It might not look like much, but it is a start to secure the durn dirt pile. We have another load coming tomorrow to replace what washed away. Here is the now filled in hole and the light streak in the brush is our dirt! There was a big drop off at this corner.

Saturday Russell and Tim are coming to work on the barn. I can't wait!

 

[baymule]

And an update on the porch. The contractor is gone now, the screens are ordered and will ready in a few weeks. That will give us time to get it stained on the outside, at least where the screens will attach to the posts. It has to dry out from the storm, the T-111 siding buckled in the rain. Great. The roof leaked like crazy during the storm. The contractor called to check on it and came out. He climbed on the roof in all that rain to look at it. He came back and tarred the joined new roof to the old. It rained again and no leaks. We now have electricity and ceiling fans on the porch!

The wicker porch swing you see on the church pew is now hung. There is nothing about me that screams white wicker, particularly nothing that screams imitation white plastic wicker, but it was free and it has a bodacious heavy chain to hang it with. We like to swing in it.

 

[thistlebloom]

That porch is the best! You can square dance on that thing!