Update on our barn!

[Leah IL]

After reading all the good advice posted here and doing some of our own research, my husband contacted a contractor through Barn Again. This man travels all over the country giving estimates and restoring/repairing old barns. Well it turns out he is only about an hour or so from us this week and will be able to come down to take a look at the barn some time in the next few days! I am so glad we'll be able to get someone out there to look at it- it will help make our decision so much easier. I really want to keep it now, if it is at all possible. The place just won't look the same without it!

Again, thanks for all the input (and any more input is greatly appreciated). I will update after we talk to "The Barn Guy" as we are now calling him

Leah

[fordy]

...............I've destroyed a few outhouses in my day but never any barns. I looked at your pics of your barn and it looked like too me that , that ground floor level would make an Excellent "garage" or covered parking\storage area for your vehicles . Then it looked tall enough to turn it into a two story barn house . I , personally think it would really be a great home if there isn't one already on your property . Hope it can be saved and repaired within the Budget you have established.....fordy...

[Qvrfullmidwife]

I am glad that you are getting a second opinion. My thought on your first thread was that someone was gonna be laughing all the way to the bank...he got great wood free and someone paid him to haul it away?! My second thought after looking at the pics was that it would be a shame if you couldnt save the barn...it was gorgeous...

[Karen]

Oh I'm so glad!!! I'm so hoping it will be do-able. I would kill for a barn like that and am sure several here feel the same way. Be sure and let us know what he has to say.

[Michael W. Smith]

This guy should be able to tell you how things actually are. There is no question that it is repairable. The big question is how much $ it's going to take. I'm certainly hoping for a "good" report & doable for you. Don't forget to let us know!!

[stonerebel]

Glad to hear it, in the picture you posted that was one nice barn. Good luck and let us know how it goes.

[boren]

Good luck on your barn, I wish I had one that big. Well, ok maybe not, I can barely work on the one I have. A good barn is worth so much even for someone with limited land.

The prior owner at our place was going to get our amish barn torn down for the price of the wood. Most of it is 12x12 beams that as hard as nails. I've been working for the past year on fixing it up. So far we've got:

1. all the doors now swing/roll. Some better than others.
2. No more collapsed hay loft. All straw and broken beams are out.
3. No more holes in the foundation, all patched, and rebuilt.
4. No more trees resting on the roof.
5. Most of the windows have windows or blanks. No broken glass, only missing about 4 now.
6. All sill beams are where the sill beams should be.
7. Fixed the winch. Old rail mounted winch for moving bails upto the second floor. Or so I assume...
8. Old well now runs and pumps all the water I could want.

We still have 1 hole in the roof, and serveral leaks and we're loosing shingles. But we plan on working on the roof next month.

We have in the barn: 6 hole rabitery, 3 big duck/turkey/goose pens. 1 indoor sheep pen. 1. indoor/outdoor goat pen. 1 set of deck materials. 1 hay left, 1 straw loft. Storage room for anything we could want, boats, or just basic open space.

Good luck.

[mightybooboo]

Yep,Missus and I both commenting on how we would love to have that barn.I would have it restored if possible,thats for sure.
BooBoo

[mysticokra]

Originally Posted by boren

Good luck on your barn, I wish I had one that big. Well, ok maybe not, I can barely work on the one I have. A good barn is worth so much even for someone with limited land.

The prior owner at our place was going to get our amish barn torn down for the price of the wood. Most of it is 12x12 beams that as hard as nails. I've been working for the past year on fixing it up.
Good luck.

Boren,

Please post a picture. I loved seeing that old Amish architecture.

[boren]

Here's a picture from last year:

http://www.cban.com/~asj/inspect/img_3242.jpg

All the opennings are closed now with doors or shutters on that side.

Broken window is fixed, and there's a window uptop, and the tree branch is gone... Heh, I need new pics. No new paint yet, but that's in the plans.

http://www.cban.com/~asj/sep21/img_3356.jpg

It looks really rough on the outside, but there's only 1 major beam with serious rot on the inside and we can stop that by fixing the roof. That's no small task mind you.