Barn Reno Part 1

The barn came with the land.  We have asked several of the neighbors and the best we can tell this old barn was built in the early 1960's.

The land had been leased to many people over the years and the barn had not been repaired.  The dust was overwhelming as you walked in the barn.  The hinges had rusted out on 2 of the 3 doors. The one working door was barely hanging on, and as we used it one of the supports broke on it so it was left to the mercy of the wind.

I wanted to tear down the eyesore but Tim and several other people kept telling me that there was a lot of life left in the old girl.  I was thankful that it kept the 4-wheelers out of the rain and kept the cats dry but it was not fully functional, and if it was going to stay, it needed a makeover.

I am kicking myself for not getting better before pictures but here is what I have...

The open door is barely hanging on!

Nice hole for animals to crawl in and out.  

The floor looks great here after a 6 ft mountain of compost and dirt was pulled out.

Here is the barn in process:

The entire structure was shored up and rethought...

There is a lovely view out the back but my husband said I could not put windows in :-)

Another exciting part of the reno is we are getting electricity put in!!!  

And here is the new front...

I LOVE IT!

We used old barn tin for the doors since the roof is rusted tin and we are not replacing it.  The trim is rough sawed oak which should age grey.  I got my sliding barn door, actually on the barn, not my house :-).  In phase 2 we are going to add a workshop and feed room...which is hopefully rodent-proof, since the critters are very destructive.

Today we found out that one of our 4-wheelers is kaput because mice chewed up all the wiring.  This was a tough hit but we are learning that is how life rolls on the farm.  I am trying hard to focus on building up treasure in heaven, and not building up treasure on this earth that moth, rust and mice will destroy.