The Barn is Up, Part 3

Today the same crew showed up about 7:00am. We discussed the door layout and Robert marked where the posts for the front and rear should go. There will two 12' wide by 14' high overhead doors on the front with a 36" entry door. These will go in after concrete is poured and cured. In the back, I will frame a 10' by 10' overhead door, installed later when the budget allows, covered with siding for now.

All the crew went to work getting the metal roof panels on and screwed down. Again, each of the crew knew where to be with the appropriate tool or material for whatever task was needed. One person stayed on the roof to finish the trim and later joined the crew below to finish the pole installation and secure braces for the trusses. The four foot level got another workout as Robert checked for plumb and made adjustments as needed.

As work was completed, I discussed a few items with Robert and Tim (on the phone), the owner of Troyer Post Buildings. We thought the wall siding was too short and needed to be re-ordered. Turns out I forgot about the clear section I requested at the top of the side walls. All was as it should be, well except the delivery of clear panels has been delayed. However, before we realized about the missing parts, we discussed putting a metal wainscoting on the bottom of the walls. I got a price for the material and it's been ordered. I think it will dress up the appearance very nicely.

OK, that's it for today. The materials and labor have been paid for, except the additional accent panels for the bottom, and now it's my turn to pretend I'm a carpenter, plumber, electrician and just a plain ole' nice guy.

Here's a time-lapse video of the work done today.


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The Barn is up - trouble Part 2

In the previous blog I described the work of the first day of construction of the Backend of Nowhere Garage. I purposely left out a particular item so as not to make the entry too long.

The first post hole was dug about 7:30 or so. Just about the same time Donna said we lost telephone and internet. Hmmmm...coincidence? Don't think so. Before the post hole digging, Robert looked around for clue of any underground "stuff", not seeing any the crew went ahead with the digging. The barn is well over 50' from the roadway. Usual utility easements are 10' to 20' from the roadway. But this is Fentress County. a wonderful place to live where you can be left alone to your own devices. It's why we chose this area. Seems year ago, the utilities were run via the crow flies system without taking into account the Stu might want to put up a pole barn.

Regardless, the fibre-optic line was cut and Twin Lakes sent a crew (or 2) out to investigate. Soon more trucks showed up. one pulling a trailer with a large DitchWitch trencher. After the crews, now 4 of them, discussed, dug holes and otherwise tried to make a plan to get everything working again. A new line was "sliced" into the ground, around the pole barn, and over to the utility pole where the line goes overhead and down the road. A different crew then took their turn and spliced all the fibre together and peace was restored on the mountain once again.

We even got a brand new pedestal out of the deal.

Pretty sure Amazon was happy. I know Donna was!

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The Barn is Up (sort of)

Yesterday Troyer Post Buildings arrived on the property, EARLY, to erect the poles and the roof. I and others will complete enclosing the barn. Plenty left for me to do and I still have to finish the French drain...all in good time.

I met with Robert, the crew boss and discussed the layout. He and his helper got their tape measures out and set out all the holes to be bored for the poles. Everything was squared up and double checked. In came the SkidSteer with a large boring bit. I'm thinking it was 18 inches or so. Each pole is 20’ long of pressure treated lumber, marked for structural use. Every pole was dropped 4' into the hole, plumbed up and secured with 2 bags of Sakrete then packed and backfilled.

Each metal truss came in 2 pieces and then they were bolted together on the ground. The gable ends received additional preparation for metal siding and also done on the ground. The gable end on the front of the building was raised to the top of the poles first. Each of the 6 truss assemblies went up in order from front to rear. And then they were secured to the posts with lag bolts. As this process went on, Robert was continually checking the posts to be sure they were plumb and putting braces in as necessary. These were removed after everything else was complete.

Prior to this one of the helpers was cutting 2"x 6"x 20' boards into 10' lengths. These are used to span the space between the trusses and provide the support for the roof metal. Each board was lifted and then thrown to the waiting "roofer", placed and screwed to the truss. This whole team performed like a well oiled machine, anticipating the next move and getting material and equipment as needed for the next task.

Just about the time all the boards were in the trusses and secured, a storm rolled in and forced the crew to quit for the day. No one needs to be struck by lightening or slip on wet roof metal for a barn.

We'll see the guys in the morning. Oh, here's a time lapse of the work done today.

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Things are starting to happen

Last week the materials were delivered. I was happy to finally see something  tangible. I took a check to the builder (Troyer Post Buildings) for the materials and discussed a few details about the amount of work they will do  and what will be left for me. I confirmed the door layout so the posts can be placed correctly.  It's nice to be dealing with a local company, we paid for the materials upon delivery and the labor when they're done. No up front costs.

I was not able to get much done on the French drain due to all the rain we had last week. Today was the first time back in the ditches. Connected another 30 feet or so and made a T-connection for draining another small area adjacent to the neighbor. It's not critical to have this project completed by any specific time frame. I will continue to work on it for a few hours each day or so.

If, you'll remember a few weeks ago I took a late night trip to the Emergency Room. Nothing of concern was discovered other then an over-medication related to my weight loss. To be safe my Primary Care Doc ordered a stress test. The result came in this week and happily there is no sign of any cardio-vascular disease. However, the Cardiologist mentioned I was "Below average exercise capacity for patient's age". Yeah, no S**t. I guess I have to start training for running marathons.

Donna published some conceptual drawings I made for the building. This is my ideas of what I want the building to look like as well as the interior set up. The workshop area will certainly evolve over time as I use it. I will have to commit to the bathroom area prior to concrete in order get all the connections in the right place. Once the walls are up and I stand inside and get a feel for the space, I'll be able to firm up the layout.

See ya, I'm gonna find an Aleve.

Stay Tuned!

Conceptual Drawings

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