Some pressure washing progress

I was able to pressure wash some more of the beams today; progress is slow and extremely messy. I think the payoff will be worth the pain, though. Plus, no one wants a chunk of 100 year old paint in their martini.

This is why I am bringing the beams back down to bare wood,
look at those beautiful hewing marks!

From downed tree to future beams

We've started collecting the wood to make new vertical supports and horizontal joists for the barn. A rather large Elm tree fell in Little Buffalo Creek across the road, a victim of wind, weight, and ant damage.

Large elm in creek after major storm.

With a little help from a great neighbor, the tree was cut and brought to a better site up the hill for processing. We weeded out all the sections that weren't fairly straight, and started trimming down the rest.

I'm not sure exactly what is going to be used where just yet, but there are at least three good beams out of this pile, essentially free (minus new chains for the saw, gas, time, etc.).

Some more history and clearer pictures.

A little more info and clearer pictures.

This barn was built out of field stone and (mostly) hand-hewn timbers around 1900, as far as we can tell. It was a dairy barn, horse barn, and working hay barn for much of its life. It was eventually purchased by a general contracting and cabinetry company in the late 1990s, and came into our hands in the early 2000s. The cleanout process after so many years of hard use was intense, and continues even now.

Far left of current project, where the L shaped bar will eventually be. I have started pressure washing the beams to remove the old paint here.

 

Middle section with a good shot of the collapsed wall. Temporary supports are in place to hold the weight of the barn should the wall continue collapsing.

Far right of current project. The cinderblock stalls visible will most likely be completely removed and remade, for storage.

Some history and my goal.

In the winter of 2013, a lower wall of my barn in Marilla, NY (Western New York) started collapsing after having held strong for more than 100 years. This set off a flurry of ideas and restoration work, aimed at saving and utilizing this historic piece of local history. This Blog will be a partial journal of the work done to and around the barn.

Goal: 5 years from now, have drinks and play pool in the BARn, after pulling my motorcycle in through the large barn door.

First small collapse of the top of the wall. I tacked some spare 2x4s together and cut them to size as a very temporary support for the ceiling.

The collapse continued a week later, knocking out the wimpy temporary supports.

The outside of the barn in April 2013.

Weird panorama of the base barn.