Friday, April 8, 2011

1886 Barn...

The barn over at the other farm, where we keep our dry cows and bred heifers, was built 125 years ago, in 1886.



It's a beautiful barn...and serves it's purpose well.  But as we all know, buildings need upkeep.  Several years ago, the family had the barn repainted, and Jim had some repairs done to reinforce the barn floor where the hay wagons back in and out and are stored when they're not in use.

Over the winter, Jim noticed that the foundation wall on the north side of the barn was in disrepair.  The combination of age, and of cows rubbing against the stones had loosened many of the stones, and they began to fall out.  Something needed to be done to reinforce the wall before it got any worse.

On the morning the men came to do the repairs to the wall, I fully intended to get over to take some before pictures.  But they were too fast...by the time I finished up with my work at home and headed over, they were done!

Here's a shot of the end of the south wall to give you an idea of what the north wall looked like...


This is the finished north wall...they pressure washed the wall...then sprayed wet cement over the stones to create a solid wall of concrete.  This process, called shotcreting, should last for years to come!


This is the finished end of the north wall.  We wrote the family name and year in the wet cement...


We're pleased with the results!  Jim cleaned away the mess, and the cows were kept out of this side of the barn while the concrete had time to dry.  When they were allowed back in, they were a bit skeptical...cows like things to be the same, and this definitely looked different.  But after a short time, they've adjusted quite well to their "newly remodeled " accomodations!


I'm linking up to Farm Friend Friday, and Farm Girl Friday, sponsored by Verde Farm and Dandelion House!

* If your comments don't appear today, please be patient...I'm having computer issues at home!  Thanks! 





12 comments:

  1. Nifty job! Looks great and really didn't ruin the authentic old look of the barn. :)

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  2. It looks great! The outside and inside!

    Thanks and good luck with those computer problems!

    Leontien

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  3. It is so wonderful to see your barn repairs. Our old barn is 111 years old so we understand your challenges. Love the picture of your 'girls' in your header!

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  4. I'm so glad you keep the barn up. When we visited PA years ago, the barns were some of my favorite sights (along with covered bridges). I love a beautiful old barn.

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  5. Wow what a lovely barn!! That is something I love are big ole barns. I just think they are beautiful.
    I love the way that stone looks. They are such a wonderful picture of our heritage I am so glad you are taking care of that one.

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  6. Hi! wasn't sure where to reply to your question. You were wondering how I found your blog to follow. I was searching for any farm blogs. I loved your title!

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  7. It looks wonderful just imaging the history in that old barn .

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  8. I am so happy to hear you are preserving that piece of history and family tradition. What a difference it makes.
    I like that you put your name and year in the concrete. That is how we first began to learn the history of our out buildings, from the markings in the cement.

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  9. What history in that barn-it is beautiful! I'm so glad you all wrote your names : )

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  10. Alica yes barns do need a lot of upkeep that is a fine job. B

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  11. love your barn! thanks for enlightening us as to how to repair the wall area. never heard of shotcreting. love to learn things like that!

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  12. I love the photo of the whole barn! I'm glad that you were able to make repairs...I wonder how long that barn will last? Hopefully forever! I would have liked to seen the behavior of the cows when they came back and saw the difference to their wall. It would have been a little humorous!

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I enjoy hearing what you have to say! Thanks for your comments!