The house that Axe built.....

[rjdankert]

. . .

RJ, I can't ever seem to see your pictures, must be Google+ (I am resisting)?! Too bad, I love barns, especially pegged timber ones! The only better barn is a cantilevered barn, especially if the logs are squared.

Did you try the link I posted in my post #11?

Could you provide answers to the questions I asked S_p in post #19?

Do you see this picture?

thanks, Bob

 

[BG_Farmer]

Did you try the link I posted in my post #11?

Could you provide answers to the questions I asked S_p in post #19?

Do you see this picture?

thanks, Bob

Bob,
Sorry, I did try the previous links and had no luck. Tried another machine also. Google said "inexplicble errror/file does not exist" or something to that effect. Got busy this weekend and forgot to get back to you.

I can see the picture in the current post, thanks, and your previous one in response to sqpeg. What ever you did worked.

Nice barn! One on my granny's farm is built just like that, and outlasted two or three roofs in my lifetime alone (wind)!

 

[rjdankert]

. . .
I can see the picture in the current post, thanks, and your previous one in response to sqpeg. What ever you did worked. . .

Thanks, the one in the last post is from Flickr. The first ones I posted were from Google Pictures.

. . .
One on my granny's farm is built just like that, and outlasted two or three roofs in my lifetime alone (wind)!

Any pictures?

 

[BG_Farmer]

Thanks, the one in the last post is from Flickr. The first ones I posted were from Google Pictures.


Any pictures?

I knew that was coming! It is 3 1/2 hours away, but my brother lives there now, so I can get some, just not right away! There used to be a lot of those barns, but disuse led to neglect and bad roofs, which is the real bane of any building. So even though the barn is safe for the foreseeable future, I ought to take some pictures for posterity...

 

[300Six]

I knew that was coming! It is 3 1/2 hours away, but my brother lives there now, so I can get some, just not right away! There used to be a lot of those barns, but disuse led to neglect and bad roofs, which is the real bane of any building. So even though the barn is safe for the foreseeable future, I ought to take some pictures for posterity...

Classic 'pole barn'. They survive years of neglect but an unrepaired hole in the roof accelerates the demise of these. In eastern Ontario these barns are being torn down at a rapid rate by entrepreneurs that salvage the timbers, flooring and siding and resell the wood for exorbitant prices. The current craze for reclaimed lumber has not peaked as of yet and every fancy new mansion seems to feature some for accents and even for finish flooring. Rust stained nail holes seems to be 'de rigeur' amongst urban jungle dwellers.

 

[rjdankert]

. . .In eastern Ontario these barns are being torn down at a rapid rate by entrepreneurs that salvage the timbers, flooring and siding and resell the wood for exorbitant prices. . . .

It would be nice to see the old barns saved. Especially if they are in useable condition. The Girl Scout barn in my post was probably let go too long to make it cost effective to repair, at least for the Girl Scouts. Still a lot of nice wood in there. At one point the scouts were looking into hiring someone to demolish it. As you say there is a demand for the lumber so I suggested that they might look for someone who recycles barn wood. That way they might get rid of it for little or no cost. I think they looked into it, but not sure how serious they were. The wood is pricey for the average person, but at least it gets used. The volunteer fire department burned down an old barn recently a couple of miles from my house. It made me sad to drive by and see it being burned.

Bob

 

[Lieblad]

I cannot disagree with how safety and insurance issues have affected the building industry. Here in Ontario for instance a rural property owner can no longer erect outbuildings using wood milled on site; the lumber has to be dressed to spec and grader stamped. Sometimes regulations get out of hand; a fellow capable of milling his own wood from trees is also likely to know how knots and the like affect the strength of a piece of wood.

Lucky for me, My rural county allows and actually promotes using 'Home Milled" lumber.
We are blessed with a libertarian and community oriented council.
Their only provision is the lumber be one trade size larger than what would be normal.

My 1904 house is unique as its a vertical plank framing construction.
The local sawmill only made planks, & thats what the builder used....

Of course the electricity installation about 1935 was mostly intact and scary as hell !

 

[300Six]

Lucky for me, My rural county allows and actually promotes using 'Home Milled" lumber.
We are blessed with a libertarian and community oriented council.
Their only provision is the lumber be one trade size larger than what would be normal.

Aren't you blessed! So where exactly is this? Cities and large municipalities are nit picky in the extreme about everything whereas out in the country you can actually develop a good rapport with the township building inspector, who might just turn a blind eye once he's cognisant that you know what you're doing.

 

[Square_peg]

Do you see this picture?

thanks, Bob

That's the first of your pictures that I can see. The other link you posted gave an Error 404 response.

That's an interesting photo. Clearly the loft was added on later. Lotta history right there.

 

[rjdankert]

That's the first of your pictures that I can see. The other link you posted gave an Error 404 response.

That's an interesting photo. . .

Thanks. IIRC 404 is basically a bad link.

. . . Clearly the loft was added on later. Lotta history right there.

I was told the barn was added onto, but don't know when. Maybe more than once. Here is a shot looking in the opposite direction:


-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

If anyone is interested, the pictures in my first post in this thread #4 were hosted on Google Photos, #19 from PhotoBucket and #21 Flickr (as the one above also).

Bob

 

[300Six]

That's the first of your pictures that I can see. The other link you posted gave an Error 404 response.

That's an interesting photo. Clearly the loft was added on later. Lotta history right there.

The 4 or 5 working barns (just like in the photo) I used to sneak around in during the 1960s all featured lofts specifically for storing hay. Some of them even had a high gable end door with lanyard pole with block and tackle for hoisting up the bales. Mechanized conveyors became common some time after the second world war. Haying time was a social event for young rural men and always left you dog tired and scratching, and severely overfed by the farmer's wife.

 

[Square_peg]

Haying time was a social event for young rural men and always left you dog tired and scratching, and severely overfed by the farmer's wife.

Sounds like pure bliss.

 

[300Six]

Sounds like pure bliss.

Coming up with enthusiastic help (generally unpaid) during haying time was difficult for grouchy old coots. They had to hire their help. One enterprising farmer here (a relative of his was the coach, I suspect) perennially enlisted the local high school football team. Those sturdy lads got a real weekend workout tossing and stacking square bales on to the hay wagon and then up and into the loft, and were rewarded with a huge lunch and supper to crown it off. Tossing hay is very itchy work when it's hot and humid outside. However partaking in a day of this enabled you to sleep really long and well.