Our barn restoration project

[erda]

That's a fantastic history, and a great job of saving the old barn.

The barn that my Grandpa and Dad built in the early '30s was burned down by an arsonist. Funny how you miss an old building.

 

[Cord]

Wow, thanks for the complements guys!

 

[dragoneggs]

Wow! Yes definitely thanks for sharing. Love how you saw the diamond in the rough!

 

[stans1]

Cord, great presentation! All of the different perspectives as you progressed were just excellent. Thank you.

 

[weldingisfun]

Superb job. A little more Americana preserved for future generations to enjoy. Thanks for sharing.

 

[wmonroe]

Great job restoring the old barn. I really enjoyed the picture slideshow, very impressive the transformation it went through. I love to see those old barns saved.

 

[emo3520]

Great save! Nice to see something preserved rather than the easier route of bulldozing and starting over.

 

[MacLawn]

Cord, at times like this, words are not enough. The only one I can see fit to use is that good, ancient old fashioned word - WOW!!! Man, I love that! I have seen so many beautiful barns and farm houses being destroyed because no one will at least install a tin roof!! It makes me sad. I am so glad you rescued that one! Thousands of them all over our area. Thank you!

 

[skylarkguy]

That project was rather epic. Nice job! At least twice a year my wife and i comment that we wish we had an old classic barn...

 

[tcreeley]

Well done! More than enough to make everyone proud!

 

[buckeyefarmer]

Great job, I love barns.

 

[woodlandfarms]

Cord, would you be comfortable in discussing the financials of a project like this?

 

[pinetree10]

Great photos. Thanks for posting.

I'm impressed that you gave it a shot. Most people would look at the overgrown mess and just bulldoze everything. It's great that you saved it. Will you continue with that smaller building next to it?

Congratulations on your restoration. The community around you should be grateful for what you've done.

 

[ShaneG]

Just wow! I love barns. Really. I have a book about the history of the American Barn on my side table right now. As a carpenter and a country boy, I can't begin to tell you how impressed I am with your project. Thanks for taking the time to share.

 

[Cord]

Yes, the old milk house will be saved. At this time, the rafters are pretty much a total loss, so that'll be a future project. I also have permission from the city to reconstruct the building next to the milk house, but I'm not sure I'm going to. My wife has learned from me to look past what is "now" and focus of what the properties potential is. I think this one might have pushed the boundaries though.

We got two bids on the job: The "english" bid was $110,000. The Amish bid was $44,000. The copula was an extra to that number. It wasn't terribly expensive, maybe a few thousand. I believe a 7,000 sqft pole building would cost around $70,000k, so saving the barn was actually cheaper. Besides, zoning wouldn't permit a pole building that large.

 

[dave1949]

Yes, the old milk house will be saved. At this time, the rafters are pretty much a total loss, so that'll be a future project. I also have permission from the city to reconstruct the building next to the milk house, but I'm not sure I'm going to. My wife has learned from me to look past what is "now" and focus of what the properties potential is. I think this one might have pushed the boundaries though.

We got two bids on the job: The "english" bid was $110,000. The Amish bid was $44,000. The copula was an extra to that number. It wasn't terribly expensive, maybe a few thousand. I believe a 7,000 sqft pole building would cost around $70,000k, so saving the barn was actually cheaper. Besides, zoning wouldn't permit a pole building that large.

That's not bad really. One fancy crew cab 4x4 pickup truck. :laughing:

Some folks use the McDonald's economic measure (cost of a Big Mac in various places or against income). I use the new pickup truck comparison, and that barn is worth a lot more than a new pickup truck.

 

[wmonroe]

70k is the low side of what I was expecting. I would say you did very well.

 

[SPIKER]

I
d say you got one heck of a good deal with great views on top of the process/satisfaction of saving that grand place!!!

Love the new and old dates laid out on the place too! One of the local barns I go by has old slate roof, looks perfect & has date of 1886 with a decorative oval surround on it. about 10 years ago they added a steel lean too off one side, not as nice looking but the place is in great shape. It is working dairy on top of it so lots of cows have been in/out of that place for sure.

Mark

 

[coobie1]

Outstanding work.Thanks for the Video.

 

[samofsweden]

Fantastic rebuild!! Thanks for sharing! The barn will be there for another 150years:thumbsup: