Working on 1800's barn

[AlexR 722]

Did some more work in the barn still getting stuff cleared out. I had a bunch of wood up in that loft that I had to get down.

I also have a trailer load of junk to take to the dump tomorrow.

 

So this area below the loft shows the concrete I will have to bust out.  

 

And found some old license plates 1916 and 1939

 

 

[SylvanLakeWH 25,912]

Those plates are way cool!!! 

 

I'd be inclined to keep them but might pay for some of the restoration!!!

[AlexR 722]

6 minutes ago, SylvanLakeWH said:

Those plates are way cool!!! 

 

I'd be inclined to keep them but might pay for some of the restoration!!!

I know I will find a couple more plates it will be interesting to see the years on those. Unfortunately all of them have nails in them as they were used as hole fillers  so I have to pry the nails out of them as best as I can. 

[953 nut 55,744]

12 hours ago, AlexR said:

I am pretty fortunate to be able to do all that myself,

You can save a small fortune by doing it yourself as well as having the satisfaction of a job well done. A dozen years ago we designed and built our final home, we were both 66 at the time. We subcontracted the foundation, framing, roofing, siding, and drywall but did our own plumbing, electrical, painting, flooring, trim, and cabinets. We came in a little more than $ 80,000 under the turn-key bids and have some great memories as a result. The tongue and groove ceiling in our great room is one thing my wife continues to marvel at. She will sit in a chair looking up and comment about the number of trips up and down the scaffold were made installing it.

You can't buy memories like that, you have to make them. Thanks for sharing your progress and keep up the good work.

Edited December 10 by 953 nut
fat finger

[AlexR 722]

45 minutes ago, 953 nut said:

We subcontracted the foundation, framing, roofing, siding, and drywall but did our own plumbing, electrical, painting, flooring, trim, and cabinets. 

This is what I would do if I had a new house built. Because you are right you can save a lot of money. 

And getting the structure up and dried in, is very difficult to do by yourself. But all the rest of it like what you mentioned, is very doable in a reasonable timeframe. 

I can do drywall work and did do in my house, but I don't enjoy it other then seeing it done haha. But doing a whole house at once, I would definitely pay someone to do it. 

 

Btw that tongue and groove on the ceiling looks great!!! I have always liked the look of that on ceilings. Whenever I get to redo my porch I plan on putting that on the ceiling. 

[Handy Don 12,444]

17 hours ago, 953 nut said:

Per square foot prices for all houses including new ones and fixer-uppers ranges from over $ 400 to a bit under $ 200

I knew things had become challenging, but wasn’t really plugged in on the details. Wow!

The 1983 budget for our home, not including the land, was $50 per sq. ft. and we went just slightly over. I was the general contractor, My Dad and I installed all the interior doors and trim and I did all the finish painting. Local laws meant doing plumbing or electrical work required a license; insulating and sheet rocking a whole house yourself is time-consuming and isn't going to save a lot. Having village water and sewer and Con Ed natural gas in the street made the lot more expensive but saved a bunch on the build and ongoing expense. And most of my relatives thought we were spending too much!

Now my spouse and I are looking to refresh the well-used and "showing their age” kitchen and primary bathroom. $$$$ ahead assuming we can even find a contractor!

Edited December 10 by Handy Don

[953 nut 55,744]

5 hours ago, Handy Don said:

Local laws meant doing plumbing or electrical work required a license

In North Carolina if you are an owner/builder you can do any installation work you feel comfortable doing. The building inspectors are very thorough when looking at work not done by a licensed contractor. I had been doing plumbing and electrical work on Habitat for Humanities houses here for many years so the inspectors knew me but looked closely anyway, I'm good with that because we can all make mistakes and a second set of eyes is always a good thing. We were building the house in 2011 when hardly any construction was being done so when I called for an inspection we usually had two or three inspector show up, they just wanted to get out of the office.

5 hours ago, Handy Don said:

refresh the well-used and "showing their age” kitchen and primary bathroom. $$$$ ahead assuming we can even find a contractor!

Right now new construction is booming in Western North Carolina as well as Hurricane Helene recovery so remodeling jobs are backlogged by a year or more and prices are out of this world. 

[Handy Don 12,444]

17 hours ago, 953 nut said:

The building inspectors are very thorough

I wish it were only the local building inspectors. Like you, I enjoy showing off my craftsmanship and welcome learning from any mistakes.

In our county because of the law, the underwriter inspectors will only inspect plumbing and electrical work by a licensed tradesperson. And if you don’t have their inspection signature you cannot get homeowner insurance!

Edited December 11 by Handy Don

[Handy Don 12,444]

Of course, you can always choose to do work without a building permit, but then you take risk on yourself and your family.

In our town, the ZBA (zoning board of appeals) has mandated and enforced more than one reversal of construction where the builder or homeowner tried the “It’ll be easier to apologize and ask forgiveness that to request permission” method. In one case, they even forced removal, including the foundation, of a non-permitted (and non-conforming) breezeway/carport--the homeowner sought an “after the fact” variance for it.

Yes, draconian and seemingly invasive, but it does add a measure of protection against poor workmanship and helps preserve peace among neighbors where homes are on small lots.  

Edited December 11 by Handy Don

[WHX?? 49,145]

Just chiming in to follow and say what a great barn. I'd donate my left one to EB for one like that. Keep a good roof on it and it will last forever. 

[rjg854 11,474]

  Hate seeing those old barns fall into disrepair and then finally collapse.  

[Bar Nuthin 470]

Not sure if I'm allowed to post links, but this showed up on my FB feed today.

 

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/uUbL8PNQr8FiDbAM/ 

 

Grant Information | indianabarns 

 

[WHX?? 49,145]

1 hour ago, rjg854 said:

  Hate seeing those old barns fall into disrepair and then finally collapse.  

What people don't know is the Amish will take them apart for the lumber and pay you. 

Good money in barn boards these days.

[ebinmaine 68,259]

22 hours ago, WHX?? said:

Just chiming in to follow and say what a great barn. I'd donate my left one to EB for one like that. Keep a GOOD ROOF on it and it will last forever. 

IMHO  metal is the ONLY way to go for a building like that.

 

We even put metal roofing on our house. Not for everyone. But for us it's awesome.

[ebinmaine 68,259]

BTW.... @WHX??.  You stop by anytime and I'll let you stay in my barn.

 

[adsm08 2,173]

8 hours ago, rjg854 said:

  Hate seeing those old barns fall into disrepair and then finally collapse.  

 

I drive past one every day, probably more likely was just a stable, but I don't think it will be 6 months before it falls on its own.

[AlexR 722]

7 hours ago, WHX?? said:

What people don't know is the Amish will take them apart for the lumber and pay you. 

Good money in barn boards these days.

This is very true, and I could probably get up to $5000 for my barn. And a lot of people do that especially if they pay taxes on the barn, and it's in disrepair. 

I have a heritage barn tax duction on my barn which is a 100% deduction off the main part of the barn, but they actually are still taxing me for the lean-to and milkroom off the side of the barn haha

[AlexR 722]

7 hours ago, ebinmaine said:

IMHO  metal is the ONLY way to go for a building like that.

 

We even put metal roofing on our house. Not for everyone. But for us it's awesome.

We replaced our roof shortly after we bought the place kinda required by the bank, even though it didn't leak. 

It was a very very old standing seam metal roof that was getting rough despite not leaking and it was rusty and needed painting.

So little history on the place we bought it from Amish who owned it for about 2 years.

Before that it was a rental for probably around 4-6 years. 

And before that the guy who owned it, his daughter lived in the house I think for a fairly long while. He built a house next door around 1980 that he lived in until about 8-10 years ago. 

 

So this guy I met him. He actually has a footprint in some concrete with a date of 1942. His parents bought the property sometime in the 1920's and supposedly the standing seam metal roof was on it then. So the roof was 100 years old when I bought it and I am very inclined to believe it because under the metal roof was wood shingles. 

I replaced it with another metal roof, but it's a exposed fastener roof. 

 

The barn roof looks to be pretty decent, it should be good with some paint. 

[Beap52 858]

I enjoy seeing the talent of those who frequent this site.  Fortunately, I haven't had issues with my 520 and have not needed help with it but always read as others seek help and/or offer solutions.  I enjoy the other sections of this site and reading about folk's activities and situations as well as the bumps and bruises and gardening. 

 

I'll throw my two cents worth in "doing it yourself" projects.

 

Almost 20 years ago I drew the plans for our house and then built it. We were living in the Philippines at the time so before we returned to Missouri I had granite counter tops made for the kitchen in our new house then made sure I built the kitchen to fit the counter tops.  The marble floor in the picture below was purchased in the Philippines and I laid it.  (The grout isn't a cement based grout like we normally use, it was a fiberglass based "grout" with colorant in it.)  I wanted a new house to resemble a  one hundred year old house.  I made all of my own oak trim and used glass door knobs, I built the fire place surround and the clock standing in the corner.  The clock is made of narra wood.  It's the "oak" or "walnut" of the Philippines. 

 

Here in southwest Missouri, at least in our county, permits are not needed except for wells and septic systems as these are regulated by the state. I went to the court house to apply and pay for a permit and none was needed.  Our subdivision has rules and guidelines but that's it.

 

  I was rebuilding a barn for a customer (the round barn on clear creek walnut grove mo) and the county inspector rejected the stairs I installed.  I explained to him that I built them as dictated by the blueprints that were approved by the county and architect.  He didn't care, owner told me to tear them out and rebuild to inspector's requirements.  30 oak trees were removed from the farm and a sawmill was brought in so we would have oak to replace wood in the barn as needed.  We laid and finished 4,500 square feet of oak flooring.   In fact, we took out the old oak floor joists and installed 2x12 to bring up to code. This barn is on the historic register so the entrance foyer and bathrooms cannot be attached to the building but built next to it.  

 

 

[ebinmaine 68,259]

8 hours ago, Beap52 said:

I enjoy seeing the talent of those who frequent this site

 

Agreed. 

Some incredible minds around here.  

[WHX?? 49,145]

13 hours ago, AlexR said:

could probably get up to $5000 for my barn.

Be  foolish to do that Alex. no way can one come even close to putting up a structure like that for even close. Ain't that right EB?

Still just the vintage look can certainly not be duplicated. 

My BIL found a old barn and had it dissembled and reassembled on his ranch. Don't know what it cost at the time but most likely less than a new pole type structure. 

 

I'll tell you what is popular in WI now is to turn these old barns into venues for weddings and such.

@Achto and I attended a wedding in one last summer and it was pretty cool but can't imagine the cash outlay the owner had to suffer to make it that way. Even an elevator for the caterer and handicap. 

[AlexR 722]

40 minutes ago, WHX?? said:

Be  foolish to do that Alex. no way can one come even close to putting up a structure like that for even close. Ain't that right EB?

Still just the vintage look can certainly not be duplicated. 

My BIL found a old barn and had it dissembled and reassembled on his ranch. Don't know what it cost at the time but most likely less than a new pole type structure. 

 

I'll tell you what is popular in WI now is to turn these old barns into venues for weddings and such.

@Achto and I attended a wedding in one last summer and it was pretty cool but can't imagine the cash outlay the owner had to suffer to make it that way. Even an elevator for the caterer and handicap.

Not to worry I am not tearing it down, but just a example of why people do get them taken down. 

It's not so much the cost to build a new structure vs what you get out of tearing a old one down. It's the cost to fix the old barns if you are paying someone to do it. Especially with foundation or structural issues. So if someone doesn't really care about the history and coolness of the mortise and tenon beam barns, and are't going to do the work themselves. Its cheaper for them to tear it down either at no cost or even getting money out of it, and put up a pole barn (probably at reduced sqft especially if the old barn has multiple floors) then it is to fix a old barn. 

 

Which is why Indiana started the heritage barn tax exemption to try to keep so many barns from getting torn down. 

 

We have a lot of those wedding barns around here as well, and I have no doubt they spend close to 200k to get them fixed up. But they charge 2-3k every weekend for weddings. 

[Handy Don 12,444]

On 12/12/2024 at 7:45 PM, AlexR said:

The barn roof looks to be pretty decent, it should be good with some paint. 

Brings to mind a high school summer job working for a part-time house painter. One customer wanted their house, barn, and several outbuilding painted. Even the roof of the barn which was wood shingles in pretty good shape. The boss got with the paint supplier to get the right stuff for the roof.

Probably took the three of us a few weeks and being up that high on ladders and walking on the roof was plenty scary. WAY before the days of safety harnesses.

Still, after we were done the place looked fantastic!

 

[953 nut 55,744]

10 hours ago, Handy Don said:

roof of the barn which was wood shingles

10 hours ago, Handy Don said:

WAY before the days of safety harnesses

 

When I was about 12 or 13 my Dad, brother and I replaced the wood shingle roof on our barn with a galvanized steel roof. I got to do all the shingle tear-off since I was the lightweight and some of the sheathing boards didn't look too strong. A few of the boards cracked and creaked a bit but none actually broke.

Once the shingles were off we removed every other board (they were 10" on center) giving room enough to stand on the hay bales and nail on the metal from inside the barn and we could pass the sheets of metal through the openings.

If someone did the things that seemed normal back then in todays regulated environment the would be put in jail for child endangerment.         In my opinion I am better off for having had those experiences.

[SylvanLakeWH 25,912]

@953 nut ... you weren't wearing @Pullstart's protective clothing!!! 

 

He just did his barn roof a while back. Deer camera caught him in action...