November 29, 2017

Milking Room Roof Phase 1

It's amazing how motivating it is when a project begins to take shape. Reaching the point where it's time to do the roof certainly gives a barn shape to our barn! After building the loafing area overhang on back of the goat barn, Dan spent a couple of days milling nailers for the milking room roof.



He started with the milking room, because we already had some of the metal roof panels. The milking room is the one section of the barn on which they will fit.


We bought them last April when we thought we would renovate the old carport. Then we discovered how badly rotted the carport roof beams and rafters were under the fascia board and abandoned the project. 


The panels are 3+ feet wide, so six of them covered the 16-foot width with a ten-inch overhang on both front and back.


A fascia board was added over the ends of the rafters to accommodate a gutter.

The only "problem" is that the panels are 14-feet long, whereas the length of the roof rafters is 16 feet.


That meant a two-foot gap at the top of the milking room roof.


However, problems are simply doorways to creativity! Can you guess what we're going to do with the gap? I bet you can!

Click here for "Milking Room Roof Phase 2."

Milking Room Roof Phase 1 © Nov. 2017 

19 comments:

Judy said...

If it were me, I would put up poly-carbonate roofing panels for natural lighting. Will be interesting to see what you do with the gap.

Gorges Smythe said...

Keeps looking better!

Susan said...

You must be so looking forward to you new milking room!

Rain said...

I have NO CLUE what you'll do Leigh lol...sun roof? :) I love what you said that problems are simply doorways to creativity, that's so great! And so true.

Mrs Shoes said...

Judy said what I was thinking! One sheet of clear plastic roofing (the same design as the tin) would give you very good lighting in the milking room! When we built our barn, Mr Shoes put in 4 skylights & it makes all the difference because (even in the winter) I don't need to turn on lights in the daytime.
Also, cudos for remembering the need for gutters! It's very off-putting to have a dripline around your nice buildings; especially if, like ours, there are doors directly under the dang dripline.
"It's on The List, dear.", he says, a decade later.

Kris said...

I'm there with Judy & Mrs Shoes - polycarb panels to let in some light!

Lady Locust said...

Me thinks you left the gap so it will be easier to hang your tire swings. Then you and the goatlings will be having tire swing competitions. Am I right 😉

Mama Pea said...

Yep, a long sky light. Or as our lady carpenter friend says, a sky leak. No, with a poly-carbonate panel material that overlaps the metal roofing, you won't have that problem. How clever of you and Dan to think of that solution! (Or am I completely wrong?)

Leigh said...

Ya'll are correct, a polycarb "skylight" it will be! Although I have to say I like Lady Locust's tire swing idea, LOL. Hopefully Dan will have it finished tomorrow, so I can show it off in my next post.

Sandy Livesay said...

Leigh,
Dan is doing an amazing job. Can't wait to see the end result.
Hugs,
Sandy

Chris said...

I was going to say skylight as well. Brilliant way to bring light into a building, perhaps low on windows? It's looking so fancy now!

M.K. said...

Yes, I agree - natural lighting, although I don't know how open the sides of the milking room will be, but if it's all enclosed, then a clear panel up there would be perfect.

Leigh said...

Sandy, thanks!

Chris, a skylight was something we wouldn't have planned if we had to measure and buy the panels exactly for this. But having those too-short panels already made for a great improvement!

M.K., I'm a huge fan of windows and so always ask for as many as I can get as large as I can get. Dan has to make them, however, so he gets final say!

Ed said...

My father's shop has polycarbonate panels on the south side for lighting and especially for warmth in the winter. I always loved working in there on sunny winter days, not so much during the summer time though.

Goatldi said...

Late to the party as usual. And yes on the polycarbonate panels. I first saw that done in person while visiting a Nubian herd in the late 1980's . Was the first and last time I ever saw it in a barn but they really did allow an amazing amount of light in even on the cloudy day we were there. Good save!

Leigh said...

Ed, on the roof or wall? I've known folks to use them as "windows" too, which worked well. They do let in heat in the summer though! Ours will be mostly shaded which is good!

Goatldi, Dan just finished them yesterday so post tomorrow. It's hard to tell at this point how much light they'll let in, because we still don't have walls!

And Mrs. Shoes, thanks for the nod for the gutters! Not very interesting, but they do make a difference, especially for those of us who collect rain water!

Cozy Thyme Cottage said...

Hi, I have no idea what you will do! But I am sure you have something clever up your sleeve. You have such a nice farm! Nancy

Ed said...

Both. The entire south wall was made from them and half the peak. We used an off-center peak design so the steep side sloping south used polycarbonate panels and the shallower north sloping side used conventional steel.

Leigh said...

Nancy, thanks! We're always up to something LOL

Ed, sounds like it would make a good greenhouse, except in summer of course. I'd like to have a greenhouse similar to your dad's shop someday.