Buck Barn: Roof and Walls

 More progress! (Continued from here.)

Rain was in the forecast, so we were anxious to get the roof on.

The slabs leaning against the back are going to become the exterior walls. 

They are waste slabs from Dan's previous lumber milling projects. 

Because the slabs don't fit together without some gaps, plywood from the torn down buck shelter was used for inner walls. 

Continued here.

Buck Barn: Roof and Walls © January 2021

by Leigh at http://www.5acresandadream.com

Buck Barn Progress

I've got more pictures than words for this post (a good thing, right?!) Progress (always weather permitting) is continued from here. 

Dan's old pick-up still has some use.

So far, we've had to purchase very little for the new buck barn. Almost all of the materials have either been milled from our property, or re-purposed from other things (like the buck shelter). 

Ridge beam

Dan "treats" the bottoms of the posts with fence paint.

Posts are set on cap block instead of a footer.

Dan drills holes in both the cap block and the bottom of the post and inserts rebar to stabalize the posts on the blocks. 

Roof rafters over the buck side of the barn.

Where the bucks' door will go.

Knee braces and roof rafters in place

Most of the roof rafters came from the demolished
buck shelter. The rest Dan purchased.

Continued here.

Buck Barn Progress © Jan 2021 by Leigh 

at http://www.5acresandadream.com

Buck Shelter Demolition

The buck shelter has been a feature on our homestead since 2013. Hard to believe it's been that long! But with the building of a new shelter, the old is coming down. Two reasons: to reuse the wood for the new shelter, plus the roof leaks. Dan's current nice weather project has been to disassemble it.

All that's left is straw bedding and the privacy fence panels that made the back of the shelter. The rest of the materials will be re-used in the new buck barn. 

Even the hay feeder will find new life as a portable feeder. All it needs is the roof extended some and wheels or ???

It's really nice to have all those materials to re-use. I'll show you how it's coming along, next time. 

Buck Shelter Demolition © Jan 2021 by Leigh 

at http://www.5acresandadream.com

Dan's Winter Project

Do you remember this?

It's a photo from last February, when I blogged about heavy rains flooding the buck shelter. The boys were standing in six inches of water and we had to move them out.

Every heavy rain since then, Dan and I are concerned about a repeat performance, so we've been discussing options. Those options have all been variations on one of two ideas: do something to prevent the shelter from flooding again (like a seasonal pond), or move the bucks' home to a new location. After tallying up the pros and cons of each, we realized there are more incentives for moving the bucks rather than messing with drainage. The biggest incentive is that having them closer would be more convenient for water, hay, and feeding chores! The other problem is that the roof in the buck shelter has been leaking, so a repair would be necessary if we left them there, in addition to fixing the flooding problem. 

After discussing all the concerns and options, we decided to build new buck housing and tear down their current shelter to re-use the materials. We'll put the boys back in the old buck barn for the time being.

So Dan's winter project is building the new barn. Here's where we're putting it.

The blue above is the location of the new buck barn. We're going to re-do the chicken yard to set up an area for the bucks that will facilitate a new pasture rotation plan. Please note that nothing is to scale!!! But you get the idea.

It will be a gable roofed building. One half will have three exterior walls and a pony wall will divide the two halves. That will be the bucks' side. The other half will be open (no walls) and used for feed and hay storage. 

Here's how it's going so far!

There's no specific time table for this, but we've had some pretty weather so hopefully, it will move right along. After that, it will be fence repair and rearrangement. 

Continued here.

Dan's Winter Project © Dec 2020 by Leigh 

at http://www.5acresandadream.com

Our Eventful Rain Event

This week's rain event was one like we'd never experienced before.

At morning chores, the bucks were high and dry.
Three hours later the buck shelter was flooded.

We had to wade out to rescue them.
The deepest spot reached the top of my boots.

Piles of ants floated by.

Dry ground was gone.

The boys were standing in six inches of water
with their bedding straw floating on top.

Fortunately, we have the buck barn. It's out of the flooding, although it sits
in a dip and usually has wet floors when it rains. But it was a better option.

Goats hate getting wet, so we had to push and drag them
through the flooded area to get them to higher ground.

Dan put down pallets and plywood to get them off
the damp ground and we gave them plenty of dry hay.

There aren't many options for draining the pasture. 

Some of it we could channel behind the buck shelter. 

Our neighbor's field floods with every extensive rain,
so ours will drain off with his. At least some of it.

Our rain total was 5.5 inches. By the next morning there were only a couple of small puddles left in the pasture. The wind was blowing strong and cold, and the temperature had dropped 30 degrees.

We've had areas around the homestead collect a lot of water, but we've never had the pasture flood like that before! The wet straw will be spread out on bare spots in the pasture. Then we'll let the shelter dry out before putting down fresh bedding and letting the bucks back in.

UPDATE:

Two days later.

Our Eventful Rain Event © February 2020

by Leigh at http://www.5acresandadream.com

A Decorative Touch for the Barn

I have a little more progress on the barn to report. Remember this photo from my last barn post?

2 posts in the middle of the barn to support the hay loft.

Dan wanted to add kneebraces to those posts but was concerned about us bumping our heads on them. So he decided to make small curved knee braces.

They took some extra time but I like them!

He also finished the floor joists for the hay loft.

The loft will only cover 2/3 of the goat area, which we think will be plenty of room for hay. Pretty soon he'll be able to get started on the roof!

Next time I'll show you what Dan found on top of the barn the other day. It was definitely a surprise!

Next > "Ship's Ladder for the Hay Loft"

A Decorative Touch for the Barn © August 2017 by Leigh at http://www.5acresandadream.com/

A Little Progress on the Goat Barn (Formerly Dan's Workshop)

"What? A new barn for us?"

Well, not a barn yet but eventually. Current progress is the addition of a few posts.

In the back - posts to frame out a wide sliding barn door.

In the front - a stable door will go between the two new posts on the left.

 In the middle - posts to support the hay loft.

It's slow going because the joints have to be cut. So that's it for the moment.

"Barn, shmarn. We'll believe it when we see it."

A Little Progress on the Goat Barn (Formerly Dan's Workshop)

© July 2017  by Leigh  at http://www.5acresandadream.com/