This is the barn on my parents' property. It was there when they bought the place in 1952, although my dad added the doors. It was full of hay when they moved in. We believe the right side was added on at some point long before my folks arrived. The house was built in 1889, so for all I know the barn is at least turn of the century, maybe 1920s or 30s.
Unfortunately it took a beating this past winter. The roof had started to go over the past 10 years, but the weight of the snow has pretty much sealed it's fate. These are the split beams on the right side.
It's now a very, very dangerous situation. There is still a lot of stuff that needs to be moved out before any work is done, and it's a scary thought, having to walk under those beams that will let go at any time.
This is inside the left side, which I believe was an original stand-alone building, because of the window in the side.
This side has a huge hole in the back. It was open to the sky until a pest control man put some plywood up there to keep any more raccoons from getting in (he was there to remove a raccoon family).
Big old wasps nest, which I'm hoping is old and empty.
Not too sure what will be done. The options are to tear the whole thing down, take down just the right side and fix the left, or fix the entire thing. None of those ideas thrill me at all, but the decision is going to be made for us the next time we have heavy rain, and it certainly won't withstand another winter. I'd sure hate to see it torn down; I can't imagine that property without the barn on it. On the other hand, it could cost in excess of $10,000 to fix it too.
That's a lot of money to spend on it. Depends how useful the place is I guess. Seems a shame to pull it down but....
ReplyDeleteWell it is useful to store things like the lawn mower and snow blower and other bits and bobs. I can't imagine the property without though. Even having half gone will look bizarre.
Deleteit's such a lovely looking barn and obviously will hold a lot of memories what a shame if it had to go.
ReplyDeleteI'd sure hate to see it go, and friends that grew up with me have even said that the place would look so weird w/o it.
DeleteMy vote would be to cut back to the original and try to get heritage funds to make it sturdy, if it's in good shape otherwise. A great photo study of the damage, JoJo.
ReplyDeleteWhat are heritage funds? We don't have anything like that here that I know of. And in fact the historic district and the building inspector might insist that the whole thing be torn down. Can't do anything w/o the town meddling in everything.
DeleteHi JoJo,
ReplyDeleteThe barn has a lot of character and yes, it would be sad to have it removed. The costs of repair might not be an option. Perhaps, it could be scaled down and turned into something that holds onto the memories of the barn.
Gary
If we get the rain storm on Sunday I have a feeling that will be the death knell for the roof. I peeked in last week and the beams were hanging on by splinters. I'd sure hate to see it go though. It's a sturdy old building; they don't build them like that anymore.
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