Building a Barn

On those days when I am not riding to places unknown...I am working on a project here at home...my little ranch in the woods.
I am building a RCA Barn. That means it is a Raised Center Aisle (RCA), and it is 48' long by 30' wide.

I am actually ahead of schedule, as I intentionally told myself, and my wife, that I do not want to rush this project, I do not want it to become a burden, I do not want to work myself to death, and if it takes me this Spring, Summer and Fall...and then next Spring and Summer to finish the entire project...then so be it.

Well, I have succeeded on "some" of those goals, but...I am way ahead of schedule, and it is working me to death. Each day that I go outside and work on the barn for 2 to 3 hours at a time, while it is cooler out, I end up losing 3 to 4 pounds of sweat. I actually weigh myself before and after, and it has consistently been between 3 to 4 pounds of weight loss, due to sweat. I have to work hard to keep myself hydrated, keep the muscles from cramping, etc, because it gets hot out there, and working on a roof.

The upper roof section has a roof angle of 6 / 12, and the lower roof section has an angle of 4 / 12. That makes it difficult to stand on the upper roof, nailing in all the plywood sheathing (no OSB for my barn), and then stapling on all the 15 lb felt paper, then screwing on all the metal roofing panels. The upper roof has 8' long metal roofing panels on each side, whereas the lower roof section has 12' long metal roofing panels on each side.

The only day of the week that I can get anyone to help me, is on Wednesdays, like today, and then we have to get as much done as possible before the heat sets in. We stopped today at Noon, and will start again today at 6:30 pm, to get some more of the metal roofing done. All the other days of the week...it is me alone that biulds this project. So far, I have done about 93.14159 % of it myself.

Hey, I am not a Spring Chicken. I am an old guy, that simply wanted to do this project as a fun thing, rather than hiring out a professional crew to build me a complete barn in 30 days. (at this point I sorta wish I had paid out the extra $ 20,000.00 to have a professional crew do mit for me, but...)

When all is said and done, it should end up costsing me about $ 10,000.00 for everything. Yes, I can afford to have someone else do it, but...sometimes we take on these projects that we think are going to be fun, and then we get over-involved in them.

Important: Once this roofing is all done, then it is time to go riding again. With the roof in place, then I can take my time with the side walls plywood, Tyvek wrapping, and metal siding panels.

When it is complete, it will have running water and electrical to it, for lights, and outlets. In case the Llamas, Alpacas, and Nigerian Dwarf Goats want to watch their favority movie...Chicken Run.

And...for those of you (and you know who you are) that will say this post is no good without pictures...HA...I foiled you again.

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Some more pictures, of the critters: Bert & Earnie the Llamas.........Cisco & Pancho the Alpacas...and Daisy, Buttercup, Petunia, Billy the Kid, and the Sundance Kid, and...Pumpkin & Mango...all Nigerian Drawf Goats.

Also of the shot looking back from the Barn, towards the shop, extended carport, and feed barn.

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Looks like you've got quite a place there, Miles. Good looking barn. The critters will appreciate it.