Mick continued to organize the barn by building a workbench.
He attached some planks to the wall and strategically added hooks and nails to hang various tools.
I thought that was a great way to store the clamps!
One of Mick's favorite ideas from his online research of workshop organization was screwing jar lids to the bottom of a shelf and using the jars to store small items. We thoroughly researched the jars available at Aldis and decided our favourite size and shape jar held sauerkraut, which (conveniently enough) is delicious!
It has been revolutionary for him to have such a clean, organized place to work!
Mick has continued organizing the barn, one project at a time as he decides how he wants things to be set up. A project we were very excited about is a rack for storing sheets of construction material, such as plywood. The idea is that the rack fits neatly against the back wall so we can still stack hay directly in front of it. Mick left enough space to the right of the rack so that materials can be put in and out of the rack that way.
The side from which the materials are extracted is fastened with a chain. He used big bolts at the bottom for the rack to be able to swivel outwards when needed.
The opposite end of the rack is fastened with a bungee cord, and we can stack hay directly up to it, since we do not need to be able to access this side of it. This rack cleared out an entire corner of the basement! as these materials were bulky and difficult to store the way we had things set up there.
Another project was shelves built directly into the wall. I am amazed at the angled cuts Mick is able to do so that pieces fit together.
Maynar and I helping, as usual.
So far all of the barn building projects have used lumber left over from the construction of the overhang. (The builders were thrilled to be able to leave their scraps behind; I can't imagine anyone not wanting it!)
Since the delivery of the barn, Mick has been doing a lot of research on barn organization, and we have begun clearing out the basement. (!!!!!!!!!!) The first project that took shape out of his research was hooks for hanging things from the rafters:
I was amazed that they specifically make hooks for hanging bicycles. There are a lot of really neat options for making efficient use of space.
Yarrow, the mountain cur, kept watch on the nearby dirt pile (from the site prep for the barn).
And Maynar and I provided moral support (?) -- mostly I walked around, while he looked around and tried to eat the carrier.
Further bulletins as events warrant... Mick has some great ideas for lumber storage next!
When Mick got a salary job this year, we knew we wanted to use the extra income for our big-ticket purchases. (And for Christmas present splurging, but we got that out of our system by, well, Christmas.) We have a wish list of big and small items, and Mick thought we should choose what of all the purchases would make the biggest difference in our life -- "shoot the close targets first" kind of thing. We decided that the closest target was a barn. As we discussed this during a windy, snowy winter which destroyed our temporary fabric shelter so that we found ourselves stretching and tying tarps to try to keep the hay dry, we looked forward to a shelter for hay, tools, and equipment that would not get shredded in the wind or collapse under the snow. Mick was also looking forward to a space to construct and to putter (less mess in the house! no complaints from me), and an area set up specifically for bucking, splitting, and storing firewood that would also allow him to more easily save the sawdust for compost cover material.
Mick did a great deal of research and settled on a run-in shed with an overhang from Wood-Tex Products in Himrod, New York. He was impressed by the quality of their construction, and felt that the price was very reasonable for the materials used (including white oak framing) and a hassle-free, delivered, ready-to-go structure. So in January we submitted our plans, received our quote, and tightened our belts to meet our budget for the Barn savings account.
We opted to have a poured cement pad for a foundation. This would allow us to easily move heavy objects between the barn and the overhang by rolling or tugging.
So this is what the area looked like in 2011:
And this is what it looked like last week: (The wheelbarrow is in a similar-ish location to the rain barrel in the above picture.)
And then moving day finally came! My first view of our barn as they maneuvered it onto the driveway (I thought it looked huge! certainly taller than I was expecting):
Yarrow wasn't so sure about it.
Maynar seemed to enjoy watching.
It took a bit of finagling to get it around the corner, although they reassured me that they have gotten structures into much less convenient spaces than ours.
The trailer could be operated by remote control completely independently of the truck, which was amazing to watch.
They then slid the barn off the trailer.
They set it onto rollers so that they could then push it into position.
They did the fine-tuning positioning with a mule.
It was amazing to watch such a large structure be moved around so easily and precisely.
They did a great job lining it up on the pad!
They then constructed the overhang, which only took a couple of hours.
And now we're in the barn business!
One of our favorite things about the barn is how it has changed the view out the window, from...
