Not long after the “wind event,” I started trying to contact local contractors to rebuild the barn. There were numerous other farms in the area that had damage from this storm, so maybe that was a factor, but only one actually came out and took a look by mid-summer. Weeks went by and no further word was heard, after which I contacted yet another contractor, who got me a quote within a couple weeks. I ran into the other contractor shortly after this, and his quote magically appeared a few days later. It was high and late, so they didn’t get the work…
Meanwhile, I decided it might be prudent to excavate the dirt floor while I had easy access so I could pour a concrete floor next year. A few hundred dollars bought me eight hours of pure “big boy toy” fun. It was the first time I’d used one of my employer’s products for “real dirt work,” too.
The contractor I had engaged, like the stereotype, kept pushing back the start date every time I talked to them. Originally planned to begin in October (which would have had the work finished before cold and rainy/snowy weather), it wasn’t until early December that they finally showed up and drilled the holes for the new poles. And yes, that is snow on the ground…
Two weeks later, the framing is pretty much done, but it will be another week before the new steel siding and roofing will show up. We’ve had several snows already, including about 8″ last weekend, followed by an ice storm and another inch of snow this weekend.
The next phase involves tearing off the old roof and siding, and we’ll need both a dry roof (!) and 3-5 days of clear weather to get that done and the new roof on. Did I mention we’re having temperatures get below zero now?