It has been a long time since I have updated this blog, and a lot has changed. Timothy our first child is now twenty-five months old, and Patrick our second is 4 months old.
With the collapse in the cost of building materials (and labor rates), we decided to expand the farmstead this spring by adding... a barn! I began getting estimates in late winter, even talking to the folks that built the house. We had hoped to do the barn in post-and-beam, but the estimate we recieved were way out of line for our expectations- and budget. We opted for a stick-built structure, and I designed it myself.The barn is a classic new-england style story-and-a-half cape, with a 12/12 roof pitch. We built it into the bank to make accessing the hayloft easy. as of July 6th, the barn is complete except for power, painting, and the main door. We used a local carpenter, Wayne Carr out of East Burke, and he was great to work with.
How will the barn be used? In the short term, as a multi-purpose utility building. we want both kids out of diapers before adding animals; We are considering sheep, some pigs for slaughter, maybe a milk-cow, but who knows how we'll feel in a few years. the stucture offers a lot of flexibilty which is key for us.
