Growing a Barn the Hard Way

The project started before I owned a sawmill, so it began as a part-log structure. The log part became an inside room, intended to be the winter "warm-room."	First, a few longs on the ground.
Then a few posts stuck in the ground.	Then a little work. (Kids, don't try this at home. Always wear safety shoes if you do!)
Some lifting	And more lifting
The log room measures 16' by 20' and is inside the 36' X 70' "pole building" structure. The loft has plenty of room to serve as a loft floor for drawing boat lines full size. It can also serve as a sail loft when it comes time to make sails. If all else fails, it will do as a hay loft.	Sometimes the project seemed too big for me
Since I'm perhaps more of a sailor than a farmer, my barn had to have a pilothouse or crow's nest. It makes a neat "thinking perch" with a view, and it has a practical function, as a natural hot air vent in the hot summer. The Crow's Nest
The Amish do things a little differently. Such projects are never one man endeavors in Amish communities. With the exception of a little help now and then from my son (especially putting the metal roof on), this was a one man show, from cutting the trees and sawing the lumber, to finished barn. Of course I had to buy nails and roofing, but that was all. Net cost was about a thousand dollars.
Ordinarily, buildings of this size are built by more than one person. This was a 95% one man operation. My son helped me nail down some decking, and helped put the roof stingers and corrugated roofing up. Viewed from the computer center in the loft of Rambling Hovel.
Finally, with a little tin roofing, and some extra work, A "Barn/Boatshop" at last!

When it comes to building around the farmstead, nothing can beat a small sawmill for making value out of trees. My barn was build from 99.9% home-grown lumber. I got some telephone poles free for posts to put into the ground. The roofing and nails for my 36' X 70' building, with a full loft, cost just a little over a thousand dollars. I don't put a dollar value on my labor. A lot of people use that as an excuse not to do anything. They work for someone else so they can pay somebody else to do their work for them. That's okay, if you make enough money to make it worth while and enjoy it. I've often heard that gardening isn't worthwhile because, when you consider your time, veggies are cheaper in the supermarket.

I work cheap — for myself. That way I get cheap lumber and cheap, but healthy, vegetables. (I'll have to admit that my loving wife does most of the gardening.) Of course a guy has to make some money on the side somehow to buy salt and nails, and pay land taxes. I've been very fortunate to be able to get my stake by going down to the sea in ships. Every year I ship out once, for about four months, and that provides my family with salt, nail, and tax money. I believe that if I were not able to ship out, I could make a living with my trusty WoodMizer, combined with a few other related activities. Of course then I'd have to put a price on my labor.

Turning Logs into Lumber

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