Life goes on - Summer 2020

Al, its a common known fact here if you want to learn how to curse, buy a goat. And it is the absolute truth! Here they wake me up allmost every morning at 5 or so, as they find a way out the pasture and even end up in the house sometimes. Make a mess! Problem is their inteligence. It is unbeliveable.
But l cant be mad, they give back so much. We have all the milk we need plus a lot in the freezer, all that precious food from processed weeds! The milking goat 8 years old still milks half a gallon a day and comes in the house to be milked when its milking time.

13 Likes

I would be worried about foundation damage if that was my house. Those roots are dangerous.

4 Likes

I had a friend years ago who kept a goat in a run just like a dog to avoid the fencing issues. It worked well for him but there was no tree for the goat to get in trouble with on the run shade was in the base of an old barn.

2 Likes

The building was built as agricultural infrastructure huge silos existed behind this building now gone an extremely dangerous place as is the place I had silos pulled down which were smaller silos . there are two floor augers still in place in this building . I have my wood chipper in this building . There is an incredible amount of machinery above the wood chipper but I am afraid to go up to look at it

3 Likes

Henry, The building has an intact metal roof, and it looks straight and plumb. It is probably in better shape than you think. That tree looks healthy. As it grows, it will possibly start displacing the foundation, like Dan said… If you like the tree, you can keep it for awhile, but I would plan on getting rid of it and plant another in a better location. I would be more worried about poison ivy. :grin:

4 Likes

I was just thinking if you you don’t trust the second floor I wouldn’t want to put anything I valued including myself under that mass of machines that are up there. My first move would be to stiffen any sagging beams with additional support posts.

4 Likes


!(upload://wEdlpupCtnJDMTb6anRA9a1ohQZ.png)

The ceiling is not sagging It seems incredibly overbuilt part of building over auger is gone .

3 Likes

ceiling

6 Likes

Kristijan, I fenced with 36in woven wire, and 2 strands of electric at 12’’ and 42’’ on 4’’ insulators. towards the inside. This is what we kept goats in at our old farm for 20 years, always held them in.

5 Likes

I would just close up the part that you say is gone it was probably part of some sort of connection to the silos which are gone. That looks like an amazing structure in great shape in the photos. There is a trend for converting old barns and mills into apartments. Those beams look like It has alot of potential.
Just make sure you have a good quality roof to keep water out and a decent wall to keep the wind from getting under the roof and the rest will wait. I have a barn that is a mess because the back wall lost a fight with the skidsteer years ago. Now I am trying to find the time and money to put back the wall and roof as about 12 feet of roof was blown off over a couple of decades before I got here. From the photos it looks to me as though that building is in great shape.

3 Likes

That same woven wire with the top wire of electric is my new best cattle fence as well. Put it up when I got here 7 years ago and it hasn’t failed even with the posts now tipping out. It also seems to stop the black bear from running through it which always happened with our barbwire fences.

4 Likes

some one had gone to some trouble to keep power to the second floor , and it was trouble because the wires sparked over the main barn in the wind and rain . The main barn is huge and is made from timbers of old ships and it has a second part that has fallen but is still standing , it just did a dance .

2 Likes

Henry, The Building looks very good to me. Time to start chucking that machinery stored on the second floor (small bits first) into a roll-off dumpster parked in a strategic location. Should check for “valuable” antiques and prime raw materials. Hire a couple teenagers to help! :laughing::grin: We have lots of old post and beam wooden barns here in Indiana (including one on my property line, not mine) that have been sheathed with metal siding, and the roof painted with aluminized roof coating, and they are good for another 100 years!

6 Likes

I was looking at that stuff up on the second floor thinking he should have @k_vanlooken visit he would end up with a automatic feeding charcoal system for sure. Looks to be some good stuff there to repurpose into something useful.

3 Likes

I’ll second the use of that aluminized thick brush and mop-on roofs coatings.
Great way to preserve old now rusty metal roofs.
Seals. Stays weathers flexible. Adds weight for wind edge lifting. Great stuff for old mobile homes.
Ha! Just gooey, asphalt stinking, and messy to put on!
Wear old cloths you expect to dispose of.
S.U.

4 Likes

HenryH,
that tree will be killing your building from the roof down too. Holds moistures with it’s live leaf’s. Sheds leaf’s. Promotes moss growing metal edge lifting.
Conifers with needles will do the same, same.
Cut it down to save this building.
Steve Unruh

5 Likes


I cut a half inch bolt and the whole building went back north several feet and came down towards the earth several feet while shaking and oscillating . I was not paying much attention as I had huge rotten beams in my hands that I was laying down and trying not to wind up under . Then I went out on the roof and the building went down towards the earth several more feet . Then I realized I needed to do something , so I put in pine tree as post to hold up building . Chained the two buildings together and ran a 5/8 rod across building . I put in stairs because I got tired of using ladder .

Recently I put this in to hold up sagging roof and I do not know what it is called .

I am still scared to even go up and look into second floor of grain elevator . Neighbors have expressed interest in getting salvage from building . They also repeatedly asked for concrete panels from silos . They became very offended and distressed when I brought them over . They wanted 24 I brought over 12 very heavy . We do not talk now .

2 Likes

I climbed inside tree and cut it down , there was no place for me to go , inside tree against wall , drop on one side fence and vines on other , chain saw gets stuck so I did nothing and did nothing and did not move and did nothing and the tree fell , right about where I wanted it to . The worst thing that could have happened was someone showing up saying "I am here to help " and them being in harms way .

7 Likes

with all the sun after the rain, i bet the hey is still good , or will you loose a few inches too the weather.?:bridge_at_night:

1 Like

90°F, a blue sky and no rain for while now. The solar panels are producing a gallon of 180°F hot water a minute. And this is when you want only cold showers.
Some people are sleeping in their basements these days. With a 1,000 gallon hot storage tank in my basement there’s no point. No moisture problems though :smile:
Visiting a nearby forest lake several times a day. Dogs like swimming as much as I do.

11 Likes