Working on my Barn

Planman1954 · November 20, 2013, 08:32:47 PM

I took a few progress pictures of what I've been up to for the last few months. As some of you veteran forum folks recall, I've posted a number of topics concerning lap siding, shingle making, door making, etc. They all have involved my Norwood Lumbermate 2000 as I build a barn, which has now turned into a rec room/apt. I am currently working on a bath. I took some pics showing the 1/2"x8" pine walls and 1/2"x12" ceiling boards. All were surfaced on one side only to about 3/8" and then ripped to a consistent width...7 1/4" for the walls and 11" for the ceiling boards on my table saw. I then used Minwax polyshade gloss stain/varnish. Some folks don't like this product, but I LOVE it...one coat with a brush, and I was done. Sure, it's a little rough to the touch, but it looks great for such a little effort. I'm working on a tile floor and shower right now:

POSTON WIDEHEAD · November 20, 2013, 08:44:00 PM

I'm impressed! Its coming together great. I know it takes time, but the time is worth it.

drobertson · November 22, 2013, 08:31:44 AM

Looking good! steady as you go, david

Chuck White · November 22, 2013, 08:47:39 AM

Lookin' good! 8)

Planman1954 · December 17, 2013, 05:41:18 PM

A few more progress pictures (We like pictures!) I finished the tile job today with grout. I'm glad its over! I'm going to use indoor/outdoor carpet on the rest of the area 'cause I ain't gonna bend over to do all that labor...too hard on the back. Anyway, here's the shower area and floor tile pics:

I have to do a final cleaning on the tile, which will come after I'm through with the bath vanity cabinet and set the toilet. I'll be working on the cabinet in the morning. God bless...and hope everyone here has a Merry Christmas!

beenthere · December 17, 2013, 06:43:05 PM

Ok, so far. Where is the showerhead going to go? I think I am seeing the handle on the wall.

Planman1954 · December 17, 2013, 06:54:58 PM

It's about 6" above the tile area over the faucet. There is a hole that is barely visible in the photo of it. It's a large rainbow showerhead. I've got one like it in my bath, and this design points the water straight down towards the drain. I like it a lot, and that's why I did it again.

beenthere · December 17, 2013, 07:23:26 PM

Interesting. I see the hole now.

When I google "rainbow shower head" I get a gazillion different shapes/sizes pop up. What feature describes what the head does best for you?
Do you have a Brand/model?

Planman1954 · January 13, 2014, 02:24:47 PM

So over the last few weeks I've been working on the back yard of my barn.

As many of you know, this project has been a long haul for me, since I've done all the work myself (and ENJOYED it tremendously!) You might recognize the 4 board fence that I posted on a couple of years ago that I made out of pine.
I've been grading the area inside the fence with my old Ford 9n tractor that I've been using in its "bulldozer" mode! It's humming like a champ. A week ago though, I had to have the carburator blown out. Pineywoods showed me how to do it, and once again the old 9n cranked and has been running like a champ. Here's a photo of the tractor and box blade:

Here's a photo taken from the second story of the barn looking down on the right side yard a couple of years ago:

And here's the progress so far with the grading. (I've got a LARGE ditch to fill from a road grader plowing a drainage ditch through the yard that is no longer used):

And here's a ground view of the same area:

Here's the view from the second floor left of the the yard below:

And here it is after some grading (Sorry about the flash):

This is a view of the rear yard taken from the center back of the barn. This is where I hope to put my mill at the rear by the fence:

The plan is to make a "U" shaped road around the barn to haul logs on my trailer, drop them off in front of the mill at the center back, and let gravity roll them on to the bed of the lumbermate which will be downhill a couple of feet lower than the road.
I think I'll put the solar kiln on the right end of the barn and road so that it will still face south. I'll have to take down a few stragler trees left on the other side of my fence along our front road. (It's now in my front yard. I built it on a trailer axle in order to move it.) :

Anyway, that's what I've been up to. One of these years, it'll start to look like a REAL residence!

thecfarm · January 13, 2014, 04:50:50 PM

Good luck with the REAL stuff. :D I have enough to do here to keep me busy for the next 80 years. But I really enjoy it. Live the dream!! I have worked on some projects for 2 years. Some projects is on going and will never get done. May not look like much for a while,but I can see it coming together faster than some people can.

Peter Drouin · January 13, 2014, 07:49:22 PM

The yard looks nice, but a window in a shower.??

Planman1954 · January 13, 2014, 09:33:51 PM

The barn is a remodel and the old stall areas are being turned into a recreation/apartment/music room with a bath and kitchen area. The window was already there before the remodel began! It backs up to woods, and I don't think the possums and raccoons will mind too much. I did think about it though, and there's always mini-blinds! ;D

Peter Drouin · January 13, 2014, 09:40:46 PM

I just thought the water would go down in the wall

Planman1954 · January 13, 2014, 11:20:23 PM

I've got a similar shower in my home, and it is great. The rainbow head points toward the floor drain, and very little water actually hits the wall. The window sill is about 4' above the floor. The RedGuard sealant was painted onto the cement backer board about 3' above the floor for water proofing before the tile was installed. I think you can see it in one of the first photos. That is all that was recommended in an internet site that I found.

barbender · January 14, 2014, 10:01:49 AM

That looks great, Planman! I used that Redgaurd product under our tile too, I didn't trust the seams you had to tape with other products.

Planman1954 · January 23, 2014, 10:54:30 AM

I finished grading the yard 3 days back. I hand raked the entire area over the last 2 days and planted some rye grass. I'm BEAT! I'm taking it easy today. I was able to grade an access road around the barn to haul logs on. I'm going to put my Norwood in an area at the back center of yard (near the gate) which I graded about 2' lower than the road so logs can ROLL ONTO THE MILL!!! No more LIFTING!!!

Here's a photo of the finished rear yard. The mill will go parallel down by the gate. It's difficult to tell, but about midway in the picture is a slope down to the lower area:

And here's a photo of the right side yard showing the level road area.
I'll put my solar kiln on the right open area facing south:

Next week, it's back to sawing lap siding and interior wall/ceiling boards to finish the INSIDE of the barn....and then the next project...and then

thecfarm · January 23, 2014, 03:16:58 PM

That ain't fair!! I would need a BIG excavator to broke through the frozen ground first. I will be doing that in about 3 months,maybe 4. ;D

Planman1954 · January 24, 2014, 04:55:06 AM

Ha! It was a little chilly, but not bad ...actually comfortable when I got going. Down here in Louisiana, it doesn't get below freezing too often each year. It is right now though! Ah, spring is coming...

Planman1954 · October 02, 2014, 05:32:29 PM

Hey Ever-body!!
I'm still here...and still working as I have time. A major life event happened yesterday for me. My cousin Jim moved from Dallas Back home to Louisiana and let me HAVE his grand piano. Yesterday, the piano was delivered to the Barn/music studio!! As the guys were assembling the piano, I couldn't resist playing a little to see how she sounded in the new room. I didn't realize I was being taped...I was just having fun. Here's the clip Jim took:

https://www.facebook.com/#!/gary.savage.79/posts/871727576172480?comment_id=871920856153152&offset=0&total_comments=1&notif_t=share_comment

thecfarm · October 02, 2014, 06:21:24 PM

No music for me to enjoy. Says I don't have permission. :(

Planman1954 · October 02, 2014, 08:59:28 PM

Sorry! Maybe admin can do something to put it on here.

pineywoods · October 02, 2014, 09:15:25 PM

Hey Gary, upload the vid to Utube, it's easy to link in a post.
Another subject, I got your old rider mower fixed...I can see why you said junk it.. ;D

Planman1954 · October 06, 2014, 09:07:03 AM

OK...so no video....but here's a photo of the grand piano delivered on Wednesday. The music studio begins!! Actually, this area had to finished in time for the Oct. 1 delivery, and the rest of the room isn't quite finished. But it will be within a week.

I'm pleased that I've been able to cut all the framing, shingles, wall boards, ceiling boards, shelving, doors....basically the entire building out of local pine logs that were given to me by folks (which would have otherwise been tossed aside) on my Lumbermate. It took a LONG time to cut them, dry them in my kiln, plane them on my old Sears/Belsaw 12" planer, rip them to width on my Unisaw, and finally nail them into place. But it can happen with a lot of determination and keep-to-it-ness!! It is a labor of love though. What else in life gives us satisfaction more than creating useful things that can benefit us and our families from local sources? Physical work is a good thing and actually a blessing from God. I am grateful to have the strength to carry on. Now it's time to get the rest of the instruments ready and my computer music studio set up to record some music!! 8)

Tom L · October 06, 2014, 09:33:33 AM

that looks great
how did you do the wall boards? how did you handle the edges, are they machined on the edges or just put up with square sides.

Planman1954 · October 06, 2014, 08:54:02 PM

Cut 'em on the Norwood 1/2" x 8". After drying in my kiln, I ran the wall boards through my planer to a thickness of just over 3/8". (The side nailed to the wall remained rough.) Then I cut the edges parallel to 7 1/4". They were put up edge to edge. It took 14 boards to reach the 8' ceiling. I used a 1x4 trim at the bottom and the top, which I prefinished in order to nail them up and not have to worry about the overlap of stain colors. It worked well for me.