General outbuilding inspections of a one hundred and twenty-two-year-old farm. The overall outlook is good. Outbuildings are at fifty percent life on some and no life on others. When looking at the outbuildings you can definitely see which ones were in use up to roughly 4 years ago. Again, mostly guesses on the usage and decay rate here. There are seven main times that the farm was improved on, or renovations done. In 1900 the house was complete with power and indoor plumbing and a couple of outbuildings were built. 1920 the barn and pig barn were built.
The 1940 improvement, the two granaries, two chicken sheds, wellhouse, remodel on the kitchen, and I am guessing the silo was built. 1953 the Quonset shop was built. In the early 1970’s the bins were built. The house’s walkway and attached garage were built in 1978. Sometime after the 1970’s the mound septic was installed, a new furnace, improvements were made to the water system, some wiring and outlets were changed, some insulation was finally installed in the attic, the shingles on the house were replaced. As far as I can tell this house was built without insulation and none was installed except for some on the attic floor.
One hundred-and two-year-old Pig/Chicken Barn
This building from 1920 was a pig barn from the filled in concrete floor drain and the marks indicating railings. So, from inspection, what I can tell from the remains it was a three-pen barn with water, power, heating ducts, and manure cleanouts. It needs repairs but not as bad as the others. This was in use recently as a chicken barn, with an unusual number of mattresses. The feed and power room looks decent on the inside. The walls need help, they look strong but will need a brick veneer on them to make them last longer.
The windows are gone, no surprise there. But they will need new windows, I am thinking vinyl with double pane, double hung windows for max cooling in the summer. The roof needs some ribs repaired and a new metal roof on it. I then need to track down the power, and water lines see where they are and where they come from. Fun times. As soon as I repaired the doors, walls, roof, and windows. Plus rewire the main power look at the water situation and get a heater for the barn, it should be a good place for a couple of breeding sows.
One hundred-and two-year-old Barn
This building also from 1920 was a cattle barn then a horse barn. This barns inspection rates a total loss. It is leaning about 5 degrees and holes everywhere. This has about 40 years of no maintenance. She did her best, but time, weather, and lack of care has left her gutted. The hardware and fixtures are in question as to salvage. I intend to recover all the fixtures, heated automatic water tanks, and hardware as much as possible. But time was not kind to this building.
Now I must design a new barn. I am going to make it to include dairy, cattle, and calf pens. I am designing with expansion in mind. So, I want twelve dairy, sixty-eight beef, and can hold twelve to twenty-four calves. The design has three eras to choose from. I can design it to be closer to the original non-electric barn style, I can design it in the modern style, or combine the two and create a classic barn with modern equipment. I am in favor of the combination. It is going to help me with the care of the animals. Especially with the cleaning of the waste. I can use a feed auger system for the grain. Or not, I will be doing research on that. I must factor in the maintenance and cleaning of the systems before I install them.
Silo
The silo that is next to the barn was built sometime before the 1960’s. My inspections tell me that the equipment in the silo was built in 1940 with other upgrades like the kitchen, wellhouse, and the small and large granaries. It has stood strong, but I don’t think it has been used often. The equipment inside is rusted solid but the roof has not been leaking. The silo had not been used since the 1970’s or before. I removed the equipment and scrapped it. Shame since the silo-Matic equipment was interesting.
Seven bin pads plus electrical
There were grain bins on the property starting around 1970. The bins no longer exist, but the pads and electrics are still there. The power for the pig barn was routed to the bins and then to the barn. Power was still on, and the bin pads still had power to them. The first thing I did was to cut power to the field, it also cut power to the pig barn so now I must figure out how to reroute power to the pig barn so I can have lights and power there.
I still am figuring out what to do with the pads. I could repurpose them to a grain auger system for the barns, or use them for the foundations, or crush them use the metal for scrap and the broken concrete as a base for the road system. Lots of options with the pads and wires.
Large Granary
The largest granary is from the 1940 builds and renovation. I like this building mostly because it is still standing. But the main reason is it can be turned into a three-story shop/hobby. The roof is mostly gone but it still has its structural integrity. The worst part is the animals that moved in there when they stopped using it. The building has not seen maintenance in forty years. So, my work is cut out for me. The roof, electrics, windows, and floor need to be replaced. This building will be interesting to restore.
Small Granary
Next to the large granary is the small one for the farm (I assume). It was built in the 1940 expansion and has not seen maintenance since the 1970’s. Structurally it is ok. After I replace the roof, replace the siding with a brick veneer, replace the wood floor, and enclose the foundation. It should be a good little feed storage building, or a tiny house for farm hands.
Two Small Chicken Houses
There are two small moveable chicken sheds built in 1940. Both are a complete loss. I would not use the wood for kindling, due to rot and fungus. So, I’ll burn those with slash piles and build a permanent fowl barn for the pigs and cattle.
Quonset building
For a video walkthrough go to my YouTube channel. https://youtu.be/YarDJzxdp9s
The Quonset shop is the newest outbuilding built in 1953. Again, like the others this has not seen maintenance in no less than 40 years. My inspections show some of the shop’s ribs are gone, and the walls’ foundation is sliding out. The shingles and under roof need replaced along with her windows and electrics.
My plan is to dig out the inside along the foundation and use winches to pull the foundation to the original position. Then I pour a concrete pad on the outside foundation walls to keep it from moving outward again. After two weeks when the outside concrete is cured. I will pour a slab floor on the inside to keep the rest in place. Then I put the brick or block veneer on the two ends to get another one hundred years out of it. With the veneer in place, I need to extend the roof out over the new walls. A lot of work needs doing on her, but it will be worth it when done.
Garden shed
The square garden shed built in 1940, is irreparably damaged from neglect. Right now, it is home to the original storm windows and screens and an old painting of a sailboat. This building can be repaired but will not have much of the original studs and roof left. It is a useful design so I will rebuild, as close as original as possible.
Drying/BBQ screened shed
There is a screened shed which was used as a drying shed for the garden produce which stands out by the old garden area. I estimate the drying shed was built in 1940. The shed was complete with power and a firepit with a chimney. It was used to dry the produce before storage in the cellar. This building’s inspection shows it was well used and looked like it was maintained until a few years ago. It has since collapsed and is useless except for the pad and some salvageable chimney tiles. I plan to build an extended version of that building. Which I hope to use as a root cellar and a BBQ area.
Well house and small shop
Built in 1940, the well house and small shop are in the best condition of all the outbuildings. Its half basement is a bit broken but should be able to use concrete patches to seal those cracks. It may justify a new basement area and building above since the walls, doors and roof are in dubious shape. The roof is newer metal. But when the roof was installed, they put the new roof over the existing old roof without removing the old roof.
This might have been ok, but the horizontal boards used to install the newer roof created pockets of condensation. Which rotted the old roof and causes it to rain indoors when the humidity is high, or it rains. The material will be saved, and I will redo the roof the right way. I will have to replace some rafters, studs, and windowsills, plus make new doors that can close and keep the animals out. The electrics for the well and the shop have been covered with plastic to keep the indoor rain from directly running down the wire and filling the fuse box. Fun times. This project is time critical due to the well and electrical situation. So, it will be my first outbuilding to restore.
Detached one car garage
The last but surprisingly strong out building is a small, one car detached garage built in 1940. The only things I see is to clean and refinish the garage door and rails and put a new roof on it. The easiest outbuilding to restore, or I will tear it down or move it to a new location. Not sure yet.
By, John Noll
