The Journey of Arachne's Web
Restoring a 200-Year-Old-Barn
This is our scrapbook page! Here you'll be able to see the progress we're making with the barn, and how close we are to opening the shop!
The work on our barn has taken years, and we still have a lot of work to do, but it is finally starting to take shape! Soon we'll be doing interior work and can post the remodel of the inside of the shop, painting and fixtures are we prepare to fill it with wonderful herbs, and so many great things!
Coming Up in September:
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We are getting the place wired, and getting a heating and cooling system installed
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Once the insulation is done, we sheet rock, and paint!
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Then the fun of setting up store displays begins! My favorite part!
Stay Tuned!
The heating is installed! And the house wrap is almost done. We need to rent a bucket truck to get the last bits up top.
Tomorrow, the last of the electrical wiring will be complete, and the work starts on the ceiling. Things should start moving faster now!
The glass case on the lawn there was a freebie we found by the road. We have to rebuild the base, but we kept it out of the landfill!
And another great update: we will have a classroom space! It won't be done when we open, but shortly after we will have a space for various services and classes!
The next pictures should be inside!!!
This is a horrible picture, but you can see a lot has been happening! The windows are in upstairs in the studio, so the next thing will be the 'house wrap' to weather proof the barn.
Inside, the framing of the walls is nearly done. Once complete, the next thing is the electrical wiring! In a few weeks we have someone coming to install mini splits into each area for heating and cooling. This will let us use our solar panels to power the heat too!
We may or may not have siding up when the shop opens. It may be a little rough around the edges at first!
Preparing to Re-Side
You can see the siding coming off now. The big vine that was on the front is almost all down, and we have ordered a new window for the second floor (Alison's studio). You can kind of see the little window up there, behind the vine...it will match the windows on the first floor.
Once the old siding is all off the front, we cover the whole outside with house wrap, then we start insulating and putting up sheet rock inside!
The last step will be putting up new clapboards on the outside and painting the front. Then the sign goes up over the door!
The Windows Go In!
The inside of old barns is always fairly dark. The old farmers would never have wasted money on a lot of expensive windos for their tractor or farm animals.
Our barn was no exception. Even though it faces South, it was very dark and gloomy inside. Until now!
The next step was to buy and install windows! Lovely new windows looking out onto the south side of our yard. And what a time for it! Spring in full bloom!
In this picture, you can also see the new front door! And another beautiful window on the East side. So much light!
The Floor Going In!
It was a great day when the floor starting going in! We were both so excited to see a new, level floor in our barn!
For so many years, the floor had been broken and unsafe. Now it is like new!
The Outside Work Underway
The inset shows what the south door to the woodshop looked like 2 years ago! It's come a long way! There was no floor, and Mars was working on trying to jack up the entire structure to replace the sills at that point.
THe south side looks wonderful now! Two nice new windows are letting sunlight flood into our shop area. Perfect for some beautiful spider plants. That will make my green heart happy.
The Cement is Poured
The cement truck finally came, and one by one, the forms Mars had built began to be filled with cement. This was expensive, but this gave us solid sills and structure so the barn will stay put for another 200 years!
These areas in the picture are the base for some of the upright beams, and the entryway threshold of the shop!
The Job Underway
For me, this was when I realized just how big the job was going to be. So much of the structure was rotted, and needing replacement, or repair.
Mars worked out there for months, hand digging the excess soil out from underneath to make room for cement. Every piece of it he did by hand.