Jul 1, 2011

Barn, windows, birds

Somehow it slipped my mind to make some updates about the barn. We left town a few days after the last barn update, spent a week in North Dakota, and I got sick shortly after we got home. The ice cream machine has been on the fritz, kids.

In any case, before we left, I had managed to get the windows and door in:
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The long windows are simple - I got a sheet of lexan from BBHIS, had it cut to 1x3 strips, cut out appropriate-size holes in the sheathing, put some blocking on the inside, a bead of liquid nails around the edge, and then 1x2 cedar trim on the outside. They don't move, they don't tilt, they just let light in - and they do it just fine.

The door didn't go quite so well; it was a slightly-damaged model from BBHIS, and the only apparent damage was a missing piece of brickmold. Turns out it was just a tiny bit out of square. (or my opening was...) It was sticking pretty badly after being installed, but a few days seems to have settled it in. It's still not perfect, but it's perfect enough for a barn.

The chickens got moved out there shortly after the windows went in, where they insisted they were Not Amused by the change:
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Yesterday I finally made time (and felt well enough) to get a small door cut in the wall so they can free-range a little. For the time being, they're in the same pasture as the goats, and their door is not trimmed, but they can get out.

The scene for the remainder of the day was something like this:
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"Holy crap! Big blue room! ... HOLYSHITAGOAT!RUN!"

When I left for work this morning one of the bar rock hens was cautiously poking around outside in the grass, so I have some hopes that they're not completely retarded.

As you can see, the barn still isn't done. I need to put in the last few pieces of sheathing on the gable ends, and I've got two more windows, the soffits, and some trim work to do. But it's getting there.

1 comment:

Weer'd Beard said...

"so I have some hopes that they're not completely retarded."

Ummm Chickens only come one way, and that's Completely.

If they aren't completely retarded they might be part duck...just sayn'