Q: How does an old lady tear down a barn?
This morning was unexpectedly cool and I went out to (attempt to) weed the garden. Before long, I was sitting on the ground facing the barn.
The naya is scheduled to come down in the “sometime soon” future with a rough start date that came and went two months ago. I think it is time to address the barn myself and do as much as I can alone. So how does an old lady tear down a barn? In reverse order of how it was built.
Here’s my plan. I am making it public for accountability and so that I can find it again because I am bound to be waylaid by bad weather, health, and an entire rice harvest.
The Plan
- Remove the accumulated stuff inside the barn. This is the easiest and safest part of the job, but also the most annoying. There’s a lot of awkward junk that I have been avoiding. Some of it is trash that will go bit by bit to the dump in the back of the Cow. Some of it can be burned. A few treasures, tools, and resources need to be stored. The Tractorport will be the staging area for all of the demolished materials as I proceed.
- Pry off the corrugated cladding from walls. I did two sides of the barn 18 months ago; now it’s time to finish the remaining panels.
- Climb up on the Tractorport roof and unhook the antenna cable; wind the cable back to the main pole.
- Also on the Tractorport roof, while I am there, take down the loose pieces of cladding and wood where it has rotted from the main roof’s lower facing.
- Remove the overhanging shelter above the outdoor sink.
- Remove the roof of the “wrap-around porch” on the west and north sides of the main barn. Start with the corrugated metal, then do the framing.
- Sledgehammer the posts & supports of the “wrap around porch”
- Remove the roof of the Tractorport starting with prying off the corrugated metal, then unbuild the framing.
- Sledgehammer the posts, supports, and concrete block foundations of the Tractorport.
…and that might be all I can do on my own.
It is a lot! Each of these steps is just within my skill set and though it’s not going to be easy, it’s achievable. Tod is highly uncomfortable with the idea of me doing this. He’d prefer that I wait until someone else can do it, but I think that if we aren’t motivated to do this on our own, then nothing will ever happen. So I have promised to be very careful and I am going to get started.
But I do have limits! The main barn is big and intimidating. It’s tall and complicated. I suppose with scaffolding and multiple hands, it could be taken down by hand, but I suspect that after my “one board at a time” efforts on the addistions, the rest will be knocked over mechanically.
I welcome help. I don’t expect it. Should you want to come expend energy on this or work out your feelings by methodically destruction, let me know. And if you are interested in hauling off slightly rotting wood or rusty metal that cannot be reproduced except via time, give a shout before it gets burned or dumped.
I’ll report back from time to time as I clear the steps. Wish me luck.
