Sunday, September 27, 2015

Barn Door is Bibbers-Approved

While I was away from noTTafarm the weekend of September 19, Scott continued on with his quest to finish the new barn door. By the time I arrived home (after a spectacular weekend with a few sorority sisters,) the new hardware was up, the door was sliding, and Scott was ready to begin the next phase of construction: the cat door.

The new galvanized rail was attached to a new 1x8x8 from Scott's stockpile which was painted prior to attaching to the barn.
Detail shot of the hardware 
Now that the door slides freely, Scott moved on to the installation of the cat door. The kit came with a template and good instructions.
Bibbers, of course, had to supervise! This will be his own personal portal to the barn. Scott bought a "small" size door in order to hopefully thwart the effort of raccoons to enter.
Scott used a square to help mark where to cut a hole in the newly-hung door.
He used the oscillating saw on his Milwaukee M-12 to slice the old barn wood. That poor door lasted all these years just to get cut for a cat door. Sad!
Checking to see if the exterior frame fits.
Scott also had to cut a little notch in the white trim board to allow the frame to fit.
"Cousin It" happened by to help feed the plastic fasteners through the door assembly. (I like to throw in a little Addams Family humor once in a while.)
 With the door installed, only one test remained . . .
. . . helping Bibbers figure out how to use it! Scott held the magnetized flap open and gave Bibbs a little shove.
Here he comes! 
 Almost there!
Good job, Bibbers! 
The barn is more secure and looks pretty spiffy with the addition of the new door.  Great job, Scotty!
Stay Tuned for Our Next Adventure!

Sunday, September 13, 2015

Windows-Schmindows . . .Let's Fix a Door!

In addition to 15 windows of various stages of repair, the barn has multiple doors. Scott expanded the west door years ago to accommodate the mower (see details here: Article 2010/11/barn-door-rehab-no1). Since then, the main entry door has been begging for its turn in the spotlight. What better way to spend vacation days than by rehabbing a barn door?!
The south-facing entry door is on its original slider. The bottom is missing and there's no hardware. We've been "locking" the door with a bungee cord and some bricks wedged along the bottom.
The sliding rail is rusty and pitted, making it difficult for the pulley wheels to operate smoothly.
These wheels may have seen better days.
After Scott removed the door, Bibbers couldn't resist the urge to create his own sundeck.
Scott began laying out the new door structure on the driveway. He used pressure-treated lumber - the first new lumber he's purchased in ages. We planned to use the existing door's tongue-in-grove siding to create the panel of the new door thus protecting the integrity of the barn.
The structure was held together with L-brackets.
On the morning of the second project day, Scott changed his mind about the door's construction. He opted to build two identical frames of 1x4 lumber which would sandwich the old tongue-in-groove panels, holding them securely in place.
Rather than buy additional brackets needed to hold the structure together, Scott created his own out of some joist hangers of unknown origin. A little pounding, bending and twisting was all it took.
The L-brackets and house-made brackets work well together. Scott applied two coats of paint before moving on to the next step.
Since much of the door's original siding had deteriorated beyond use, Scott scrambled to find a suitable replacement. He searched his stockpile then shopped at Menards and Home Depot before giving up and coming home. In a moment of despair, he searched his stockpile again - this time, finding some leftover outhouse siding that fit the bill. Hooray!
Each piece was laid on the frame and marked for trimming.
The pieces from the barn door cover the bottom of the door while the outhouse pieces are up top.
Once the builder was happy with the layout, the second frame was placed on top . . . 
 . . . creating a Barn Door Sandwich. Scott used 2" screws to hold it all together (following an emergency trip to Home Depot to buy said screws.)
Scott tested the newly assembled door in its soon-to-be home.
The new rail hardware we purchased on Friday needs to be installed, and we need to figure out the best location for a kitty door. But with the sun setting on our vacation, the project completion will have to wait until evenings after work.
Stay Tuned for Our Next Adventure!

Have You "Herd" the News?

noTTafarm had some visitors today that could have compromised our status as a "notta." When I pulled onto the driveway after running a couple of errands, I did a double-take  . . . were those really cows in our east pasture?
Yep! Those are cows, all right. 
Nine bovine enjoyed a snack near the Gleaner. I'm not sure how long they were here or exactly where they came from but by suppertime, they had found their way home (or at least off of noTTafarm.)
We Love Visitors!

Rehab of 4th Window Complete

We extended our Labor Day holiday a few days, and enjoyed a "stay-cation" at noTTafarm. The intent was to do some fun things around Omaha, maybe go on a little drive, maybe eat at a restaurant we hadn't visited. But, as is so common, noTTafarm's to-do list was far more compelling than the lure of city lights. On Tuesday, Scott turned his attention to the 4th window on the barn's west-facing side which created its own set of challenges.
Rather than the built-up sill that the previous windows required, this particular window simply needed a typical sill. The existing sill was so badly rotted that Scott chose to replace it.
He crafted the new sill out of a vintage piece from his stockpile, trimming to the correct width and length.
In this photo, the new piece is at top (duh.) 
After two coats of paint, the sill was ready to be nailed in place.
Scott also chose to replace the wood on the left side of the window opening.
 Two coats of paint went on  . . .
. . . and another window is done! 
Stay Tuned for Our Next (Stay-Cation) Adventure!