I wish I could post pix of my barnhouse. It is still very rough but I love it. It is a three story barn but the living quarters is Two bedrooms up, kitchen, living room and den/bedroom down. I put a waterless toilet in the closet. Warning, don't turn the fan off if you use a waterless toilet! We came back and Flies laid eggs and filled the place with new flies. In Wisconsin, I believe it is still against the law to tear down barns. It was supposed to keep us quaint for tourists, I think but they are still getting more and more rare with variances.
Thanks, Nancy, for the story, I really enjoyed reading it! We do have three lightning rods on our roof. Two on the peak, and one on the dormer peak. About three years after we moved in, (1977), a young guy stopped to inquire if he could install 3 new rods, along with small clusters of metal uprights to catch and stop the ice on both sides of the dormer. They were placed 2 foot above the gutter. Similar, not our roof. I said OK, and like a monkey, he scooted around on the old slate roof, and in no time at all he was finished and gone. I forget what he charged, it was a minimal amount. I had no sense of value of the rod on the dormer with a glass ball and rotating arrow, but I guess he cashed in with it, later on. But we were all happy with the transaction. After a number of Winters the ice-catching metal uprights cracked a few slates, and they were removed, when the slates were replaced. Still it was a nice memory of our early adventure in our little old farm house. (built in 1919). We still live in it. Ours was similar, and was more simple and well worn. (Swackett Fun Fact: More than ornamental appeal, the embellishment of glass balls on weather vanes (lightning rods) main purpose was to provide evidence of a lightning strike by shattering or falling off. If after a storm a ball is discovered missing or broken, the property owner should then check the building, rod, and grounding wire for damage.)
If everything worked out perfectly all the time, there wouldn't be as much to talk about years later. I guess lightning rods really do work. This is a pretty one.
"As the scattered bolts boomed overhead and crashed down among the valleys, every bolt followed by zigzag irradiations, and swift slants of sharp rain, which audibly rang, like a charge of spear-points......" The Lightning-Rod Man
I'm finding these roof snow guard things interesting. Never heard of them before. They've been around long enough to become antiques for sale on eBay. Their short lives may explain why you (I) can't find a picture of them on an old barn.
I know someone who bought two tobacco barns, took the roof of one, mounted the other on top of it, and made a house out of it. It made an attractive house. ...... From the outside, anyway. I was never in it. Rich people with more money than sense will pay top dollar for old wood from tobacco barns. I understand that they use it for mantles in their mansions.
Time-lapse....one man....under 20 minutes...builds a pole barn. ONE MAN Builds POLE BARN In UNDER 20 MINUTES
The Round Barn in Jefferson, GA, 1958 Built in 1913, The Round Barn has been a mattress store since 1964. I bought the mattress for the downstairs bedroom from this place. First floor Second floor Stairs in the middle. They claim the middle was used as a silo. Seems awkward.
There is no talking in this video, just a man assessing and making repairs as he begins. It shows different skills and solutions. I liked it....very refreshing without all that yaking! The man buys an abandoned wooden hut 25 years ago, repairs it and hides in it (from the cold). "Hello, I'm Victor Dustin. Today I bought this wooden house, abandoned and forgotten 25 years ago. A man who left this house years ago due to workload sold this log house. I wanted to clean and repair my newly purchased 2-storey wooden house. There is no better place than a wooden hut to hide from the cold."
I fast forwarded to each segment. Will go back later. I wonder where that place is located. So many rocks. Reminds me of Ezra Hill's farm (my place). He's got a lot of work to do. No time for such fancy cooking.
I have learned that Victor has quite a number of abandoned houses that he visits to make repairs and spend a short time. I am guessing that English is not his language, and that most of his projects are in some European Country. Romania or some such Country. I don't think he is based in the US. He cleans out a room, cooks a meal, prepares for sleep, repairs doors and steps etc. He appears in good physical shape to carry around everything on his back. He has a YouTube channel. His videos are a change of pace for me and I enjoy them. I know it is a challenge to watch such slow and basic tasks.
For the Love of Old Barns This is quite a majestic looking barn. Maybe the vines are helping to hold it together.
A barn near Woodbury, Vermont, that extends over a public road. The main barn is very large (Google Streetview). I wonder if the plan was to build that extension from the very beginning, to be able to drive into the second floor, or was it an afterthought. The road must have come first, or did it?