restoring beauty ~ part 2...

Please refer back to my *blog* entry of November 19, 2007, this is where you will see the Victorian beauty that my son and his family are restoring with lots of hard physical labor and much research! Today I had a chance to take a few more pictures of the work that is progressing with that home and also this time including the barn that is part of the property!

This is a picture of the *back* view of the house, if you compare it to the front view of the earlier entry you will see it is a VERY LARGE house...and a very special home!

 

Now we will move on to views of the barn! This barn over the years for some odd reason was sold off from the house, although it was part of the original farm from years ago! Maybe money reasons caused the need to sell the barn and parcels of the farm, but my son is wanting to restore the original house and barn part of the farm. The acreage is long gone to housing, a church and other places of business! A few years ago my son and his family were able to purchase the barn and to bring it back into being part of the homestead! The barn is HUGE, I love this barn...I tell my son often just *how much I love this barn*, I love being in the barn, looking at the barn and most of all marveling at what has been restored in the barn! The barn was truly falling down, boards missing, roof leaking, doors bearly hanging from damaged hinges and the trim was hanging from the roof...it was in bad need of repair! Most folks would have just torn it down it was so bad.....it is now becoming a beauty! Many comments are made to the fact that "it was the fear that the barn would be torn down"....a total shame if that had happened!

 

What you see is the barn in the stage of replacement boards, and MANY slatted windows, slats because of ventilation I guess, because there is not much light coming to the inside thru those slats! Also the barn is very close to the road, to the best of my knowledge it has not been damaged by a vehicle hitting the side, but it is close enough that it could happen!! New boards but reused slats are being used to do the restoring!

 

One more picture taken from the inside...looking up showing the new tin roof...it looks like blue sky, but actually it is the tin that you see, along with lots of rafters! The weight of this roof and the barn itself requires many strong and large rafters! Amazing work by an Amish crew, but very closely monitored by my son and his family! I am proud of them for NOT allowing for any shortcuts in the restoring...IT LOOKS GOOD, I LOVE IT!!

 

And to my son and his family I say...I LOVE IT, I LOVE LOOKING AT IT, I AM PROUD OF YOU and I CLAIM THE GRAINERY :>)!!