Category: barn (Page 1 of 2)

The last work we did on the barn loft was putting up the stairs.

We spent a lot of time last year cleaning up around here, and part of that was clearing out the barn. And part of that was wanting to move stuff we were going to keep up into the loft, but there wasn’t much room left, so the plan was to go vertical and add shelves!

And here’s how building the first set unfolded…

Here’s part of the wood stack:

And the first frame. I doubled the long boards because I was planning to span 5 feet between support posts. And I put the cross pieces 16 on center:

I set each leg with screws and then bolted them with 3/8 inch lag screws:

I used the speed square to try to square up the leg:

Here are all 3 legs on one side:

And then I flipped it over:

And did the other 3 legs:

And then turned the whole thing upright:

Then, after building the other 2 shelves, and with the help of the guys here, we attached the other shelves:

I also added leg braces at the bottom:

Several of the turkeys roost in the loft at night, and here are the natural results of their eating! 😀 Straight to the compost pile!

And here are the shelves done:

And then loaded with “stuff”! 🙂

We are thankful to the Lord for granting the resources to further organize here and store His blessings of provisions!

— David

After getting most of the barn loft platform done, and in preparation for hopefully adding another barn stall before winter, we really needed to get some steps in place, as going up an extension ladder was just not going to work, with trying to haul up tubs and boxes.

And so, here’s a quick look at the process:

After using a stair stringer calculator and figuring out the rise and run, I drew the steps to cut using a framing square (you use the outside edge to mark the rise/run cut) and then cut them out:

I decided to go with juxtaposed 2×6 and 2×4 boards for steps instead of 2×10…not sure if it saved money in the end, but I thought it might:

I had to torque over the one stringer to straighten it, so I hung the bucket of screws on a pipe wrench:

And here are the stringers in place, tied to cross pieces and resting on the loft beam and tied to the floor joists structure:

And then the steps done:

I found it to be a little soft-feeling when walking up and down, so I added a vertical 2×6 brace down the center of the steps, which made it feel more sturdy. I had to remove the middle cross brace:

And finally the last couple of ply wood pieces, save the last corner:

Yea! It’s nice to have it to this point, as it has been over 3 1/2 years since we posted the first blog post on the loft. It’s nice to be able to have it functional! 🙂

We are always thankful to the Lord for granting provision and progress on the homestead!

— David

After the last update in February, the Lord graciously granted we be able to pick up some more materials to finish the floor joists, and get most of the plywood down!

Here is some more of the plywood in place:

And then the final floor joists in place:

Finally, the plywood to finish the north side and center to north east side:

All that’s left is the few plywood pieces on the east side! We are very thankful to the Lord for His provisions for the homestead!

— David

We were able to gather some more materials and make a little more progress on the barn loft!

I decided to extend the back section to the end so we could continue laying down plywood from that end. After adding the three new joists and cross pieces, and clamping the joists together, I attached an 8 foot 2×4 to help hold them in place, and then clamped the other side:

And laid down a new plywood sheet in that area:

Then the same thing in the front section, adding three new joists:

And a new sheet there:

Getting closer! 🙂

We are grateful to the Lord for granting the supplies, and the physical ability to work!

— David

It’s been some time since I’ve done some work on the barn loft, and I had new materials waiting in the wings for 8-10 months, but finally, I recently started adding a new section!

Since the end of the previous section had full 2×10 inch (the size of the joists) cross blocks in place, the plan was to use 2×4 inch boards to cross block new sections next to the full-sized cross blocks:

And here are the next seven joists in place:

I thought it best to work my way out from the previously-built section without blocking and attaching the far end of the new joists so that I could square the joists with the plywood flooring as I went. Also, I used a bar clamp to pull together and straighten the torqued joists:

And here’s the first line of cross blocks:

I also added an extra 2×4 board behind the first joist to just give a little more support under plywood that would extend past the joist next to the barn wall:

And here is the section completed with the materials I had, including the second line of 2×4 cross blocks and the far 2×10 cross blocks in place. I decided not to attach that far end to the beam yet to continue to try to make sure the floor stays square as I Lord willing add more plywood over time. This is where our new guest Trina spends the nights 🙂 :

As always, we are thankful to God for granting provisions to continue on the homestead!

— David