Current: 12-5-03
It doesn't show, but there has been a lot of work done on the interior and exterior. The old barn to the right of the new barn has been torn down and removed, ten addidtional loads of dirt have been brought in, and Billy has returned with his majic little bobcat and smoothed out all the lumps and bumps and planted some levee grass to help hold the soil in the rains. The grass is just starting to peek in over the protective straw. It's really nice to see some green around here after living with mud for the last ten years!!

I've also built a six foot storage room in the back of the lean to to put all the stuff that was in the barn. The electrician has come and put in a 200amp service and now we have lights. Inside and outside over the doors in in the storage areas and 35 outlets on the walls. There should be no trouble finding a plug to plug in the battery charger! The inside area has been modified with the mandentory refrigerator and there are new shelves and tables to work on various projects. All in all things are going along just fine. For some inside shots, click on the picture at left.

6-08-03
The Springer Brothers have returned and poured the concrete floor in the barn, the lean-to, and driveways and sidewalks outside. We are extremely pleased with the results, and now only have to tear down the old shed and begin planting grass, sod, and repair some recent erosion due to heavy rains.

Now we can begin on the inside with the construction of the guest house upstairs and
get the heating and A/C installed.

Red is introduced to his new home. After driving around and trying different places, he choose right beside the left hand door. Kris's car is now right beside Red, and together they make a pretty good looking pair of cars.

After we moved in the Fiats, we parked 5-22-03:
Mom's MINI, the conversion van, the Bronco, the Jeep and the two four wheelers. There is still plenty of room for Green's restoration and a lot of wall space for car care products. Finally a place for the toys!!!

We are excited to have the shell completed and get the concrete contractors back to pour the floor. We will then begin work on the upstairs loft.

The large picture window and custom peak windows have been installed on the West wall. They add a lot of light and a great view of the farmland west of our property. Here the men are putting on the last steel panel over the reflective insulation underlayment.

5-17-03:
Red's new home has windows and walls. The lean-to on the left of the barn is just under construction. You can see the top of one one of the support poles just above the Jeep. The Windows and Cupola are now on and only the traditional barn doors and shutters remain to be installed.

5-22/03:

We passed the final county construction inspection. All the inspector said was "This is a heck of a barn". We agree. This completes phase one of the project. The building of the shell. All that remains to be done on the outside is to install light fixtures and other minor trim.

5-25-03 Shutters installed and the pickup in the lean-to. As always we are into discussion about how to arrange the upstairs and plan on the remaining sequence of how the barn will be finished.Phase two will be the pouring of the floor and driveway, and Phase three will consist of the upstairs floor and partitions.

April Update:
Things are finally beginning to move quickly. Construction has begun on the frame of the building. Windows and doors have been delivered and some preliminary landfill has been accomplished. As can be seen from the pictures, the buidling dwarfs our previous storage shed. The finished size of the structure is 60X36 and 22ft tall. It will have a 8 car garage downstairs with a finished upstairs with bedroom and kitchen.

March 03 Update:
With the completion of the foundation, we were able to get on the construction schedule to have the barn constructed. In the meantime we modified the plans to acommodate a 12X36 addition to the south side to store garden equipment and the runabout.

March Update:
Still no building. High winds and rain are keeping the crews from finishing buildings ahead of ours on the schedule.

February 03 Update:
Bad weather and production delays have put the constrction off until March. We are keeping our fingers crossed for good weather.

Oct 02. Update:
The various permits to build in the flood plain were approved this week, and we are awaiting the foundation to be poured. 300 total loads of dirt raised the property out of the flood plain enabling us to raise the height of the floor 438.5 ft above sea level so we would be allowed to build on the site. We're on a roll now!