Roofing Right Along

Jim and I now have finished both sheds and one gable roof so far. The gable roof went a little slower because insulation had to be put under the sheet metal, we had to add flashing at the transition, and it was a little steeper than the sheds. There was also pollen dust all over the roof which made it more slick. We basically started at the top and slid down to the bottom driving screws as we went. In addition to that, we had high winds yesterday so we had to take it slow.

We'll take the weekend off and hit it again on Monday weather permitting.

This is the view from our back porch down to the barn:

Rin Tin Tin

We put all the purlins in last week. When you're up 21' your muscles start to tense up. It was a very uneasy feeling. Just don't look down and you're alright. Jim and I also ran all the water lines, electric and telephone wire. Now all we've got to do is bury it all!

Today we started putting on the metal roof . After measuring, plumbing and squaring, etc. plus 1,200 screws later, we finally got the tin on the left shed. Tomorrow it should go a bit quicker now that we got the hang of it.

Here's how we look so far:

Trusses are Set

It's been a hectic week. I'm trying to fit in a tile job at a Church on the mountain in addition to working on the barn as well.

The crane was here bright and early this past Monday and seven hours later all the trusses were set. Jansen chipped in and gave us a hand which helped us out a lot. Jim and I took adavantage of daylight savings time and the 79 degree weather so we worked late and got all the purlins up on the 24' x 30' storage building.

These are pictures from last Monday March 12 and we're a little farther along than this. However, I haven't taken any new photos yet and I will try to do so this week.

We went to see our "girls" last Sunday and here are two pictures of Trellianna, our newest female who will be part of our foundation herd. She'll be ready for her first breeding in a couple of months:

This is Shakira's fleece. She is now between 7 and 8 months old. She has a nice dense crimp and has nice size for her age. Shakira looks like she'll be a nice foundation female. Tara sure knows how to pick them!

Tara Joins Us

It's Saturday and Tara came down to check out the barn construction. We set the 4 x 4 posts for the eight dutch door frames. It went fairly quickly and Tara snapped a few photos while Jim and I were getting busy.

Sunday will be an off day as Tara and I go visit our alpacas. I'll hopefully get a few good shots of our "girls" and will post them here tomorrow.

Ready for Trusses

Jim and I put up 95% of the band boards. We lack some skirt boards and 4 x 4 posts for the dutch doors but, for the most part we are ready for the crane operator. He'll be here bright and early Monday morning and we'll set the trusses. Then we'll be ready for the metal roofing which was delivered today. Progress is being made.

The 24' x 30' Airstream and Tractor Garage:

Front view of the barn:

Side view of barn looking back towards the house:

Son Jansen on the John Deere. He helped with forklift duties:

Southern Select 2007

The barn construction was put on hold this weekend as Tara and I went to the Southeastern Alpaca Association's 6th annual Alpaca Show at the Calsonic Arena in Shelbyville, Tennessee. With a show so close we just had to go there to check it out. We missed the judging of the white and light colored alpacas which we are partial to but, we had a good time none the less. Maybe next year we can put a few of our own in the show ring!

http://www.southernselectalpacashow.org/

Tomorrow it's back to focusing on the barn and I will be renting scaffolding as we attempt to level the posts and set trusses this week. This thing needs to start looking like a barn soon!

Dodging the Storms

We've been having some wicked weather this week and hopefully it's out of our system. Tornado watches were in effect and we had severe lightning with heavy rains. Luckily we came away unscathed.

Jim and I set all the posts in concrete Wednesday and today we will cut the tops off (if it's not too muddy) so all the posts are level and at the same height. Then we will brace them up to get ready for the metal trusses hopefully by early next week.

This is the closest picture I could find to how the barn is going to look. Instead of three doors we will have only 1 and it'll be 12 feet wide. It will also be split in the center and will be a sliding door. Our side sheds will come off 20'. And yes, we will have a cupola with what else, an alpaca weathervane. The roof will be metal and dark green in color.

Thanks for stopping in and checking out our progress.

John Deere Tractor

We are now owners of a new John Deere tractor. This will come in handy on the farm and I'm sure it'll get plenty of use in the near future.