Barn and Arena.. almost functional

I am four days away from putting my horse in my own trailer and bringing him home. It is the realization of a dream that started 4 years ago. I cannot believe it is actually happening!

This last weekend we worked very hard to take the barn/arena from this:


To this:


and it would not have been at all possible without the help of my sisters Significant Other.. who operated a full size loader/Backhoe most of Saturday doing all kinds of moving and clearing and leveling!!!!


Here are the highlights:

On Friday Afternoon.. I got this delivered:



And this Tongue and Groove



When this showed up on Saturday:


and he did lots of work all day, moving dirt and wood piles and debris and clearing up a spot for me to put Beau outside.. and here is where he gets to go outside:


of course our supervisor was there making sure that we did things right:


and I got really excited when he starting in the arena:



I just wanted to drive that thing!

We purchased hardware for the gate yesterday, and hinges and latches for the stall door. This week I am on the hunt for a few things for the tack room... Next weekend is all about fencing, tack room ceilings and finishing things up.. including about three pickup loads of wood chips for the aisle.. stay tuned.. I am almost functional....

Finish work will not be totally done until it is drier and warmer...but even so.. I am pleased with what we have accomplished so far...

Another funny note.. the gal that used to own the place came by.. and THAT is a topic for another post.

I love me a half day at work

Today I only have to work a half day. 

I love this.. it gives me extra time to work on the barn. 

My plan today is to get gravel and mats and gates.

Tomorrow is the arena rails

Sunday is the finishing touches on the stall.

That means.. Next weekend is footing and fencing and Beau HOME!

I am far from being done, but the basics will be there.. and then I will gain an hour a day to do work around this place and get caught up on some other areas..

Also.. I will take some pictures of the industrial stuff my Hubby brought home...

Shelving, work tables, desk, chairs, and more shelving and cabinets..

Most are for his shop.. but some are for the garage.. and He did his own version of a garage sale..

He got all the cabinets, and the tables (which are HUGE) and other items for 150.00.. and he told me that just one of the work tables can run in the thousands of dollars.. Whooo hooo!

So he is off to the dump right now, and I am going to get ready to head out to get me some gravel after swinging by the barn to see Beau and clean his stall... Only a week or so more to have to make that drive.. soon I will be posting about our rides and less about my mucking of the stall.

More Barn Progress

Another post with pictures..

After the wall went up, it was time to "clean up the barn and the arena" so that we could get ready for the next phase.

The next phase involves MacGyver building a door, installing the hardware, getting washed rock and mats, installing the corner feeders and latches.  It also involves putting up rails in the arena, getting the first load of footing delivered and coordinating with a tractor to move it all around.  But before that all can happen next weekend..(Wishful thinking possibly).. the debris, vehicles, scrap wood, garbage and large rocks had to be removed.. So.. Saturday afternoon this began:



This is just ONE of the big piles of crappy wood and scraps that we had to remove..



And another Pile...



So I decided to take a load out with the "farm truck".. and my husband had a better idea...




This last one says it all......


We finally got it to work correctly, and ended up with:


I really really need a burn permit now.

Here you can see we are getting there.. a few more piles.. and to move my Red Truck.. and soon it will be clear..


Only 28 more wheelbarrow loads and I ended up with my arena looking like:




And my aisle looking like:


so it is close now..

He did some welding yesterday while I did the heavy lifting.. and I almost have a stall door. He stopped to get lumber today.. and so this week.. the stall will be finished.. and this weekend we will be getting T&G for the Arena.. once the rails are up.. I will drag the arena with my lawn tractor and home made drag, and then the last bits are the Footing and the Tack Room details.. so.. Crossing my fingers.. but He just might be home within those two weeks!

I am linking this post up to Transformation Thursday at The Shabby Chic Cottage.. because.. well.. This place is starting to show some transformation!

I have a tack room!

Yesterday, we finished two walls... so I know have a tack room.  The electrical will be finished on Friday of this week, and we should have the actual stall frame done next weekend as well. 

I hit a wall today, mostly because I was sore, and because we stayed up late last night.  I did get some things accomplished around the house, but we mostly watched movies and relaxed.  I feel a bit bad about it, but I also know we needed to recharge before the week ahead.

Here are the progress pictures:

This is a picture of what will be the feed room.  They had a problem with some of the electrical, including this wire which was just hanging down, not working.

This is the tack room without the walls.  This is what we started with last weekend.

The view from the other side.

This is the frame and re used decking piece getting ready to be installed.  That is MacGyver with the drill..

This is about where we left off last weekend on each side.  3/4 of the walls up in the tack room

This is a bit better picture of the semi finished wall.

Here is the finished wall.  The open door will be Beau's outside door.  The electrical work that Mac Gyver will be doing this week includes, reinstalling the central light in the ceiling of the tack room, and two standard electrical outlets in the tack room.  This way, I have a power source in the aisle, in the wash rack and in the tack room. 

The front side of the tack room and all of the stall fronts will be done in Tounge and groove.  The vertical boards in this pic will be stained darker and we will have lighter wood in the tounge and groove on the fronts.
He is also installing a header at the top all the way around to give it a much more finished look.

Hope everyone had a fabulous weekend.. I am off to get some more rest now.  I will post some more pictures tomorrow!

Barn Progress

I don't have too much to report.. and the photo evidence is locked away in my camera.  One of these nights I will get them uploaded and added so that you can see what I try to explain here.

Last weekend, we started on the barn.  The original plan was to dismantle all of the salvageable wood, put it in neat piles and see what we had to work with.

MacGyver had another plan.  We had some sections of Deck that we had removed from the backyard and he had drug them down to the arena to dry.  When we tried to disassemble them, they protested quite a bit.  This led him to the idea of using the sections to build the walls of the tack room without taking them apart.

I was skeptical.. very skeptical.  He is, however a very smart man and incredibly handy.  It worked.  It is not the sleek look I was going for, however, it is very functional, very eco friendly as we are re using wood, and it is free.  Free is important to MacGyver.

It is a little more "rustic" looking that I wanted, but after some Bead Board and some cabinets, a couter top, and paint... a little furniture.. I think it will look very very nice. 

I will be sure to get those pictures up as soon as I can.

Looking Ahead Now

So among the many resolutions/goals/plans I have for next year, there is one that I am most excited about and anxious to get back to working on.  We are actually really going to focus and start again on this wonderful project.. what is it???

It is the... BARN and ARENA!!! 

Here it is the day we moved in (the last junky car had been removed only a week prior)

This is the Barn portion.. the arena is on the Right.. The Barn doors are open in this picture and the Barn has 4 stalls and a tack room in the middle.
We are going to use it as a three stall barn with a feed room and a tack room.  It will better suit my needs that way.

Here is a partial picture of behind the stalls.. where we have put in posts for paddocks.









Here is the Arena on the Day we moved in:

As you can see, it needs much work.
That work started, and all of the garbage has been removed, the bushes trimmed back and the rotten wood taken out.  This Friday, we are finishing sorting the wood and starting to build up the walls.  I just may have a tack room with four walls by Sunday and a Feed room.  (The feed room will not have a stall front, it will have walls on three sides and eventually will have a wall on the front with a large door.)

My goal is to have Beau home by the end of January.  Macgyver thinks that is doable, since we will be using the arena for his turn out while it is icky outside and I will be building him an outside turnout with T-posts and Hot Tape for the weekends when I am home to watch over him.

We have to leave the paddocks until the weather is better.. we will probably not get those done until April/May as the ground is so wet down there still. 

Barns I think are sometimes almost more personal that some houses.  I know a fair amount of ladies with horses that care more about how their barn looks and is built than they care about their own house.  It is a funny thing.
Boarding for many years, I have had  a wish list of the perfect barn for me, and a "I am not going to do that" list going for my barn.

My wish list:

1.  Turn out Paddocks attached to the barn (Done)
2.  Large Stalls that are very well ventilated and lit (Done)
3.  Wide Aisle you can drive through (Done)
4.  Pretty Tack Room (In Progress)
5.  2X6 Tounge and Groove on the walls (In Progress)
6.  Heavy thick mats over a nice gravel base for horses comfort (In Progress)
7.  Mats inlaid into Concrete Aisle (Late this next year)
8.  Wash Rack  - (I have the horse washer, just need the drain put in)
9.  Heat lamps and Fans
10. Nice Corner Feeders
11.  Heated Water Buckets (Received for Xmas..)
12.  Paddocks gravelled 1/3 of the way and Gravelled around gates.
13.  Lush Pasture
14.  Covered Arena (Done)
15.  Sand Base with Rubber mixed in for Footing (Scheduled)
16.  Enclose the Arena 5 feet high all the way around. (Summer of 2010)
17.  A wine rack and counter in tack room
18.  Mirrors in my arena and letters
19.  an Arena Drag (In progress)
20.  a John Deere Tractor (Done.. but it is little)

My.. I am so not going to do that list:

Muddy paddock up to his knees mud
Dark small Stall
No turnout
Crappy Footing
Alfalfa  (My horse can't eat it)
icky buckets
Cobwebs everywhere
Exposed Wiring
Manure piles not dealt with
DRAMA
Wooden Stall Floors
Dirty Stalls ( I am a little fanatical about stall cleaning.. and I am learning to live with it)

Here are a couple of pictures that I look too for inspiration for the Feel of what I want to create at my house!
Some are Barns.. and there are a couple of Tack Rooms for me to look at and decide what elements I want in mine!

 

I love the fridge and microwave in this one.. I know I will have to have those things in the barn.. have to have my snacks and ability to make some Hot Chocolate in the winter and have cold drinks in the summer!
The wine rack would look great on this island!

Enjoy!