Time to cover up the pretty pink barn. I started by building a faux door for the front. Eventually, I will add the hinges and latch hardware from the original barn. But for now, there are more pressing things to be working on. The siding is dutchlap pine, purchased from a local sawmill who custom-planed it to match the siding on the other barn we have. This is the only wood in the barn that is not salvaged or FSC certified (because I was not able to find FSC certified siding in the style we wanted), but at least it is locally sourced. I made all of the window, door and corner trim from the salvaged roof boards that we removed from the old barn when it was deconstructed. With Lisa's help, we also put the remaining windows into the silo. And the Therma-Tru entry door went in as well.

Windows. I shopped extensively for windows last Spring. I wanted the most energy-efficient glazing possible, without sacrificing the rustic, barn-like aesthetic. I wanted to buy local. I wanted to support a company who supports greenbuilding. Like everything else going on, in, or under this structure, I wanted a product that would survive the test of time (even if global warming takes us all out first!). Lisa and I visited H-Window in June, a small manufacturer in Ashland, Wisconsin. We were both sold on them right away, despite blowing the budget right out of the water. So here they are. We still need to trim them out and install the exterior 'grills' that will make them look more authentic, but at least they are all safely installed in their new home!

Two days, four people, six sets of scaffolding, nine ladders, and one 'priceless' waterproofed roof... Here, I spent the better part of a day just waterproofing the arched entryway between the barn and silo with pieces of WeatherGuard. Because of the cooler temps, each piece had to be warmed up with a heat gun to get it to adhere to the roof.

We finally finished bending the plywood over the curved roof and moved on to closing in the gable ends.

More multitasking. While my parents double-teamed the roof overhang framing on the back end of the barn, Lisa and I worked on sheathing the milkhouse roof. The milkhouse is now covered with tarpaper and we are almost done with the barn roof framing/sheathing. We just might beat winter.

Keith came back with his skidsteer and a couple of guys to finish the foundation work. After excavating down to the bottom of the slab, draintile was put in around the entire perimeter. Multi-tasking: We kept working on the roof while they were digging below.

Perimeter insulation was installed over the draintile, then covered with dirt. This will keep the foundation warm and dry year round....

Since all the backfill for the foundation work has been taken from the field nearby, a there was a big hole to fill back in. Thanks, Keith for doing it with your Bobcat- that saved me about 2 weeks of nonstop shoveling!

The fun continues... I'd rather be riding my bike.