My Barn
When I purchased an antique home in Glover, Vt., a lifelong dream was realized. The barns that originally accompanied the house, however, were imaginary, save for the outline of a foundation and nine foot tall abutment for a high drive. The house had had an attached stable, part of which had been renovated into a family room, and the remainder ripped down to make room for a garage. I began restoring the house, but felt a little hopeless about the barns. Then, what began as an assignment for Old School Builders changed all that.
The assignment was to draw, dismantle, and label a horse barn in Irasburg, Vt. The owner was a successful dairy farmer who had recently had his family’s 160 plus year old farmhouse renovated. It had been of the classical vernacular 1 1/2 story Vermont tradition. Aside from a red steel roof and vinyl siding, he had the matched pairs of double hung windows replaced with two bay windows. From these windows was a panoramic view of the valley, interrupted only by the old horse barn across the street. The decision was made to demolish the barn with a bulldozer for the sake of the view.
Fortunately, word got around about the farmer’s plan, and it was the owner of a cedar mill that contacted Old School. The owner agreed to let us take down the barn with no money exchanged. The barn was a beauty; one hundred percent hand hewn old growth spruce, remarkably good condition, and a conveniently manageable size. I fell in love with it immediately, and set my mind to getting a loan to buy and rebuild it. Dreams come true. I was soon drawing pictures of how to attach it to the ell of my house.
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