Old Buildings

There are a lot of things I know how to do and a lot more things on my list of what I would like to learn. But building has never really been one of them. To be honest, power tools sort of scare me. But lately I have been thinking maybe I should get over my fear of cutting off a hand with a saw....

You see, I found this website...Ana White....and it has all these plans to all this stuff that I would love to have and would never buy. Stuff like a Farmhouse table and bench. Or a swing for the front porch. Or a mudroom area to store all of our outdoor stuff.

And while I am thinking of branching out into the world of power tools, I have a new project that is somewhat more immediate.


Barns.

I have 4 buildings to work with actually. A large one that used to be a house, an old barn, an old chicken coop and what looks like a little hog house. But they are a bit run down. Okay, they are a lot run down. And I am not sure what to do with them to make them liveable for goats and chickens and any other animal that may join us.

So what do I do? Board up holes, fix the footings and patch the roof? Or do I start fresh?


I like these buildings. They are old and rustic. They have a story to tell. So regardless of whether or not we build new- these won't be going anywhere. I have approximately 3 months to make a habitable shelter for my animals, and a couple more to make that shelter good enough for kidding and milking.

So can I make them work in that time frame or do we start something like this?

(photo credit)

and renovate later?