Renovating (2010) by Mary
The five of us (Todd, Erin, Josh, Larry, and I) started another project - cleaning out the old chicken house. Larry & I planned to raze it, but Todd had read about making-do with old buildings and suggested we fix it up instead. It would cost less and best of all, we wouldn't be stuck with another useless cement foundation.
There was a reason for tackling this building full force. Todd, Nancy, and Erin decided to move to our farm in the fall after getting Allison off to college, and Erin was bringing animals that would need a shelter at night. We later changed our minds about the usage of the building, but at the time, we forged ahead for that purpose. Another whopper of a job.
This chicken house was large, 20 X 50 feet, and quite a building in its day. Remains of partitions separating the areas for roosts, nesting boxes, and feed storage were evident. It even had a water hydrant inside. The farmer woman must have been delighted at such a purposeful building so handy to her house.
We first cleaned out the junk, then finished caving in the roof only to clean it out again. So much of the ruins was mixed with the asphalt roofing, and needed to be taken to the old silage pit where we were storing such material until later. When we finally found the floor under the debris, we also found the date 10-6-1942.
Todd & Erin left us towards the end of the project, and we would miss them. Josh took over driving the tractor, impressing us with his driving skills as he maneuvered in between the piles and projects we were working on.
The final sweeping and hosing out was rather pleasant inside the roofless building with partial shade from the large trees. A few yellow leaves floated in on our newly cleaned floor, causing us to stop and take notice of a hint of fall in the air. Peacefulness was added to satisfaction. It seemed the bigger and more difficult the job, the better the satisfaction when finished.
 The chicken house was broken down inside and held a lot of junk. |  Now that it was cleared, it was time to finish caving in the roof. |
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This old building, with all its character, would soon get repaired, along with a new roof and a second life.
