Thursday, January 10, 2013

The Ol' Barn Roof

Now that the holidays are over, and we've eaten many wonderful meals and drunk many amazing wines, it's time to get back to everyday life.

The winter means focussing on a lot of projects that we don't have time for once the growing season gets started; at least for now the wines are all put to bed and the grapes are dormant.

When we bought our property, it came with a 100+ year old barn filled with "stuff." Some of that stuff is very cool and some is just junk. Over the years, we've bought some farm equipment (a few tractors, implements for tilling the soil and mowing, etc), adding to the mix of stuff and junk. We actually use some of the stuff that we "inherited" from the barn, like the old manure spreader that Steve unseized with two cans of WD-40. We use it to plant the cover crop every fall.

The barn is about three stories tall. At one time it had a hay loft where all of the hay for the year would have been stored. The story is that the loft was removed to put in the prune dehydrator. Before grapes, two of the main crops in the Napa Valley were walnuts interplanted with prunes. Another thing that we inherited were the fruit boxes that neighbors brought their prunes in which were destined for the dehydrator.

Well after 100+ years the barn roof is now full of holes and all of the valuable vineyard equipment that we've invested in is being exposed to the elements, so we bit the bullet and finally decided to replace the roof....we might have to put off our kids' college just to pay it!

Happy New Year!

All the best,

Steve, Jill and the boys


some old fruit boxes

holes in the old roof


tearing off the old roof


putting on the new one








3 comments:

  1. The roof indeed has lots of holes! I tried to count it, but it’s too many, LOL! It’s a great idea to replace it before the rainy season comes and ruins everything. Replacing a roof can be a tough and dangerous task, especially if it’s that high. But I think your handymen didn’t think that way for they seemed to be doing the job fast. Anyway, it’s sad to know that you already ate your rooster for dinner, but I guess that’s his destiny and he served his purpose well. ;-)

    Lenore Lung

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  2. Considering it’s a century-old barn, I’m in awe that the only problem with the structure is the roof. But yeah, that’s a lot of holes! I am pleased to know that you decided to fix it. Not only are you protecting your equipment, but you are also preserving a long-standing property because of this. The new roof looks good, but it would be best if you apply paint on it to protect it and keep it in good condition.

    Karen Burgess

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  3. 100 plus years? Seriously? No wonder it turned into a holey rotten roof. Take care of the new one, and don't let a century passed before replacing it. =)

    Missie Rice

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