A real tack room!

Not a lot to say this week, and I am aware this is actually almost two weeks late but you see it was a long holiday weekend and Francis took Tuesday off from work as well. I have been working and busy trying to get the gardens in to shape as well as ride, do chores and try to keep up with the laundry. As to housework, well, that is far down on the list these days......

Again he would say that he didn't do much, but it all takes so much time between running to the hardware store to pick up the bolts/screws/drill bits/ and other paraphernalia that is required to do all the " little" things, plus coming to my rescue when I need help with this that or the other thing. I also dragged him away to open up the swimming pool for the season. It is all rather a blur now. 

The picture on the left shows the current tack room space "BEFORE" we started the project. The tack room sits where a stall used to; the floor has been levelled and cemented over previous weeks.

repair of the joists-

He spent Friday afternoon and Saturday morning preparing the structure. Joists of the ceiling ( floor above) had to be "lifted" and  repaired. In the afternoon framing of the tack room  commenced. It included "dry fitting" the two windows in to the spaces they would take up when the room is finished. Please note carefully the lack of safety equipment in the above photo-- no glasses, gloves etc. And YES he did injure himself and require immediate first aid as shortly after the picture was taken he injured himself!!!

We are repurposing one of the old windows from the house for the tack room wall that faces the alleyway. This window is not "functional" ( ie does not open) but will provide natural light. The second window isn't functional yet either as it is in the new inside wall he has built to help maintain the weight of the barn in preparation for fixing the leaning outside wall.  


We had discussed that we wouldn't be able to finish /close in the tack room this year due to finances. I had wanted tongue and groove pine and had priced it out and decided it was prohibitive to my budget, so would just wait- especially to do both the interior and exterior walls of the tack room. On Sunday we "played hookey" from the project and went to the trailer for the day. This is our summer getaway place and is on the Ottawa River on LeBlanc Island. Francis loves being at the trailer and his dedication to the barn project has robbed him of his precious trailer time, so this weekend I said we must go. Besides being a holiday Monday there was no hardware shop open to buy material anyway ( or so I thought). However, I came home on Monday night after working a 12 hour day to find my tack room not only framed ( he had done that earlier in the weekend),but also enclosed with a paneling that looks like barn boards. WOW! what a difference it makes.  He had carried all the saddles/ saddle racks, bridles and boxes of gear into the tack room and "organized" it- complete with nails on the studs to act as temporary bridle holders, etc. I have a tack room!! 

Discovery of a Blarney Stone and a Reverse IKEA Problem

Francis persevered this weekend through wind and rain/sleet- although most of the work this weekend was done inside the barn he still had to battle the elements to mix cement. As I was working 12 hours day shifts all weekend, my friend Marina acted as my surrogate and supervised the goings on and did the barn chores for us.

Friday afternoon say Francis removing the rest of the cement pad where the tack room will be. Remember last week he said it was coming off so well, he would take it all off and use the nice level cement beneath for the floor as it would be cheaper than building up about a 3x10 section up by 3-4 inches with cement? Well, it would have been except for some surprises found beneath the slab. We have always wondered why the slab was there... we know now ( or we think we do). You see Francis discovered 2 huge boulder/outcroppings of bedrock underneath.

The "Blarney stones"-- notice the are above the level of the
 surrounding cement

Stones after Francis has jackhammered the
points off so they are below floor level

Obviously when the barn was built over a hundred years ago, there was no such thing as jack hammers. So they just built "around" the boulders. Guess later when cement was added, they made it a bit higher in this one section to account for the outcropping of rock. So our cheaper strategy didn't work. Francis had to play with his new jackhammer toy and demolish part of the rock so it wouldn't jut up above the new floor he was going to pour. Of course, I said he may just have covered up our Blarney stone and the pot of gold that is underneath will now never be found. This all resulted in a new cement floor that is now roughly 10x 11 feet.... cheaper no- lovely? most definitely! AND he put some of Romy's old horseshoes into the cement where the doorway will be...( NO he was not artistic enough to make them look like a horse had actually walked in the cement-- he thought of this after the fact hehe).This project took the majority of the weekend.

Ready for new cement

Pouring new cement floor

    

Notice the horseshoes embedded in the new floor....

Lovely new "tack room" floor!

 You can see that Marina and I have already moved some of our tack ( riding gear) back into the "tack room"!! walls or no... trying to decide what to make the walls from is next design dilemma...

new "tack room" -- see we already put
our saddle racks and saddle it it!

On Sunday Francis went to town "cleaning" the barn. He moved an old car stored in the barn further down the alley. You see he so wants to get rid of this car, but my two boys don't want it thrown away-- it is an old VW Jetta and was my car and then their car in their teen years. Even Marina's two sons have memories of that old car taking them around the area to "various social functions" shall I say. If that car could talk I'm sure it would be x-rated most of the time....hehe . So for now, it is still in the barn, but now further down the alley. He rehomed a support post where the current feed "room"/area is. He moved all the old stall doors/lumber further down the alley to  open up a lovely space near the "used" area of the barn. Oh and he installed a drain into the floor near the door for when the rain/snow melts in spring and water may come in.  

temporary feed room and tool storage

He cleaned out old debris and yes he found evidence that I had indulged my passion for chocolate many years ago. While cleaning up garbage he found an old wrapper ( must be at least 12 years old and I haven't frequented the barn in all that time) of a Cadbury Snowflake--- if any one knows about Cadbury Flake bars-- they are sinfully delicious and melt in your mouth-- but the Snowflake was even better as it was made from white chocolate----oooh I do love white chocolate! I have introduced Francis to Cadbury Flakes (any British person will know what I'm talking about) and my children as well. They all have fallen in love with them. A favourite childhood memory of mine while growing up in England, is buying ice cream from the man on the beach- a "99"---   ice cream in a cone with a Cadbury Flake stuck into it-- bliss !!! Funny how suddenly something sends memories flooding back......

He finished the weekend by finishing putting the barnboard back onto the side of the barn that he had removed the first weekend of the job. If you remember, he removed it to do the new windows and put waterproofing wrap under it. Anyway, somehow between then and now we have a reverse IKEA problem. You know the one I mean.... when you buy something in a box that comes with instructions and bolts etc and at the end you have "extras" left over??? Hmmm- well, Francis had the opposite issue--- he has "lost " boards since he removed them- not really possible but somehow there were not enough to cover up all the wall now. So either they shrank with all the rain ( not likely), Pippa ate them ( she has taken to standing at that end of the barn everyday and had decided she doesn't want anything in her way--I had bought chairs and place there but she "moves them out of her way" everyday; or ?????? Anyway, we will now have to find some ( steal)  from somewhere else in the barn to finish off the one little corner...actually I think I know what happened-- Francis dug down ( note pile of earth at far corner) in order to get to the sill plate to replace it when he did the windows. I think the old "ground line" came up to where the barn board finishes as it is level with the top of the hill. 

Francis says he didn't do much this weekend- but the transformation in the barn is AMAZING. Even more so we can see the vision turning into reality......

The dogs and horses are developing a rather parasitic type relationship--- Bonhomme has figured out that Raphi's feed tastes great and so he takes every opportunity to go in and scavenge... Raphi seems quite content to share his breakfast and supper each day. He even seems to forgive them for barking and chasing him during the day...

Another perspective.......

Earlier in the week, Fiona Brown did me a great favour.....she agreed to do the evening chores and bring the horses in for me one evening as I was working 3-11 and Marina was away on holiday( in Iceland no less!). I met Fiona at Canyon Creek Farm, where I boarded Raphael for the winter. Fiona is a "photo bug" and "just happened to take some photos" while she was here the other evening. She shared them with me and I thought it would be interesting to post them here.....a view of the barn and its inhabitants ( and the dogs), through another's eyes or "lens" ( pun intended).

You can see this is the side that needs fixing............

This side needs fixing but you can't see it--- the middle part of the foundation is falling in-- part of the project

Pippa and Raphael - their "hang out spot" to sunbathe every day

Phoebe and Bonhomme

Hmm- horse poop tastes so yummy

Bonhomme - on the prowl

Some of the scenery.........views from the barn

part of the machine shed-- horses have one section to go into for shelter but they aren't  using it...

the "dog park"( on the right side) and overlooking the neighbouring farm ( Dave's- my ex -husband land)

Francis' workshop/garage-- he restored this 2 years ago--- the roof was half off, replaced beams, rafters.It was previously a piggery. He had to rip out concrete and wrought iron pig stalls............He's put in a wood stove ( you can see the chimney) that was repurposed from my mum's cottage....There are two double garage doors on the far end.

Mother's Day Weekend

Not a lot of work got done this weekend as Francis decided he needed to spend time with me for Mother's Day. In his mind anyway not much was done, but actually progress was made on several fronts.

Friday evening was also busy looking after a member of the family who was ill--- Francis' VW Golf that he bought in 2003 is sick. He had ordered a part to see as he was "trouble shooting" from YouTube again, but alas to no avail. Hence, Saturday morning saw us driving his car to the local VW hospital ( Woody's Garage in Cobden) to have tests done. We are still waiting for a diagnosis and treatment plan. Francis says if anyone wants to visit he will check to see what the visiting hours are. Francis spent a lot of time grieving over the weekend as he is afraid it will be a terminal diagnosis.... 

Saturday morning saw finishing touches being done to the barn doors-- now you can open all or none or the doors, they have fancy new handles ( made of Romy's old horseshoes that I painted) with a design by Francis to attach them to the doors. The new "Z" boards were attached as well. These add esthetics but also cover up the small gap between the upper and lower Dutch doors so no more drafts coming in! It is actually getting quite cozy in that part of the barn now.....ok so the rest of the long wall is full of broken windows but they too will be replaced in good time. Francis and I had a design conference on how to put the "Z" boards up--- you see there were 4 possible configurations.... We finally chose the one that has them looking like a "X". He drew all the possibilities on the white board we put up in the barn, and then had me sign it like a contract( you see I am notorious for coming along after he has something made with- " We should have done it like this...." or " I don't like it like that, can we change it to ......? much to his frustration.

These were the design options and the agreement--hehe

Sunday being Mother's Day and all, he only spent about 4 hours in the barn total. I managed to pry him away to come and have lunch with the family- my Mum, Dutch, Adam.Kristen, Rowan and Brynja all came. 

After that, it was out to Home Depot to shop for windows for the remaining window in Raphi's stall. Installation will take place next weekend ( maybe??). We found two that will do the job nicely. We also made a spontaneous purchase of two plastic Adirondack chairs for the barn-complete with cup/beer holder! Francis says they are for Marina and I to site and watch the horses, but I know his secret.........they are really to encourage me to come and hang out in/around the barn while he is working!! ( which I will be happy to do once the weather improves, but sorry yesterday we actually woke up to snow on the ground!!). I am a fair weather kind of girl......as he should know by now after all these years LOL

When we got back with our lovely purchases, he set to work removing the cement pad that sticks out into the alley way. The original idea was to cut it back and use the rest of the old pad as the floor for the new tack room. However, the pad was coming up so nicely, Francis has decided to remove the entire pad - this means he won't have to pour new concrete for the other part of the tack room ( you see the slab/pad is not as wide a s the tack room will be).....there is an old cement floor that is intact under the pad he is removing(not sure if this makes sense to readers or not) that we can just build directly on. He was happy as a pig in S... as he finally got to use his new toy( well , he bought it about 6 weeks ago for just this occasion, but just broke it out of the box yesterday)---a new jackhammer!!Boys and their power tools.......

Evolution of the New Barn Doors

Hello again!

Well work continued this weekend with Francis building and installing a beautiful set of Dutch barn doors. (PS I designed them). It may not seem like a gargantuan task but you have to realize what he had to do to get to the finished product. He re-serviced old 2"x6" boards that were previously part of the stalls we had dismantled. These he had to haul all the way up to the wood hobby shop at Garrison Petawawa where he had to convert them from ordinary boards into tongue -and-groove boards so he could have them fit together to make the door. Actually he made 4 doors- 2 panels for each of the Dutch doors. 

Sunday afternoon saw us installing them and they fit perfectly! ( well, okay he had to saw of 5/8" on one side so they would fit perfectly, but I still think that is pretty dam good for a first try!). I held the door panels while he shimmed them into position and then he screwed on the hinges. Silly lumber store didn't have enough hinges so for now one of them is a mismatch  and of course, that will just not do and Francis will replace it when more stock comes in!)- Until then it will drive him crazy......lol

The last week has seen me closing the barn up for the night with a tarp with a board across the entrance. These new doors will make it much more cozy, but will allow us to keep the top part open on warm summer nights for ventilation. We are going to make fly screens for the top sections (haven't quite designed them yet, but I'm working on it).

You will notice a small gap between the upper and lower sections, but this will be covered up by another "Z" board facade on the outside of the doors (still to be developed), but the gap is nothing compared to the huge gap we had with the tarp so it's all good.

Below is a photographical series of the evolution of the barn doors-- from the rickety old ones that had holes in them and jammed on the ground when trying to open,falling off its hinges,  to the lovely new Dutch doors ( or really maybe I should call them Francis doors!!)- or Quebecois doors? Francophonie doors?? ( just kidding )

Original barn doors ( notice the plywood patch on the bottom covering up holes!)

The "make-do" door for the last week--note the big gap at the bottom through which the wind howled
Note the little " TV screen" on the top left above the doorway-- its really a solar panel for a light

Francis' creation!!! ( my design:) )-outside

Doors from the inside--- Also note the solar light Francis put in for me ( white rectangle at top right of door)-- as we have no electricity in the barn- the solar panel is attached to the outside of the barn just above the doors; you can set to manual or have it motion sensitive-- we decided the horses would not appreciate the motion sensor aspect; so we turn it on as we need it.

Doors with the bolts now attached to keep the top/bottom together- one or both top sections can be opened and swing inward to allow in fresh air/ sunshine

There are a couple of finishing touches still to be added--- We are going to add handles that will be more of Romy's old horseshoes that I painted. Design under construction.........

PS Did I say on here yet how much I love this amazing man in my life??? He never ceases to give all he has to make my dreams come true... 

PPS  Did I say yet how thankful I am for all his hard labours?... THANK YOU MON AMOUR!!

Well, I know it's not the weekend but just thought I would provide an update on the barn tenants. Raphi and Pippa have adapted well. They seem happy and content and in fact by the second night Pippa came into her stall by herself once she heard me getting their supper ready in the barn. You see the feed is kept in metal garbage cans to keep creatures out, and the horses recognize the sound. I had to go and lead Raphi in, but last night he came by himself as well. Although, he didn't go into his stall but rather came to check out what I was doing .....silly boy.

Yesterday was cool and windy and they had several episodes of running around and kicking and jumping into the air. At times they jumped straight up and had all 4 feet off the ground-- they were definitely enjoying themselves. Watching horses be horses is so fascinating. Trouble is I keep forgetting to take pictures!  (too mesmerized I guess )

Raphael has reverted  back to his natural instincts- he has become the herd boss and "look out". He seems to constantly be gazing around looking for danger and doesn't seem to graze much. I'm hoping he will settle soon. I noticed that while Pippa was having a sun bath standing alongside the barn in the afternoon that he was merrily munching away. I guess he figured Pippa was now able to scout for danger so he could take a rest. He must not be hungry though as he isn't eating all his hay at night. In fact, I never thought I would see the day that Pippa was replete, but this morning she had left a bit of hay as well. 

This morning I wanted to see what they would do if I opened their doors after they had their breakfasts. Raphael just calmly walked out of his stall and out of the barn door (opening, really). Funny, but Pippa who is usually most eager to get outside, just stayed in her stall. I think she was waiting for permission to be allowed to go on her own.... such a little lady at times. You see I've been leading them out and making them stop a few times on the way to the barn doorway so they don't learn to stampede out and remember their manners. 

What an insane weekend it was! Francis worked like a superhero to have everything ready for the new "tenants" arrival on Sunday. Friday evening saw him measuring the angle iron and drilling holes in it.This angle iron is to placed on top of the wooden floor boards to hold them in place. He started installing the wood floors- got about 1/3 of Raphi's stall done.

On Saturday, Francis' friend Yves came to help with the rest of the floors. Unfortunately, they ran out of tamarack boards so we have had to order more. In the meantime, Pippa's stall had a few spruce boards put in near the back of the stall so it could be finished for her arrival. The angle iron was installed and bolted into place in both stalls.After the floors were installed, Francis made cement and filled in the gaps between the floors and the walls. You see the foundation is made of stone so there are

no straight lines! In the afternoon, I hung water buckets, salt lick holders ( wonderful ones in the shape of horseshoes!) and put down fresh bedding and hay into the stalls all ready for the grand arrival on Sunday. Yes, I needed Francis' help to figure out the proper screws/bolts and drill bits but I managed in the end.

Putting the final touches on Pippa's stall-installing the salt block holder

Final prep of Raphi's stall

Sunday was crazy! Marina and I  attended a dressage clinic at the place we were boarding at while Francis was like Cinderella back at the house scrubbing and cleaning. He tidied up all his tools and construction debris from the stall area, swept floors, installed rubber mats in the alley way, hung up our new cross-ties ( so we can have the horses tied in the alley when we groom/tack up, etc). Then he started fixing fences ( there were some gaping  holes in the fence line which we noticed on Saturday). Serge (Marina's husband) helped with the fence fixing. They installed some electric fence to prevent the horses going near the old stone well and behind the machinery shed. You see, Francis cut down all the old shrubs/weeds there in the fall and planted seed to get new grass to grow so he didn't want the horses going there yet. Unfortunately, he didn't get the fence done before the horses found the only patch of dirt ( yep, the newly seeded patch) and decided to have a good roll !! It was 845 pm before he finally finished. He had to make a temporary barricade to keep the horses out of the barn during the day and we hung a tarp across the door. Next weekend will see the start of new Dutch doors for the barn.

Marina and I trailered the horses home at 3pm on Sunday. They didn't even go for a run- just put their heads to the ground and started eating. They were so relaxed. They recognized the place I guess from our two day trips in the fall.  In the evening, around 7pm they started to rip and tear... they went to the gate we had brought them through and started whinnying-- guess they were looking to go back and go to bed. Well, we caught them and brought them inside to see their new "home"-- They walked right in, looking relaxed and happy and started munching on supper. Francis said we had to get out of bed at 10pm as we had to go and made sure they were ok--- and there they were, just quietly eating. No twirling or fussing -- they looked completely relaxed and happy. Francis had even installed a solar light in the barn so we had a light to turn on ( he really does think of everything!).End to a perfect weekend. Poor Francis didn't even stop to eat--he didn't have breakfast or lunch  on Sunday and we didn't get in for supper until 845pm... anyone want to join his diet plan they are welcome- he has lost 10 pounds over the last 4 weekends with all his hard work!

Letting go..........

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