Mountain Man Mondays; Finishing the Barn Floor
- June 30, 2009
- Category: Daily Diary
- (16) Comments
While I’ve been pontificating on health care, Mountain Man has been hard at work finishing the barn floor.
For those of you who are interested in a little more technical information, here is some more detail about the floor. In Vermont, we have to worry about buildings shifting (heaving) with the frost. Therefore, when Mountain Man first put in the concrete pillars for the barn, he went down over 6 feet below our frost line to ensure the building would not move. When it came time to put down the flooring, he decided on a “free floating” floor which means it is not actually attached to the barn. If the floor were attached to the barn, it would lift the entire barn structure when it froze and then defrosted. Over the years, this continual heaving would cause significant movement.
Here’s an example of frost heaves. These “lumps” are now flat again because the frost underneath has dissipated.
In order to build a free floating floor, Mountain Man first laid the stone as you saw last week. Next, he put down a layer of 2 x 6 pressure treated lumber (we had to purchase that). Then, came a double layer of 2 x 4s which comes from our lumber. This process created a 4 1/2″ high sleeper beam. In between the stone and the wood, he put down a poly vapor barrier to allow the floor to float.
The actual flooring is 2 x 6 and 2 x 8 tongue and groove red pine planking. It is framing lumber grade.
Here’s the pictorial.
Running the flooring through his four sided planer. The shavings from the planer are in great demand by all the surrounding horse owners for stall bedding.
Back to work again in the barn.
Almost finished.
I have stairs again and the well underneath the stairs is now insulated.
The big test is whether or not Khrysta approves.
Posing with Mountain Man.
Mountain Man is off to shovel gravel around the outside and close off access underneath the barn to all the critters.
He’s got lots more work to do on the barn but that’s it for now. If you haven’t followed this series from the beginning, maybe you’d like to know that Mountain Man has done this all alone. No help except from big equipment. He lifted the walls, put on the roof, made the lumber, all of it. Hard to imagine one person can do a project like this alone and if I hadn’t been here to witness it, I wouldn’t believe it.
I've never even thought about a free floating floor, makes sense though. I guess that shows how much I know about building, but I sure do know about how the frost heaves the ground.
I've lived in a house once with no basement and know that the floor is impossibly cold to walk on barefoot in the winter, like ice.
Does he stain (paint?) them after ??? All I've really seen are dirt or old grey wood floors.
Date: June 30, 2009
Amazing! I am exhausted after mowing when I got home from work. I don't think I'll ever finish my projects.
Date: June 30, 2009
Where does he get his energy? I'm tired just reading about all he does. They don't make men like him anymore! What a shame! Hope Khrysta approves, I could live in that barn!
Date: June 30, 2009
Looking forward to seeing it when it's all done.
That is one mighty Mountain Man you've got there:-)
Date: June 30, 2009
That is beautiful. Mtn. Man really completed a wonderful project. Now how loud are the hooves walking across the wood though? I once lived in a barn with wooden floors for the horse stalls and it was loud!!! But you don't have to sleep in the same building so it probably does not matter.
Nice job Mtn. Man!
Date: June 30, 2009
That Mountain Man is a hero! Well done! The barn looks great.
Date: June 30, 2009
Thanks for sharing – you have a wonderful life there in the wilds of the mountains. Mountain Man is always busy building and keeping things going. Very beautiful area from the photos you share on your site.
Date: June 30, 2009
so very interesting!
Date: June 30, 2009
The barn is coming along very nicely – what a great home for the horses. It still boggles my mind that Mountain Man did this all alone – he really knows what he's doing obviously.
Date: June 30, 2009
What a nice job and such common sense! Kudos to Mt. Man!
Date: June 30, 2009
Hey MW,
Phew…it looks like a lot of work! But it is looking nice, rather nice
!
Oh, your horse is so beautiful!!
You guys are gifted, I tell you this much; congrats
!
Have a wonderful week!
Cheers
Date: June 30, 2009
I want let my wife look at this blog especially since he doe's the cooking too. Looks great!!
Tim
Date: June 30, 2009
I've never heard of a barn floor this nice. The one on the farm in Oregon where I grew up had a dirt floor. Of course it didn't get as cold there as it does in Vermont!
Your hubby is so talented.
Date: June 30, 2009
That looks more like a palace to me! I love it!!!! Mountain Man really is amazing.
Date: July 01, 2009
Beautiful work. My father was a carpenter and cabinet maker who worked in the days when homes were still stick built. I know the toll this kind of work takes but I also know the love of working with wood and understanding that even after it is cut it still breathes and moves and will make its will felt if you try and go against the grain. Nice blog.
Date: July 01, 2009
I can believe he did it all alone. Even though I myself grew up in the city, I come from a family of farmers. Farmers are the toughest and most resourceful people on the planet. So when I see a person like him, I always have respect because I understand some of what he can do.
Date: July 02, 2009