Barn’s Hayloft Mounted On Top Of Country Home
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Greg Paurus mounted the hayloft from an old barn on top of the house where he and his 12 siblings were born to make a unique 2,500 sq. ft. “cabin” for family reunions and to rent out to crafters and quilters. “The Home Place Retreat” includes a large open workroom, beds for 10 people, and all the amenities to make guests feel at home.
The old Sarkela barn was well known in Sebeka, Minn., as a holding barn for cattle on their way to market in St. Paul. Located on the edge of the town, it needed to be removed when a new American Legion building was built.
The bottom level of the barn was in poor condition, but Paurus figured he could save the 20 by 22-ft. loft area. He braced the loft, parked a hay wagon inside the barn, and hired two payload operators to hold up each end of the building while he cut the loft off the barn with a chainsaw. The walls fell to the side and the payloaders lowered the loft onto the wagon.
Paurus pulled it with his tractor five miles to its new home early on a Sunday morning. His biggest concern was not to hit highline wires.
Back on the farm, he hired someone to block the loft up just over 8 ft. high on a foundation he had ready. He built the first story, then lowered the loft in place.
“What made the loft unique is that the rafters were rounded. They used five 1-in. boards and wet them to bend them,” Paurus says.
He would have liked to keep the rafters exposed, but some were uneven, so he covered them with pine boards repurposed from another home remodeling project.
The loft adds character, however, with arched walls on the second floor and exposed joists on the kitchen ceiling. Because the joists had been whitewashed, Paurus decided cleaning and painting them white was the best choice for finishing them.
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Vickie Paurus, The Home Place Retreat, 31625 U.S. Hwy. 71, Sebeka, Minn. 56477 (ph 218 837-5474; www.foresthavenretreat.com).
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Barn’s Hayloft Mounted On Top Of Country Home BUILDINGS Houses Greg Paurus mounted the hayloft from an old barn on top of the house where he and his 12 siblings were born to make a unique 2 500 sq ft “cabin” for family reunions and to rent out to crafters and quilters “The Home Place Retreat” includes a large open workroom beds for 10 people and all the amenities to make guests feel at home The old Sarkela barn was well known in Sebeka Minn as a holding barn for cattle on their way to market in St Paul Located on the edge of the town it needed to be removed when a new American Legion building was built The bottom level of the barn was in poor condition but Paurus figured he could save the 20 by 22-ft loft area He braced the loft parked a hay wagon inside the barn and hired two payload operators to hold up each end of the building while he cut the loft off the barn with a chainsaw The walls fell to the side and the payloaders lowered the loft onto the wagon Paurus pulled it with his tractor five miles to its new home early on a Sunday morning His biggest concern was not to hit highline wires Back on the farm he hired someone to block the loft up just over 8 ft high on a foundation he had ready He built the first story then lowered the loft in place “What made the loft unique is that the rafters were rounded They used five 1-in boards and wet them to bend them ” Paurus says He would have liked to keep the rafters exposed but some were uneven so he covered them with pine boards repurposed from another home remodeling project The loft adds character however with arched walls on the second floor and exposed joists on the kitchen ceiling Because the joists had been whitewashed Paurus decided cleaning and painting them white was the best choice for finishing them Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Vickie Paurus The Home Place Retreat 31625 U S Hwy 71 Sebeka Minn 56477 ph 218 837-5474; www foresthavenretreat com
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