A Barn Makeover- New Hay Loft and Stall Fronts
The Summer of 2021- the reconstruction of the hay loft and stalls at Schwieter Land and Livestock. From barely functional to working and looking fabulous.
A lot of work, but the results were well worth it.
No more fears of falling through the loft floor into a stall below when getting a bale of hay. Gone is the risk of a horse pushing through a stall door while sticking his head out. And I don’t have to look at the sorry sight. 😜
The old setup still got the job done: a place to stack the hay and a spot to stall a horse. But they were lacking, to say the least. One door had been kicked completely off the hinges, while others had been patched or replaced.
You don’t realize how bad things are until you begin the deconstruction stage. You find what is barely hanging on by a thread (or cobweb) and also flaws in the initial construction. No two stall doors were the same size.
We started tearing out the old and salvaging what we could.
With the addition of some new lumber mixed with the old and a revised configuration- we put in a lot of late nights. We finished the loft portion in time to stack our new crop of wheat straw on the newly-laid floor.
The stall fronts were on hold while we waited for the custom-made doors.
After the doors were delivered, we didn’t waste much time getting them installed. The doors look great, and level, thanks to the transit (and me 😜). They will be so easy to use with the new slam-latches.
The frame work went up and the oak boards completed the stall fronts.
New mangers were also built in each stall.
We love the cohesive look. The stall section and loft is functional, symmetrical, and stylish. It has a rustic feel with the weathered wood and an industrial touch with the metal stall doors.
The stalls won’t see much action until the weather turns cooler. We keep most of the horses turned out in the summer. But for now, the loft is filling up with hay and straw and the stalls are ready for an occasional horse.
We’re also looking forward to having customers, friends and family stop in; the eye-sore is gone.
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