May 2015 Update

This will likely be one of the last posts you'll see exclusively of the barn. Matt tells me that they're going to be starting on the carriage house transformation next week. Although it's been hectic lately with a lot of stuff going on, all of it has been restricted to the barn. From now on the work will actually be encroaching into our living space. I think Audrei, our housekeeper, put it best when she said, "It's going to be a long summer."

Here are some photos of the finishing touches that have happened in the barn this week.

Here is my pottery studio space. The walls and window trim are all done. The counter will be just under those windows which are south facing - lots of natural light.

This is the north side which will overlook the driveway and the lower lawn. All the trim is done. The electricians will be back in soon to install the light fixtures.

New windows and doors really give everything a nice, finished look. You can see the scaffolding outside that was used to do the new shingles and the new cupola.

This is a shot of the floor with the new finish on it. The finish is a new product designed to protect and seal the concrete as well as give it a nice shine. The steel door that goes to the basement is in the foreground.

Another shot of the floor. This is  the north side of the garage where the Porches (Mike's and JP's) and the Corvette (someday) will go.

The crowning glory of the barn is the over-sized cupola that Matt built. There was a cupola on the barn originally but it was only about 18 inches square. We decided to upgrade. Our new cupola is 5 feet square with a copper roof. Matt built it in his workshop, assembled it there, disassembled it and then trucked the pieces to our place and reassembled it on the roof. Here they are taking the individual pieces up.

Matt and Jonathan formulate a plan.

This picture was taken from an upstairs window in the house. The cedar shingles will eventually grey to match the rest of the barn.

Here is a view from the rear of the property. You can really notice the copper roof in the sunlight. The new cedar shingles will grey quickly on this south-west facing side of the barn. The new shingles really made a difference in the appearance of the building. It looks awesome but the garage door, the outside lights, the ramp and the driveway are still to come.