Tag Archives: construction

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And to think it only took 9 years.

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Today we can finally say the barn construction is complete. After breaking ground (not to mention our backs) in April 2012, the last pieces were just put into place.

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Said pieces being soffit under the eaves. For years they had been open…

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But now they’re boxed in, vented and painted.

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And also impossible to photograph without massive sun reflections.

If I had my druthers, I’d finish off the porch ceiling as well….

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But for some reason the husband draws the line there.

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I think it’s because people compliment us on the new paint job… the one I wanted and he didn’t. It ticks him off everyone loves it and he has to take his revenge where he can.

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The shelf war.

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We started with these 3 foot long shelves under the bar.

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They’re floating shelves… and while they technically don’t float, they are an absolute pain in the ass to install. So when I told the husband I wanted two more on the adjacent bar wall, he was less than thrilled but agreed they were necessary. Of course then the stupid electrician put the new outlets too high up on the wall to install 3 foot shelves at the same height as the others. That’s when the war began.

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I was fine with moving the bottom shelf higher.

The husband was not. Which resulted in a major kerfluffle.

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We disagreed on placement…. and though I had won the 4 versus 3 custom liquor bottle shelves battle, this war ended differently.

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Busy with other things we put this chore on the back burner… or so I thought until the husband disappeared one afternoon and I found him under the bar. Removing my 3 foot shelves and all their contents.

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Unbeknownst to me, he had returned my 3 foot shelves to the store and come home with the 2 foot versions instead. I told him I didn’t want 2 foot shelves. That it would look off balance and not provide enough space.

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To which he paid no attention and proceeded to install the stubby 2 foot shelves. He was determined they fit right into the corner and ripped out the nice trim piece I had our contractor install. When I looked displeased, he assured me they would line up perfectly with the existing shelves and look great.

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I think you know how that went.

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They didn’t line up, despite the numerous hours he cursed like a drunken sailor tinkered with them.

No matter what he did, the new shelves rose slightly above the older ones and wouldn’t lay flat.

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His solution?

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A few pieces of too thick moldy old wood from under the baby barn…. to bring them together.

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Which makes me wonder what part of the invisible bracket floating shelf aesthetic he didn’t understand.

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I’m hoping once we get the double tap kegerator in there the unbalanced shelves won’t be quite so noticeable.

But either way, there’s still not enough room.

😒

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Because one day I might be under it.

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As previously reported, the barn bar construction is finished and now it’s just a matter of waiting for chairs.

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But on further inspection, I noticed this.

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Not visible until you’re slightly under it (which I may be some day in the near future, don’t judge) was an exposed lip of pressboard used to support the top.

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I wasn’t loving it and decided to turn it into a nice little black strip.

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What a royal pain in the ass that was.

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I didn’t paint the whole thing, just the trim edge. But it looks better.

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More finished.

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And it picks up all the other black accents in the room quite nicely.

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It took me forever, but there. Mission accomplished.

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We have a bar!

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An honest to goodness, sturdy and well built, fully stained and polyurethaned, ready to dance on (or fall under) bar!

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It was a long time coming but we’re pleased with the result.

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The wood grain is lovely, the top is smooth and shiny.

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And once the custom ordered chairs and shelves are ready, it will be time to get down to business.

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The business of mixing my first Barn Mahal cocktail.

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It’s like the blue or gold dress all over again.

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* Disclaimer – a mistake was made in scheduling. This post should have been viewed before yesterday’s, so please forget you saw that one. My bad. *

Our (magical, never to be caught actually working, might be an elf) contractor was by the other day to put the first coat of stain on our bar top.

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So while the husband and I were checking progress, I took pictures.

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And it wasn’t until I started posting them that I realized the damn thing appeared to be 2 different colors.

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At first I thought it was a matter of angles and shadows but the picture above and below this text are basically the same, just taken 12 minutes apart.

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And I swear I didn’t alter the hue or color on my phone.

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I have no explanation. Although now that I think about it, this might be a fun bar game after a few toddies.

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Just for the fun of it I placed a few fronting pieces to get an idea what the finished product would look like.

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And I think while not a perfect match to the chairs we ordered…

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It might be close enough.

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Things are moving quickly in the Barn Mahal.

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After waiting a month and a half for construction to start…

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Our rarely seen contractor is really picking up the pace.  I’m starting to think he might be an elf, as we never actually catch him working.

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All the facing boards and bottom moulding are in place…

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And it won’t be long before we’re bellying up for our inaugural beverage. Ironically right after we discovered the new updates a friend and his son showed up to check the progress.

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They hadn’t been here in months and were shocked at the transformation.

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Darts were played.

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Beer was imbibed.

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And shock was expressed that still live rounds were prominently displayed.

🤣

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A barn bar boo boo.

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Our contractor has an uncanny knack for showing up when we’re not home or sneaking in when we’re not looking.

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Like the other day when we walked into the barn and found he’d laid the top of the bar on the base…

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And dropped off the stained pieces for the facing.

This end looked good…

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The other end?

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Not so much.

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It seemed the corners didn’t quite fit together as planned.

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So glue and clamps were deployed.

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He called us later that day and told us not to worry, all would be well.

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I’m trusting he knows what’s he’s talking about. And actually, by neon bar light?

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It didn’t look half bad.

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Barn (and bar!) news.

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Continuing in the if you can’t beat ’em, join ’em paradigm, I gifted the husband some nice new pool sticks.

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Canadian maple of various colors and weights.

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I also gathered some of the military patches he’s had stuck in his drawer for years.

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I’m trying to think of some way to display them… you know, a way that doesn’t involve sewing. Because my love only goes so far.

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A few man cave appropriate books were dropped on the table…. and then –

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Our bar building contractor showed up with the top of the bar.

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I have to admit I was liking the 3 different shades of wood colors….

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Until I realized that was the unfinished side. But after it was sanded down and smoothed, even the husband agreed it would need to be stained before the polyurethane.

Victory is mine!

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And that called for a drink. Or a cocktail in a pretty can as the case may be.

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A bar is born!

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We came home from the grocery store yesterday and found this:

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The contractor had been at work in the barn and started the bar!

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My husband was thrilled… but had to check the measurements to be sure.

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Can you picture me standing back there mixing margaritas?

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I’ve been battling for a nicely stained finish but the husband is trying to cheap out and go natural. I fear neither of us will be fully satisfied… but at least we’ll have someplace sturdy to belly up to soon.

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On second thought, don’t. Some things are simply too frightening to contemplate.

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The transformation has begun.

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The pool table was uncovered, brushed and racked.

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A hat and coat rack was hung by the door.

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And a few vintage WWII propaganda posters from 1943 I’ve been meaning to frame were framed and displayed.

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It was during this time we decided the ugly bracing pole in the middle of the room… which was never supposed to be there but was deemed necessary when we noticed the top floor bounced when we walked on it during the original construction…. needed to be spruced up.

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The (now lovely) wood walls and trimmed windows demanded it.

I expected to blog about the normal nightmare of measuring and cutting and cursing but things went remarkably well.

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Maybe we’re finally getting the hang of it.

So…. the before.

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And the after.

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Please don’t ask why he put my porch barrels on the loveseat. I have no reasonable explanation for that.