Raising the Barn - Part 2

When last I left you, John and the boys had just finished nailing up the beam that will support the floor of the hayloft and raise the ceiling of the milking parlor.



Now, it is time to jack up the ceiling and place the support beams.  Easier said than done!  John explained to the boys that they would start at the end of the milking parlor to place the first support post.  The ceiling had dropped the least in that place and it would allow an easier placement of the first support.

The support post was measured (more than once!) and placed on top of two of our buckets.  It was then cut and notched with a circular saw. The red in the background is our Hi-Lift Jack - a very necessary tool around the farm!



Time to place the beam....and then it happened...the glitch.  We needed a sledge hammer to knock the beam into place.  It really wasn't necessary to jack up this end of the ceiling....we just need to pop the bottom of the support post to push it into place.   Unfortunately, we don't have a sledge hammer (another necessary tool).  So...what to do?  IMPROVISE!  John took the end of this post which had been  sawed off earlier and another piece of wood....a couple of screws....a minute or two and VOILA!!



The world's largest sledge hammer.....or at least the biggest one we had ever seen.  One good swing with this thing and the support beam popped right into place....and it was a lot of fun to use!  The boys will be keeping this one around for future use!



This support post was then screwed to the beam just to make sure it couldn't be knocked out from under it.  Now it was time to move on to the middle of the milking parlor where the ceiling was sagging the most.  Once again, the support post was measured and cut.  This time we would need the jack to lift the ceiling enough to slide the post under.

Josiah is giving it his all...literally...



Then Jeremy joined in to add his weight...



But we needed really big muscles!  So...older brother Joshua to the rescue and it wasn't easy for him either!



I could hear the ceiling creaking...Josh had to lift it at least 4 inches so that John could get the support beam under.  It was scary for me to watch....I think I was most concerned that the jack would let fly and Josh might get hurt.  But with one final heave, John was able to slip that beam under and into place!



The support post was then fastened to the beam.



Two other support posts were placed in the milking parlor but the rest were not near as difficult as this one was.  The boys learned so much this day....about Yahweh...about engineering, about safety, about friendship and fellowship....a long, hard, wonderful day!

My boys can look up and look around and will always remember that they had a part in the saving of the milking parlor.  They can treasure in their hearts that there was a godly man who  cared enough about their safety that he was willing to give up two days to help them fix this problem....rare in the world today!  They will always remember to pray for John while they are milking and they will remember the fellowship and fun they had with John and with each other during this day.  What great memories and what wonderful stories they will have to tell their own children as they teach them to milk cows and goats!

Next post, I'll share how they were able to save the feed troughs and put them back in working order the next afternoon.

Blessings,