The Goat's Pallet Barn

We have a couple of buildings in the plans here at our new homestead and first up was for our existing goats. Currently there are 5 and our 2 girls are *hopefully* expecting. Eventually this will belong to the boys of the farm- our Buck, Thor, and our 2 wethers Scooter and Scout. So here's what we did:

Step one- collect lots of pallets. We got most of these from Paul's work and also from around town from various businesses. Most places welcome people to take these off of their hands. 

 

We connected the pallets using lag bolts- here is Paul and Cale working on the lower level of pallets. The shed is approximately 10 x 10 and used 3 pallets on each side. 

Moving up. We connected the second level of pallets using boards from our knocked down barn and 4x4s in the corners.  We were working with a pretty big hill too, so a lot had to be done to get it level.

Because of the hill, the building ended up being a lot taller than the expected 8 ft. It is closer to 10 ft in most places. 

We used a lot of blocks and bricks to set the foundation aswell as using stakes to anchor the corner posts into the ground.

Getting ready for the roof...this is as far as we got before we moved. 

We used a tarp for the roof for the first 2 days, and then this past Friday it was sunny and 60 and the perfect day to quit unpacking the house and get to working outside. 

My dad and stepmother came over to lend a hand on the roof.

Annika spent lots of time with the goats. These 2 are small and really gentle- perfect for her.

Rylan especially liked being up high on the roof while Paul and my dad finished the supports. We got all but one roof panel hung before we had to call it a day.

We were blessed again on Saturday with another beautiful day. Rylan sat up on the tin roof to help with fastening the last panel. 

Then we moved on to siding. The boys were all eager to help with the drilling. 

But eventually they had to hand over the drill in order for the work to get done a little quicker. Though Rylan stayed and helped to fasten the siding the entire time.

Annika took an extra long nap, so my stepmother and I took over the sawing. And I realized that the saw wasn't so scary after all. 

We got 2 sides done before it was time to call it quits for the day. But here is the progress so far:

Bertie and Bella went right in to lay down as soon as we started the 2nd side. They hadn't really liked their new quarters before with the holes in the sides and the tarp roof. They are much happier now. 

 

And we finished it just in time to shelter them from the cold rain and possible snow that might come tonight.