Jay Bell 40×60 Gambrel Build

Jay Bell

Posted to the Barngeeks DIY Facebook Group 2/27/23

My wife and I moved from New Hampshire to Texas in 2018 after retirement. In New Hampshire we owned an antique home built in 1840 that had a 40’ X 60’ bank barn attached to the house, which was my inspiration for building a barn on my property in Texas. The 1st two photos posted are of the New Hampshire barn. With the exception of laying the concrete pad, putting on the metal roof, and getting much needed help from my son and neighbor during the week I raised the bents, all other work was done solo. As you can see from the photos, I choose to build a Barn Geeks 40’ X 60’ Gambrel. My needs in Texas didn’t require a bank barn, so to keep things as simple as possible for a novice like me, I built the barn without any significant modification from the plans with the exception of adding a 12’ X 40’ porch. After raising the bents with a 42’ Telehandler and placing the purlins using a scissor lift, the rental equipment was returned, and I completed the board and batten siding installation using ladders and scaffolding. The photos of the sawmill and wood delivery (one of two truckloads), is a shout out to Hester’s Log and Lumber of Kremmling, CO who milled all of the rough-cut lumber for the build. The barn is a great addition to our property and allows us to entertain large groups of people from family gatherings, parties with friends to church functions. The bonfire photo was a winter youth group party that included line dancing, barbeque and lots of fun.
Finally, I want to thank Aaron, and those who help him, for the plans, cut list, hardware kit and instructional material provided on the Barn Geek web sites. I couldn’t have completed this without his unique ability to “make it simple” for the beginner, and for his vision to make it easily accessible to the public.
I hope you enjoy the photos!!

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