Staudinger Barn Raised—

Rebuilding Begins After A Winter That Collapsed Two Dozen Buildings

By Shannon Hicks

The rebuilding process has begun for some of the structures that were lost this past winter when the weight of accumulating snow and ice caused full or partial collapses.

Three antique barns collapsed, either completely or in part, on January 19, starting a four-week stretch when older barns, greenhouses (both Lexington Gardens and the former Mannix greenhouses were hit), roofs, storage sheds, and even The Newtown Bee’s gazebo at The Pleasance all succumbed to the weight of winter.

Joyce and Bob Staudinger were not home when they became one of at least two dozen property owners who lost buildings due to the weight of accumulating snow on weary roofs. The couple, longtime residents of Pole Bridge Road in Sandy Hook, were in Florida when they received a phone call from their daughter telling them that the roof of their 100-year-old barn had collapsed on February 3, just three days after they had gone south for a few weeks.

Inside the two-story, 900-square-foot barn was a pickup truck and a season’s worth of hay, which the Staudingers sell.

While some of the hay was lost, the good news was the way the roof fell it actually created a hammock effect over the truck.

“There was a ding and some scratches on the hood, and that was it,” Mr Staudinger reported. “We got really lucky with that.”

The Staudinger barn may be the first of the buildings that succumbed to winter to be rebuilt. The largest of the three outbuildings on the couple’s property, a new section of the barn — the main storage area, onto which an addition had been built 50 years ago — was completed and ready to be used by April 8. The basement/foundation walls held up, as did the “new” addition.

Constructed of Eastern white pine, the new building can be seen by passersby on the road where the Staudingers live and in the summer operate their farm, which they call Lazy Acres. The new construction can also be seen by passing traffic on I-84, which runs to the east of their land.

In place of the large doors that used to swing outward, a pair of new doors now roll open on a set of smooth castors. A new lock has been added to the enclosure, which Joyce was able to maneuver easily with one hand a week ago.

“Those old ones, you had to swing ‘em open and it took some work,” she said. “These new ones roll to the side so easily.”

The building, which was erected in the footprint of its predecessor, is just a few feet taller than the barn that fell, thanks to taller trusses.

“We can pull right in there with the truck full now,” Mr Staudinger pointed out. “It’s just two feet taller, but there’s a lot more storage.”

“We can pull in with the truck full — and a full load can run 80 to 100 bales — and be able to unload from the top of the load. No more pulling up to the outside of the barn,” his wife added.

After the collapse on February 3, it was John Ferris, a son-in-law of the Staudingers, who recommended White Horse Construction for the rebuild. An Amish crew from Pennsylvania, White Horse had constructed a barn for Mr Ferris in 1997.

While the “newer” addition of the Staudinger barn was unaffected by the February cave in, the main floor of the building was also unscathed. While the crew was on hand for four working days earlier this month, however, they helped reinforce and level the floor.

“It’s going to be more level than ever now,” Mr Staudinger said with a laugh.

Insurance did not cover the cost of repairing the building, but the Staudingers could not wait to rebuild it. They need shelter for their hay.

Longtime customers purchased some of the hay after the February collapse. Once wet, the hay usually cannot be sold, but once customers heard about the collapse, said Joyce, they contacted her daughter and son-in-law Sandy and John Ferris before the Staudingers returned home to purchase hay at a reduced rate and got it out of the barn as soon as possible.

Meanwhile, longtime friend and fellow Sandy Hook resident Jon Bond stepped in to help Mr Ferris clear the snow off the collapsed building’s roof.

Four men from White Horse arrived in Sandy Hook early on the morning of March 25. They had driven up from Pennsylvania, leaving their homes at 2 am, and arrived at the Staudinger property in time to begin their work day at 8 am. They finished around 4 pm, leaving a framed building when they departed for the weekend.

The following Monday the crew was back, and continued their work that day and Tuesday. They returned to Pennsylvania on March 30, hoping to return within a few days but were hesitant to return too soon due to weather predictions for on-and-off rain showers.

It was April 5 before the men were able to return to Sandy Hook. They stayed overnight with the Staudingers, and finished the job on April 6.

John Ferris worked right alongside the White Horse crew.

“He worked with them every day, and they put that thing up in four and a half days,” Bob Staudinger said on April 8, looking proudly at the new barn on his property. A cupola from Pennsylvania had been added to the roof, along with a wrought iron crowing rooster weathervane.

The Staudingers had had the roof on the 100-year-old barn replaced about a decade ago, and were more concerned with one of the other barns on their property when they headed to Florida earlier this year.

“We never thought that one would go down,” said Mrs Staudinger. “You go inside it and you could see all the brand-new wood up on the roof. We took care of another barn, an old dilapidated one, having it shoveled out, and that one’s still standing.”