You could say that the first major item in our farm renovation has begun with a bang!

We recently took down an old silo because it was severely rotted at the base and just too far gone to fix.

Tin Roof! Rusted…

The one on the right, that I point out in the video, has long been without a “proper hat” to keep out the rain and snow.

It was starting to lean to one side and becoming oval-shaped, meaning it was an accident waiting to happen.

It represented a liability that my building inspector and insurance agent had pointed out on separate occasions. So it had to come down.

The other silo is still in good shape and is not showing severe signs of wear. We don’t have any plans to tear it down because it is so iconic to the landscape.

Help from the Experts

Luckily for us we had expert help from our neighbors. They work in construction and had all the right equipment for the job.

They were actually done in less than an hour when we started that day. Obviously there was a bunch of prep work done beforehand, but with the backhoe, a lot of that was taken care of.

They loosened the steel cables that were used to keep the silo strapped in place and tied those onto long chains that were hooked up to one of the backhoes.

They actually had two backhoes on the scene. You can see the other one at the end of the video below. One was behind the silo to keep it from falling towards the barn or even worse, towards the road.

That’s where I was stationed. In case the silo fell that way, I could at least stop any oncoming traffic.

Kimmy faithfully performed her video duties admirably even though the silo landed a “little too close for comfort” where the tripod was set-up. She did a great job filming the event.

Their plan worked superbly. The silo came down just like a tree would fall for a lumberjack. We’re so happy to have such helpful neighbors nearby.

Taking down a silo was something we could not have done all by ourselves…Continue in the journey over on ADKFarmerDan.com

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• Bringing An Old Farm Back To Life (www.essexonlakechamplain.com)