New barn ‘raised’ in Will County

ELWOOD, Ill. — A group raised the roof in rural Will County in northeastern Illinois, but it wasn’t from celebrating the winning goal or rambunctious behavior.

A team from FBi Buildings was raising the roof of a 60-by-200-foot barn for Everett Hauert.

The roof was built at ground level. The wall posts — each comprised of three 2-by 6-inch boards — are hinged to the roof frame, and as the roof was raised by eight hydraulic lifts connected to steel beams, the wall posts moved inward and slid into slots on the posts that are secured to the ground.

“Out of the 10 or 12 pole building manufacturers, FBi Buildings is the only one that builds the roof on the ground,” Hauert said.

“Eventually, it’s going to be 120-foot by 200-foot. We’re going to put a 30-foot lean-to on each side. So, it will total 24,000 square feet and it’s 16 feet high at the peak.”

Materials from buildings that were once part of the former Joliet Arsenal will be used for lean-to construction.

“One of the buildings we removed from the former arsenal property was a very historical building used for locomotive engine repair. It was a 50-foot square building that will be constructed west of the house,” Hauert said.

Another 50-by-150 foot building will be constructed north of the barn with arsenal material.

The new barn will be used for livestock, as well as hay and machinery storage.

Grass-Fed Beef

Hauert raises grass-fed Angus beef and also pork.

“We currently have 10 head of Angus. We normally have 15 to 25 head on hand. We buy feeder calves at different ages and weight levels, so that we constantly have two to three head a month available for processing,” he said.

“Our beef is sold locally by word of mouth. We also have a signs on the highway promoting our grass-fed beef. Most of our business comes from the signs on the highway, repeat customers, and word of mouth.

“We don’t use corn for feed. The reason for that is marbled fat is no longer omega-6 fat, which is the fat in the beef when you feed them grain. When you feed them no grain and hay only, the marbled fat is now omega-3. Omega-3, which fish oil also contains, cleanses our veins and lowers our cholesterol.”

Development

The move to build the pole barn was necessitated by nearby development.

Hauert said his current pasture where the livestock is located two miles from the new barn was purchased by NorthPoint Development as part of a planned warehouse complex. The livestock will be moved to the new barn location.

“NorthPoint has purchased property in all directions of us here. They are going to put up 35 warehouses that are going to be 500 feet by 2,000 feet, and they are going to be on all four sides of us here on this 20-acre piece of land. They bought a total of 3,500 acres that’s going to be developed for warehousing,” Hauert said.