Do You Notice your Building Leaning?

A couple years ago, we were doing a big rebuild on a riding arena out at Spirit Ridge in Kelowna. While we were there, we noticed something a bit sketchy—their hay shed had a serious lean going on. Like, really tilted off to one side. It looked like it was ready to fall down at any moment.

We brought it up to the owner because honestly, it was a little worrying. They’ve got people coming and going through there all the time, and if that thing came down… well, it wouldn’t be good.

The crazy part? She hadn’t even noticed. Over time, the building had just slowly started leaning more and more, and now it was out by about 8 inches from top to bottom. The posts were completely rotted out, and it had started pulling away from the stable it was attached to.

Once we pointed it out, she was super grateful. We ended up replacing the posts, rebuilding the whole shed, and even had to fix part of the roof because it was rotted out too. It turned into a pretty serious project.

But here’s the point—I tell you that story because it’s a perfect example of how we all get used to the slow decline of our buildings. It creeps up on you. You stop noticing the sag in the roof, the rot at the bottom of the posts, the way doors don’t close quite right anymore.

So here’s what I’d recommend: take a walk around your farm, your acreage, your property—whatever it is—and try to see it with fresh eyes. Pretend you’ve never seen it before. What stands out? What would you notice if you were looking at it for the first time?

Because those little problems add up. And eventually, something’s going to have to be done. Either you fix it now, or you leave it for your kid—or the next person who buys the place. And when that time comes, they’ll just subtract the cost from what they’re willing to pay you.

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If you want us to come out and give it a once-over with some fresh eyes, just give us a shout. We’ll take a look, let you know what we see, and give you some options. No pressure—we just want to earn your business by being straight with you and helping you get things fixed up.