The Barn Loft

I've been mulling over the idea of making a loft in the barn. 
A few things have led me to this idea:

• There's alot of wasted space up there
• It could be a cool play area for kids
• It will help with storage of that divorced lady's stuff that I've been storing for 2.5 years (free of charge).  I've moved her stuff perhaps a dozen times within my barn, and I'm getting rather tired of it all.

So, in the midst of my TV Room Remodel project, I started this new big project.

Perhaps the hardest part was simply clearing out the back 8 feet of the barn to have some work area.  I had to move that big metal storage rack over to the south wall.

I decided not to move my 10,000 pounds of firewood, too.  I simply climbed over it and on top of it to work those final few joists.

The floor height of the new loft is 8 feet above the cement floor.  It will get a little short the further you get away from the centerline, but hey, this is just storage.

The loft spans the entire width of my barn (36 feet) and is 8 feet wide.  I added a stairwell (not complete) for a couple of reasons.  It makes it real easy to get up and down, and because I've never cut a stair stringer before.  I had a friend at work (carpenter) help me with the math, and I now understand it's not as bad as I initially thought!

Yet to do: 
1.  Finish the other stair stringer, and add the steps
2.  Deck out the loft with plywood