School me on barn wood

[88GT]

Let's say someone has a very large barn with a very large quantity of salvageable wood, including some round beams, square beams measuring no less than 8"x8", and some plank flooring no less than 2"x16" (and probably more like 24") I'm horrible estimating distances, especially from a distance). That is all in addition to the standard plank siding. Wood is in good to great condition, some approaching "LNIB" Let's say the barn dimensions out at 40x60, but that's probably conservative. It has 2 levels, the loft being very generous in height. At highest point, barn is easily 25-30' tall on gabled side. Perhaps 12-16' on non-gabled side.

What kind of options does this barn owner have? What might he get for the wood if he dismantles the barn himself? If he has someone else do it?

I was told that barn wood was no longer in demand due to the "glut of barns being demolished instead of repaired." First, I call BS on the demand. Second, if barns are being destroyed that makes the wood more scarce. And we all know what scarcity does to price, even if demand remains constant. What is the market for barn wood/barn wood products like these days?

 

[ghuns]

Barn Deconstruction

I have one like that myself. My Grandpa built it in 1942 with wood from our farm and his father's sawmill. It will fall on me to either preserve it($$$), or tear it down. Either way, I don't view it as a DIY project.

 

[Mackey]

This is very interesting to me. I recently met a man who makes violins and mandolins. He really is on the lookout for old siding as much of it is American Chestnut which is awesome for instruments evidently, but the tree damn near went extint and remains extremely scarce.

Beyond this I have nothing. But I'm telling you (from experience of taking down a small outbuilding) dismantling one of these is real work and real dangerous!
I've watched a full sized barn some down out by Salem, IN and it required serious equipment (they can be death traps if not done properly).

Seems to me the best bet would be to just work out a deal for someone to do it and settle on a price.

I'm sure someone else has connections, but when I'm out next week talking to the 'old fellas' I'll try to find out who's been taking down the barns out there.

 

[target64]

Take a look here---
http://www.oldbarnwoodsite.com/barnwood_booklet.htm
J.L. Stader Artisans

 

[narly charley]

Not sure what the demand for the wood is, but my fiance's mother has a bunch of cabinets and things made from it. They live in a house built in 1889, so the wood goes with the whole theme of the home. I think that if done properly, furniture can look very nice and "rustic".

 

[24Carat]

I would caution anyone that incorporates old barn wood in a living quarters to thoroughly research the potential for histoplasmosis exposure because of years and years of bird droppings on the wood. Being submerged in a bleach water solution is about the only safe resolution of the risk.

 

[BigBoxaJunk]

One big consideration is what kind of wood we are talking about. Old barns were made from wood that was locally available. If you've got enough nice, close-grained, Oak that could be re-sawn for, say flooring or wood work, that would be more valuable than beams made of lesser wood. Tulip trees used to get massive, so many times they were able to cut really wide boards from Tulip Poplar, and that's something you can't get today at any price with new wood.

I have a friend who has dismantled several barns for the salvage wood, but the owner got no money, just got the barn removed for free. The friend has told me that he wished he had a place to have stored the salvaged wood inside, because once it was on the ground stacked, it deteriorated faster than he'd expected.

 

[Whitsettd8]

I had a 40X60 built in 1880 at my current house. All the beams were hand hewn made of Poplar and Oak. I advertised the barn on local sights for about a year offering it for free if someone would just take it down. I got a couple hits but no one ever showed up. Finally I decided to tear it down myself and had people showing up left and right wanting the wood. You can get around $1 a board foot. That was a few years ago. A friend just tore one down a few weeks ago and had no problem selling the wood on craigslist for the $1 a foot price. The beams bring quite a bit more.

 

[tmkr]

There are a few outfits that will buy and tear down your barn,won't give you much for it.The comment by mackey is true,a blight went thru in the early 1900's and wiped out the chestnut tree.Only a few survived.I hope you don't have to bulldoze your old barn because old barns are like dirt(land)they don't make em anymore.

 

[88GT]

There are a few outfits that will buy and tear down your barn,won't give you much for it.The comment by mackey is true,a blight went thru in the early 1900's and wiped out the chestnut tree.Only a few survived.I hope you don't have to bulldoze your old barn because old barns are like dirt(land)they don't make em anymore.

It's not mine. It belongs to a client. A buyer is trying to "negotiate" with poor justification. Deal fell through so no longer an issue. The barn is awesome. We know it was relocated from Point A to current location and that some portions of it pre-date 1900, but it's had some additions and repairs in its long and storied life and nobody seems to know much more than that. The property is cool though. An Indiana Civil War militia soldier mentions it in his diary so we have some provenance of the property's history as well as property records, but the latter doesn't go back nearly far enough for the really cool stuff.

 

[eldirector]

A friend's father-in-law used to be in the barn-demo and re-purpose business. He sided a house he built with old barn siding. Want me to see if he is still in the business?

 

[92ThoStro]

Considering that almost all beams in our barn are whole trees that were chopped with a hatchet and some are trees that were split vertically and still have bark on them, I don't.see it being possible as a DIY project. We have one beam that is about 10 feet long that is just laying up in the loft and it is so heavy I can't even lift one end of it myself.

You would need a crane and numerous other things.

Ours a is carved 1899 inside

 

[88GT]

A friend's father-in-law used to be in the barn-demo and re-purpose business. He sided a house he built with old barn siding. Want me to see if he is still in the business?

Not at this point. But even if he's not in the biz anymore, his knowledge and expertise might come in handy in the future. The property's current owners (the sellers) do not want the barn demo'd. The buyers did, for reasons that are beyond me at this time. If it comes up again, though, it might be nice to have a second opinion on the issue.

92, I agree you would likely need some heavy equipment, but I suppose the definition of DIY has some wiggle room. DIABY (do it all by yourself) vs do what you can and pay someone for their heavy equipment skills vs. pay someone to do it all. Family with a backhoe and a tractor could probably get it done.