salvage old barn wood - who to call?

[2nstonge]

Here's another option; http://www.thebarnpeople.com My understanding is that if it's a chestnut frame in good condition you probably stand to make some $$ on it, not just let someone take it down for free.

And another... discussion group that may have more info local to your area: http://dgroups.agriculture.com/n/pfx/forum.aspx?webtag=agbldgbins

Also, I'd bet you could find a flooring or furniture maker for the wood with powder post beetle damage. I was in Washington state last summer and stumbled into a furniture shop, the guy used driftwood that had been ravaged by sea worms. He made rustic chairs, benches and tables and the insect/worm damaged wood looked great all planed and finished.

If you can take some time and don't need to get of the barn and other wood asap you might be sitting on some cash from the right buyer.

Good luck, -Norm

 

[jhb]

I have a 200 year old barn. I plan to reuse the wood for floors and walls in the new addition I am replacing it with.

 

[timb]

A couple of years ago I tried to track down outfits who did this type of work - and didn't find anyone too near us (I'm in Westmoreland County as well) but there were a few outfits in Maryland and Virginia who would travel.

As someone else mentioned - from what I did find, there can be significant value to the old wood, as much as five figures for a big barn with a lot of usuable material.

A couple of google searches on 'barn siding', 'barn timbers', 'reclaimed lumber' etc., should get you pointed in the right direction. Many of the outfits that sell this stuff also include contact info if you've got something to sell them.

Conversely, there are a few historical societies that might be interested in you donating (and they remove) the material for their restoration work - around us places like Old Bedford Village and the Perry(opolis) Historical Society.

 

[gmsssi]

Call Scotty Boyer @

Boyer Logging
Address: Indiana, PA 15701
Phone: (724) 465-8401

Pretty close to you. He ask about my barn when he did some timbering for me. I'm sure he would be interested, especially if there are some old larger support timbers!

Tell him I sent you!

 

[marks]

That old barn could be a cash cow, in that my adjoining parcel has an old barn and several times a year I'm questioned as to who the owners are and the possibility of selling it. The market for the lumber should be readily available, I'd start by looking in the advertising section of Fine Homebuilding, and Fine Woodworking magazines. As well as the local lumber mill, exotic/hardwood dealers, upscale cabinet makers and the like. Here in CA those old barns are money in the bank.

 

[ratter]

I've ordered an informational booklet from this website:

http://www.reclaimed-lumber.com/

Figured it might be useful, as they work in PA, as well. I'm also in the process of moving all of the loose planks from the barn to a shed, just so I can get a look at it all.

If there's enough, I would like to use these planks for flooring in the house, so maybe I can find somebody who will mill some of the planks in exchange for some of the wood?

Here's how little I know about all of this - I have no idea what kind of wood it all is. I'm assuming it's pine, but I don't even really have any basis to ASSuME that. /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif Any tips or websites or books that can be recommended that will teach a rube like me to identify species of wood?

 

[drm]

Ratter,

I know a guy in Oil City, PA who started a barn salvage co. several years back. Last I talked to him he was very busy but always looking for another barn to dismantle. I will give him a call, he should be interested. I'll let you know.

...Derek

 

[JimMorrissey]

Ratter,

I've looked into it a couple of times in the last year or so. We considered taking ours down too. It's about 6000 sqf and is in not so great shape, but reasonable. We have wavered back and forth a couple of times and finally decided to keep it. Anyway, I checked the Web primarily and asked around with all the local timber framers (post & beam) craftsmen. They usually know because they get asked all the time......

Regarding the lumber and foundation and roofing (if slate). The work is extremely labor intensive and not a whole lot of fun (filthy old rot, manure, mold and mildew in all the cracks...in their eyes and hair, mouth nose, even with eye protection and masks). Therefore you will be lucky if they take it down for free and keep the materials (in our neck of the woods anyway). It's a lot of work and they deserve it IMO. However, if your frame is an outstanding example of some specific and desired timber framing style and the beams are in excellent shape you might make some money on the deal. I doubt it. Also, unless the foundation rocks are beautiful examples of fine stone (marble or granite) the removal of that will be up to you, unless you bargain that into the deal. You might "make" some money on the stone if you can get it out of the ground and sell it to a lanscaping company....or use it yourself!

We had two barn experts come to look at our two barns. One was an older freelance guy and the other was a professor from the University of Vermont. Both came to the same conclusion. The big barn was OK and was 50/50 about getting rid of it. The smaller barn, which is now a 5 bay garage, is a gem. The professor said he's only seen three or four like it in his 20 some odd years researching barns.....nice to hear. You might want to have somebody look at the structure and give you an educated opinion on the true worth of the frame. This is especially true if it is a gem...certainly the guy taking it down isn't going to let on to that! It wasn't free to have them come to the house, but it was certainly worth the couple hundred bucks for their knowledge, time and insight/ideas.

Not to be too long winded here...but worth saying...My last house was a timber frame and the guys that installed the roof panels with a crane also restored barns and frames. The main guy told me that 1880s were a "dime a dozen", but the really valuable stuff is late 1700s to about 1850.

Good luck with your demolition project! It's going to be a lot of work and some $$ on your end regardless of who takes the frame down. It would be cool to try and salvage some of the old foundation for the new shop, but that would be a lot of work too. Everything's a lot of work /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[JimMorrissey]

If they're thick enough you could have them resawn and planed. Again, not cheap and nobody is going to do it for free (I know you didn't say that), but you might get somebody to do it for a good cut of the material. Worth a few phone calls I suppose.

One of the most valuable parts of our old barn is the 2.5 thick floor "timbers". I wouldn't even call them boards. I've thought about having them milled or sanded smooth. Sanding is a great option if you can find somebody that has a industrial machine. The problem with resawing old floor boards is the nails and spikes. They are a big problem for delicate band saws used to resaw planks. That means that somebody has to go over each plank (every sqaure inch) and detect metal and remove carefully so the blade and the plank aren't destroyed. That's where sanding is a big bonus...the serious belts will just eat through any metal, within reason. The major stuff is taken out and the smaller metal just melts away. -After sanding, you'll still have some seriously thick wood to deal with though.....

 

[ratter]

Great thoughts guys, keep them coming.

I guess I would be satisfied to have the barn taken down with minimal out-of-pocket $$$, and retaining a small portion of the materials. Like I mentioned before, enough wood for some flooring, and I wouldn't mind keeping all of the stone for retaining walls/decorative walls.

I don't think letting it stay is an option. Part of the barn (that was a later addition) is already collapsing. And in the original part of the barn, the walls aren't sitting right on the foundation in a couple of spots. The stone walls are moving in some spots. And we've got a soon-to-be toddler, so the safety issue weighs heavy here.

I should clarify - I don't think the frame or much of the wood is useful to anybody as-is. To me, the real value of it would be in the reuse as flooring or some other such project. And for that matter, most of the really good wood probably isn't part of the barn structure itself, but rather all of the loose boards stacked inside. Where it came from or why it's there, I don't know...

I'll post some pictures if they run the cable (cable modem) to the farm in the next week or two like they are supposed to....woohoo!! /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif