Looking for anyone who has restored a barn

I just bought a new house on 10 acres of land, The house was built in 1880. The prior owner did a great job of restoring the house.

There is an old barn on the property that has been neglected over the last 10 years. It's about 30x30. There are 2 holes in the roof, and the beams below those holes are rotted. One actually snapped. The barn is original, and the timber framing is all hand hewn.

It's a really cool old barn, except for the damage. I'd like to try to save it. I'd like to turn it into a workshop. It has water and electric.

I have no idea where to start this process. I think I need someone to help me determine if the structure is too far gone to save. My alternative is to tear it down and replace it with a metal building. I'd hate to do that.

Are there barn experts on here who could steer me in the right direction? Anyone on here ever restore an old barn like this?

While I'm no expert, I have helped disassemble an old hand hewn barn, and there is also one on the farm where I work. The construction is pretty simple, usually identical frames are connected with cross beams. If just the cross beams are rotted it might not be so bad, but if the areas where all the beams connect is rotted that's another thing. Hopefully you can save it. The new pole buildings have no character whereas the old barns have many stories to tell.

The broken beam is a crossbeam. It looks fixable.

One of the side beams is not broken, but looks to have some serious rot.

Other than that, the rest of the building looks solid.

Can you even get replacement beams for something like this?

I'm willing to spend what it would cost to erect a new building to get this one in shape, but I have no idea where to start the process.

I doubt you could get a real hand hewn beam anymore, but I bet there are replicas. Or maybe you can find an original. The beams from the barn I helped take down sold like hot cakes.
We have Amish communities around here that still do that kind of work, but not sure if that's an option where you live.

You want to start by carefully looking over your current barn. Walk around with a 12" screwdriver and use it to see if the existing posts are solid at ground level. If some of the posts are rotted they can be replaced and or scarfed together with wood recycled from other old buildings. If there is a foundation, take a look at that as well, any problems there could be expensive to fix. If most of your posts seem ok, you need to get some contractors over to bid the job if you can't do it yourself. Start at the yellow pages, call up the contractors listed and get some prices. Ask friends, neighbors, the real estate agent, people at church or anyone else you can think of for recommendations on who may be good to hire. At the same time, get a price on taking the barn down and putting up a new building. Depending what kind of wood it is, the old barn wood could be worth some money. If its mostly pine, its not worth that much. Use all your information to evaluate what is going to work best for you. Good luck!

There is a big Amish and Mennonite population in my area. I never thought about that. I'm sure they are experts at this type of work.

It's sad that a few pieces of plywood and some shingles could have probably saved the structure.

Dismantle the thing, sell the old wood for a fortune, use money to build a safe building.

You'll spend more trying to get this thing up to par than it's worth unless you don't care about money and simply want it for the prestige of owning an old barn.

I just like old construction. I did buy a 135 year old house.

I'd prefer something unique to a boring steel building. I won't spend all my money, but if I can get this weathertite for a reasonable amount of money I'd rather do that.

Are you sure its hand hewn ? More likely its rough sawed ? Saw mills have been in operation for a long time.

I grew up on a farm. We had an old barn that we upgraded. Not sure we saved anything. We got a contractor in and worked beside him. They tested every stud and rafter and we replaced everything that looked suspect, which wasn't a lot in our barn, but was still a major under taking.

The big things are the roof, because it keeps the structural lumber dry and the foundation, because it literally holds the building up. If those are OK and you haven't had a termite infestation, you are probably fine. If either have problems, its probably not worth it.

The trouble with barn roofs is they are usually cedar or some other type of shake. Those are high maintenance roofs. Has it been kept up ? They aren't easy to repair because one you start on one, you might as well do the whole thing. Which is expensive and probably not to building code any more, etc.

The other thing is that you have to consider what you are going to do with it. A barn is just a plain structure and its not generally one that lends itself to finishing out nicely. If it had hay in the loft, its got beams and poles. If it had animals in it, usually the walls are rotting near the floor and it stinks. It won't have any wiring or plumbing.

I agree that modern steel sheds are boring. Not sure what to say on that. If it were me, I'd go for a stick framed building with a fancy roof and stucco'd walls. You could build a pretty nice, low maintenance building using that construction technique and the cost wouldn't be outrageous. People forget that steel buildings are just a shell and they are more expensive to insulate and finish out because they don't generally have studs on the inside.

Just how old is it? If the barn is as old as the house it might be hand cut! I would have to talk with the local Amish and get a Idea what they say is fixable for your money!

Looks hand cut. There are axe marks on the beams.

The roof is bad and would have to be redone.

b-boy said:

Looks hand cut. There are axe marks on the beams.

The roof is bad and would have to be redone.

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Some Pics would be great... I like old barns as well. Getting replacement beams shouldn't be an issue. There are various suppliers in my area who do special orders on just about any stick of wood you need. You could replicate the hand hewn look on new beams with a little elbow grease and a few inexpensive tools.

+ 1 on the Amish/Mennonite idea, those folks know barns like nobody else. They'd likely be glad for the work too.
Regards, GF.

They do frame ups for homes in my area on occasion. The contractor will truck in a whole work party in the morning and truck them out at the end of the day. I've always heard they do the best framing work.

I will take some pics. I haven't officially moved in yet. I'm just doing some due diligence. This will be my Fall project.

brewman ! said:

I agree that modern steel sheds are boring. Not sure what to say on that. If it were me, I'd go for a stick framed building with a fancy roof and stucco'd walls. You could build a pretty nice, low maintenance building using that construction technique and the cost wouldn't be outrageous. People forget that steel buildings are just a shell and they are more expensive to insulate and finish out because they don't generally have studs on the inside.

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You bring up a good point. One other thing I've been considered is dismantling the existing structure and seeing if I can use some of the old materials in a new building. Maybe some of the beams. I think that could be pretty cool too.

You'll be happier if you take it apart, save some of the beams for accent pieces in a new, modern shop. Chances that building is really solid is pretty slim. If you're looking for a long term investment, you'll be happier making something built to current standards. If you came on here and said it was mint, then maybe... Maybe it would be a good idea but even then.

Go check out garagejournal.com

They are hardcore building and tool geeks. Lots and lots of information and inspiration there. It's my second home... Lots of guys have made new shops look old...

I tried to find an Amish forum for you, thought maybe there would be a barn raising sub-forum.

No luck.

I think you misunderstand what a "barn find" is...


In for pics though! Sounds cool.

Contact the Timber Framers Guild of North America. They'll have a member in your area who can assist with assessing and repairing. First thing is to fix the roof. You own a piece of history and it is worth saving. You can always build something inside the barn to meet your needs.

b-boy said:

Looks hand cut. There are axe marks on the beams.

The roof is bad and would have to be redone.

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Its probably no worth saving. In our case the roof was good and it was still a marginal decision.

Another avenue you could go through is to check with your local Hysterical... I mean Historical Society. They can be a touch crazy on making and keeping things accurate but they should have some resources and lists of people who work on historical buildings in the area.

Unless there is a lot of rot, especially near the joints you should be okay. Building materials were usually from older growth trees and usually are more solid than some newer materials. Plus it looks cool.

Thanks. There is obvious rot on 2 beams. They are directly under the roof holes. The rest seem solid.

Psylocide said:

I tried to find an Amish forum for you, thought maybe there would be a barn raising sub-forum.

No luck.

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I literally just did a spit-take.

Pappers_ said:

I literally just did a spit-take.

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That was a good line too.

I completely missed that. Whoosh - right over my head. That's what the is for.

Austin said:

http://www.mapministry.org/forums/

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b-boy said:

Thanks. There is obvious rot on 2 beams. They are directly under the roof holes. The rest seem solid.

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I'd get a knowledgeable contractor in there and get an estimate for materials and labor. Then I'd ask if you can work alongside his crew to reduce the bill. Or better yet, hire him by the hour, even if only to supervise what you guys do.

Austin said:

http://www.mapministry.org/forums/

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Hmm...forum is shut down. Lack of activity?

I'll just leave this here...

[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lOfZLb33uCg[/ame]

Austin said:

http://www.mapministry.org/forums/

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Who would've thought there would be an Amish forum for people who can't get onto the internet if they're not able to use advanced technology--or electricity for that matter.

There's a guy who is selling old wood like what's in your barn for $4/bf and has the price set as firm.

He has 15,000bf. I'm not sure what amount you would get. I imagine if you sold the materials, you would have enough to rebuild a new building. You could probably even auction the entire barn off to the highest bidder and let them dismantle it.

I'm all for restoring old structures, but I hardly doubt it makes economical sense for this one.

I never restored a barn, but I have restored a dilapidated 1982 victorian 4plex. It was so bad the exterior only gives half the story of how bad this place was. The moisture on the window was because the basement units were full of mold and moisture. It was a huge undertaking since I did it 95% solo. It is also registered as a historic home in the local registration. That means I had to stick to guidelines to maintain the integrity of the building.

This means I had to literally mill my own siding and restore the windows vs replace. I had to replicate missing ginger breading (like the cornice brackets) It was a nightmare of a job. I had to literally rip half of the exterior down to make repairs from fire damage that happened many years prior that they half assed fixed. I still feel the pain in my body from this job and it was like 6 + years ago.

Bottom line is... It'll be easier and probably cheaper to rebuild, and you could make money off the materials to pay for the new building. That's how I'd look at it.

Interesting side story to this thread. I just closed on my barn property on Friday. I will upload some pictures as soon as I can.

I went to the property yesterday and wandered over to the barn to do an evaluation. It appears that someone, I'm assuming the prior owner, took one of the cross beams for the barn. It was a 20'-25' beam. Its gone and it was there when I bought the house. I took pictures, so I have proof. The beam wasn't in great shape, but still, who does that?

I called my real estate agent about it. She was a little shocked that the owner would do that. Me too. She's contacting the seller to see what happened.

What is my recourse here? Anyone know.

My realtor spoke to the owner. She denies knowing anything about the missing beam.

She said my only recourse is to get my lawyer to go after her and see if she will pony up some money. It will probably cost more for the lawyer.

I'm pretty much screwed.

These sorts of stories make me wish we lived in the wild wild west if you know what I mean.

Take them to small claims court with evidence. But even though you can prove it was there and now gon, the issue is how do you prove THEY took it vs someone going onto the property and stealing it. Maybe by making a claim that they never disclosed it was stolen or they didn't make a police report over it or they had a duty to protect the property and clearly it was sold under false pretense... Fraud? IDK....

You might be able to claim a report on their insurance since it "went missing" when it was under their insurance.

You should also try to talk to the bank and see if they can get involved. Sometimes the loaning bank has resources for things like this. Especially if it's a structural beam and there is danger involved.

Maybe even talk to your home owners insurance co to see if you can make a claim about it on their insurance plan.

Good luck... I'd be steaming mad. What pieces of $hits.

I'm pretty disgusted with the whole situation. This has a huge impact on my decision to try to restore the building. I was assuming I'd just have to do some bracing, not replace timbers.

I'm fairly certain the owner knew about this. I'm not 100% sure that the owner did it, but I can't imagine someone could do this without being seen. It would take several people and a large truck to haul this away. My assumption is that the owner gave someone permission to take it, or sold it to someone.

It was clearly done recently. I found sawdust and wood chips on the barn floor.

If I noticed this during my walk-thru I would have some recourse. Unfortunately, I didn't notice it until ~16 hours after I closed on the house. Then again, my walk-thru was 48 hours before I closed, so someone had plenty of time to take it.

Talk to neighbors and see if they noticed a truck and if they recognized the people who did it. Tell the ex owner that you are going to file a police report for the theft. Beams are expensive. Especially original ones.

My concern now is what else did they take with them? Do I need to check for missing copper pipes too?

This wasn't the only problem we had with the sale. We were promised some fixes that did not get done. My agent had to absorb the cost of the fixes herself in order to close the deal.