Restoring an old barn- worth it?

http://home.comcast.net/~kth818/barn1.jpg

http://home.comcast.net/~kth818/barn2.jpg

Here's some jpegs for faster viewing. Scary thing is, we're better with computers them we are with barns.

Yea, but you can use it yourself, which is what I'm doing -- !!

barnes. but If I had something that size on my property I'd be doing my best to get it fixed up. It will cost some $$ but probally far less than it would to build a new one of that size.

OMIGOSH! I just went and looked at the pics, and that's a nice barn!

The barn I'm tearing down is wood and old corrugated tin --- not nearly that size and not at all pretty like yours!

If it were me, I'd go through and start repairing it. If money is an issue (because likely it will take some money to repair it properly), just go through and figure out the most impt things to fix, and fix them --- or do temporary fixes, like Jena's suggestion of patching the roof, while conjuring up the ways and means for permanent fixes.

Really, if I had a nice old barn like that, I'd be working on it all the time to fix it up. Mine is just pitiful and ugly and way small.

What was the former owner's reasoning that it needed to come down? Was there something specific that happened? Or was he thinking, oh, by the way, it's not modern anymore, kind of an eyesore ...

One plus of a big old barn -- someplace for the kids to play basketball!

My in-laws have a big barn with a shingle roof. It has not held up well and probably needs to be replaced with metal.

Good luck deciding ...
Ann

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"In essentials, unity. In non-essentials, liberty. In all things, charity."

I live in an area that has a lot of rain & snow & humidity. 'Here' for a roof to be in that condition, water has been seeping in & rotting the rafters for a long, long time. They will be in much worse shape than anyone here is thinking, and you can't easily 'patch' this as these long rafters are critical to the structure of the roof, snow & wind load. You would need to replace or sister a lot of long rafters way up high - expensive in materials & labor.

Then put new girts across every 2 feet, and tin it. Certainly do-able, and I would to save the barn.

But then there is the mention of the rotted beams. I'm assuming the big 12" or so yellow pine beams these barns are typically built out of. This is serious structural damage. These barns are built with a tinker-toy frame, _every_ member is real important to holding the whole structure together. A couple of those big beams rotted through & you need to replace them. You'll have to find a donor barn - can't just go to the nearest Home Depot & order a replacement beam. These things are big & heavy. Hard to take the old out, as you dismantale part of the ban - then have to insert the new.

I have a big old barn like that built in 1909. Didn't even have real concrete back then, used a limestone slurry that you (or the mice) can dig out with a fingernail between the fieldstone & blasted rock they hauled in with stone boats & horses during the winter. One cornerstone still has the hole in it where the dynomite failed to go off...

When I was younger & dad was around, we tinned the roof of the barn. We did it ourselves, as we could find no one willing to go up there that high & do the job, unless we paided extreme goobs of money. It was a big job, and we did it in time that the roof was tructurally sound. You are far from that condition.

They built the thing without chainsaws, cranes, or even bolts. If you have access to the knowledge, a large group of friends who aren't afraid of heights & promise not to sue you, you can have a barn re-raising and do it the old-fashioned way again.

But, Think long term, think realisticly on what it will cost you, and go from there.

If you shop around you may find someone to either pay you or to do it all for free, rather than it costing you to remove the barn - if that is the path you choose. Depends on who is around you - market conditions. Any Amish folks within a few 100 miles of you? they love this type of stuff, but don't advertise or that kind of thing - you need to seek them out.

Be real careful of promises to remove the concrete for you. Best to do an eskro (sp?) account, as very often the wood goes away, and there never seems to be time to come back & finish the concrete work.... Hummm.... I would not jump on the first offer I had for removal.....

It sounds like you would not want to tackle this job yourself. Have a few builders bid on the job - if your experince is like our barn tinning, the few that show up & see the job will either triple their quote or suddenly have a real busy schedule that summer.....

How it went for us. Lots of things to look into, think about.

I'm all for saving the barn - just think it through carefully, as it could easily become a money pit if you try a 'simple patch' on it. You can't get insurance on it in this condition, so anything you store in it isn't covered either, and so on & on....

--->Paul

rambler is right.



Which is sad because it is a wonderful old barn

Water can, will and does wreak havoc on a structure. I have a 1994 trailer on my property that I got for a song. It's in wonderful condition, except ... since I moved here, a bit over two years ago, I've been bit by bit repairing water damage. Had I not put a new roof on (tin, with a healthy overhang of almost a foot), I would have given this place 3, maybe 4 years til it was rendered entirely ruined by water.

You're looking at a lot more years of water damage.

Still, it's sad. I'd love to have a big old beautiful barn like that on my property. But, once something's had the water get to it, there's almost no turning back.

The roof does look pretty bad, but the outside looks like it is in good condition - it's even painted!

Leah, I'd check around & see if there are any amish folk around the area, & if so, give them a call. They are experts on this sort of thing, & if it is fixable, they can certainly do it.

It's a shame that the barn has been let go to this condtion - certainly not your fault. Of course, it does cost money to keep things fixed up, but what people don't realize is how quickly things deteriorate - especially once the roof starts to leak.

I'm thinking it's going to cost a pretty penny to fix this barn, but if you have the $ - do it! It will be well worth it, as anything that is built new now, is not meant to last like this old beautiful barn.

If the main structure has not had too much damage, I would think it's fixable.

And looks can be deceiving. 2 years ago I had the amish out to reside my barn. While doing that, I decided to have some old "rotten" sill beams replaced. The way my barn was built, they had to replace piece by piece instead of jacking up the whole side of the barn. Those "rotten" pieces took some muscle to get out. The outside of the beam looked all rotten, & chewed up from insects, but the majority of the inside of them was undamaged, very STRONG wood. I am glad that I had them replaced, but had I known the minimal damage actually inflicted on them, I would have to think long & hard as to wether or not to replace them!

Good luck. I hope it is savable. Let us know.

By the way, there is no such thing as "too big of barn"!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :haha: You will find that out in a few years!

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Michael W. Smith in North-West Pennsylvania

"Everything happens for a reason."

Wow, that is a wonderful old barn! Obviously, the roof needs extensive work and there is most likely a fair amount of related interior rot/damage due to water.

Is repairing that barn 'worth it'? When all the dust settles, it is probably not a wise investment to restore the barn. How practical is a barn of that type and of that size for a novice homesteader on 5 acres? How much will a restored barn add to the value of the property? How much will the barn add to the tax bill? How much will the repairs cost? All of these question would have to be answered.

There are certainly other possibilities... like using part of the foundation and the salvaged lumber to build a smaller barn.

cheers,

I would HATE to lose a beautiful old barn like that. But, that said, do you really need a huge barn like that for just 5 acres? No doubt, the farmer who built that barn used it for more than 5 acres of land. Unless I needed that big of a barn, I would probably tear it down. But, if I had tons of money, I'd fix it. If nothing else, just for the beauty of it. On 5 acres of land, the contributory market value of a huge barn like that is questionable.

Michael had a great idea. If this barn is anywhere near an Amish settlement go and see them and talk to some amish builders. Im sure they would be willing to come around and give you a good honest appraisal of the condition of the barn and make some suggestions as to what you might have to do and pay to save it.
Its a really nice barn, it would be a shame to tear it down. Hope the house is in better shape. Good luck.

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FolioMark

Mus uni non fidit antro. ~ A mouse does not rely on just one hole.----Plautus

If you want to tear it down and feel the wood is not worth the time, sometimes the fire dept will do it for free as a training exercise, then somebody with a bull dozer could bury the remains for a lot less than $2000

FWIW I notice the roof peak is not sagging.

This looks a little like my in-laws' barn. They have cattle in the bottom part, store machinery (some of the littler stuff -- corn planter, sometimes hay baler or wagons -- on the main floor) and then have the lofts for small square bales of hay. The barn was actually set up for loose hay and still has some ropes and pulleys up in teh roof. We used to milk cows in stanchions set up in the bottom floor and had an addition for the milk house (bulk tank etc.)

Good luck deciding
Ann

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"In essentials, unity. In non-essentials, liberty. In all things, charity."

I personally cannot even believe that 'tearing down that old barn' ever crossed your mind.
It would be an utter sin to demolish such a beautiful historic structure like your barn.
We are losing useful and great barns like yours by the thousands each year. Someday, there will be few barns left, a sad testament to the great icons of our past agricultural heritage.
That barn, if reroofed and maintained, has at least another 200 years of life left in her.
The barn does need a roof immediately, and that will be a signigicant expense if you don't reroof it yourself.
There are lots of timber framers out there, replacing a few timbers wont cost you what you think it will. This is also something you can do yourself, if you want to take the time. There is a ton of books available on timberframed barns, and how to restore them. Call your state preservation group for help and direction. In Indiana, we even have a group called Barn Again!, which saves these old beatuies.
I will suggest that you get some tarps on the roof ASAP. If you can't do that, get a gallon or two of boiled linseed oil, a cheap brush and a broom. Clean with a broom any area that is being leaked on when it rains. When it is dry, generously coat those areas that are affected. Recoat in a few days. This is a water repellent, and will preserve that wood much much better.
I can offer more thoughts, so pm me if you want.
Please, please, please save that barn. If the eaves were touching the ground, I might say it were too late. This is definately one of the best unrestored barns I have ever seen. It is straight, very upright, not leaning and years away from collapsing on its own.
Again, it would be a sin not to save this old barn.
clove

I still say the barn is probably sound...patch the roof!

If you just left it alone, I bet it would take 30-40 years before it started leaning and much longer before it actually fell!

Lumber was much stronger way back when. It can withstand a lot more rot and damage and still remain viable that the weak wood available today.

One of my barns has at least two or three main posts off the foundation (a large rock for each) and a broken beam just below the peak of the roof. When the posts shifted, the hay mow fell in on one side, and brought down a corner of the roof with it. We use this barn all the time. It is currently housing bunch of sows, holds weaned calves in the fall and various other things. We don't use the mow or the back corner that crumpled, but it is still very servicable. We will keep using it until it becomes totally unusable, which I bet won't happen for at least another 20 years or more. It's not worth repairing, but it sure isn't worth abandoning either! The barn is insured.

Jena

If youdo tear it down why not use the good wood to build something.
I tore a shed down for friend used the wood to build a shed for my self with some new wood.
Try too find wood forold barns to fix it I would hate to see a lovely barn come down.
good luck.

I don't think the barn looks that bad. (Of course, you guys didn't see my house before I started on it )

The rafter boards and rafters themselves look pretty straight. The roof doesn't sag and it doesn't look like any rafters have actually collapsed. Actually, other than the roof, it looks pretty good.

Old-fashioned buildings hold up a lot better than you might think. My house (the one I'm renovating) had been moved. Therefore the chimney (through the middle of the house) and the front porch and a back room had all been torn off. Back door was missing and it was completely open to the elements (no tarps over roof or anything) for several years.

But the house is solid wood - i.e. no drywall, plywood, etc. Yes, it had gotten wet - but it also had air circulation so it dried quickly. I didn't have to replace any boards at all. I did reinforce a couple just to be safe - but everything was still solid. (And - yes - I did have some experts look at it.)

You say this is made out of oak?? My house is pine - which (after 40 or 50 years) is hard as iron. I don't know how well oak holds up. But I wouldn't be so quick to tear it down.

And you might not think you need such a big barn. Trust me - you cannot have a barn that's too big.

I have an old gambrel roof barn in fair condition that I have been unsuccessful in giving away. The old barns look good but they are impractical in todays farming. I would consider cutting the top storey off the barn you have salvaging any reuseable lumber and I would install a a truss system with a corrugated metal roof if I needed the storage. Otherwise give it away if you can find a taker. The cost and the effort to maintain such a structure is impractical.