# Barn advice for new purchase - What can I do with this?



## EponaLynn (Jul 16, 2013)

I can't answer that for you but wanted to share that the term "affordable" is relative. What does affordable mean to you, and what do you want the barn to be safe for?


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## CA VA shooter (Feb 4, 2015)

Wow, looks like a nice barn. I bought a home with a barn, about 40'x50' that was built in the early 1900's. The pole frame is in excellent condition, but the roof and siding was shot. We decided to renovate the barn as the restoration was going to be a lot cheaper than demolish and then building a new barn, but we are doing a majority or the labor ourselves. I had the inspector that did the home inspection look at the barn and he said I was dumb not to save it. I paid a contractor $100 to come out and give a second opinion and he said the same. I can't tell you from pictures if you should save it or not, maybe you should consult an inspector in your area. I will look at the barn pictures again when I have more time and see what kind of barn it is.

So you know what you could be looking at, the breakdown of the road we traveled during this project was;

We had a stem wall issue (sounds like you do as well), I found a contractor who was able to jack up the side of the barn and fix the stem wall. $8,500

I had to stop the damage the leaky roof was causing, I chose to go big and had a metal roof put on $12,000

I looked on websites and craigslist and found a company that buys old barn wood, so the hubby struck a deal with one and we removed all the siding ourselves, took four days. We then turned around and purchased the new siding (rough sawn pine) and the sale of and purchase of new was almost an even swap. In the deal we also removed and raised the level of the loft and put in all new floor joists and floor boards.

Now we are putting up the new siding. Have put in 3 days of siding and are half way done. We will stain the siding once it is about a year old.

Next is cement flooring going in, the dirt here is clay and I don't like it as a barn floor. the cement is going to be about another $2,000, but again we are doing as much of the labor as we can. 

We will eventually build our stalls, feed storage and 12x20 tack room. Oh and out door wash racks.


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## Chevaux (Jun 27, 2012)

I'm not going to be much help here -- It must have been a grand barn in its day and it would be great if you could return it to its original glory. However, projects like that frequently seem to excel at mysteriously escalating costs every time you turn around once the work has started so there goes a 'tight budget' out the window.

If you were planning on keeping livestock on your place, perhaps a way to go would be to put up a run in shed (or two, as needed) to shelter the animals immediately. This would then give you some breathing room while you investigate the best option and/or save up more funds.

I think you will need to get a professional builder into to do an indepth assessment of the building. If the basic frame and foundation are intact and strong then it could be some structural straightening and proceed from there although I find it a bit concerning that you've mentioned 'extreme' leaning on three sides. Alternatively, then, the wood looks in pretty good shape so perhaps in the worse case scenario the building is demolished with salvaged wood from it used to build a new barn.

I do wish you the best of luck whichever way it works out for you and it would be lovely if you posted pictures as your plans go ahead.


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## walkinthewalk (Jul 23, 2008)

It will cost a fortune to restore that once grand old barn.

The first thing I would do is contact your local historical society. They will tell you if if has historical value and also whether or not the can help with funds, if it does.

There's an 1800's barn two farms over from me that is still doing the Boston lean because our historical society no longer has funding. They provided all the specs to restore the barn but no money:-(

If you end up tearing it down , advertise the wood. A lot of home contractors would be interested in some of the wood and the beams


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## natisha (Jan 11, 2011)

I have almost the twin sister to your barn! Records show it's over 100 years old.
My loft was made of small tree trunks. The floor is concrete with troughs/cleaning pits? running through it. It was a dairy barn, I think, because it has a milk house & a windmill.
I've put red metal roof on, had one corner jacked up & repaired & gutted the inside including removing the loft. 
It sits empty but I think it looks nice.


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## bkylem (Sep 21, 2013)

walkinthewalk said:


> It will cost a fortune to restore that once grand old barn.
> 
> The first thing I would do is contact your local historical society. They will tell you if if has historical value and also whether or not the can help with funds, if it does.
> 
> ...


I unfortunately agree as to the amount of work and cash you are staring at with no guarantees. The timber would definetly have a value as distressed wood is a popular commodity right now.
You could spend $25k without blinking.


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## JCnGrace (Apr 28, 2013)

If you need a barn anyway I'm on the restore side. Try getting quotes on a new barn that size and quotes on restoring that barn and go from there. I just posted this picture on another thread. It is of our barn after being restored but I don't have any before pictures on the computer.


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## CA VA shooter (Feb 4, 2015)

Ok, I have looked at the pictures and I am of the opinion that your barn has undergone extensive repairs before (please note I am not a contractor, I just am going off my experience). It looks like a dairy barn and although some of the wood at the main level looks hand hewn in the photos leaving me to believe it is old, there are a lot of beams and joists that look like they are milled and newer; so either a) this barn is not over 100 years old or b) has had some massive repairs.
From looking at the underside the roof trusses look as if they had been replaced as those look more like commercial grade, like what you would buy at Lowe's. The siding I am sure you can sell to help with repairs like we did, but in reality it is a help for buying new siding and not going to cover the major expenses. Again, for me it was worth the money as it would have been much more $$$$ for me to build new than to renovate, plus I really like the old character of these barns. 
I strongly suggest you get an evaluation by a contractor who knows about stem walls as that may be your biggest obstacle and you can do nothing until those are fixed. Other suggestions I have based off of my barn saga, talk to neighbors, especially if they are farmers, usually they have a wealth of knowledge on what happens around them. Check property records with county code departments, if prior owners put a roof on it in the last 30 years chances are there is some info filled out on a permit application or a survey. I would also check out your local historical society and see what records they may have on your area. 
I am keeping my fingers crossed for you that you can get some info and your barn can be saved. 
I don't have any pictures of our barn on this computer, but if you have questions about what all the renovation has involved I am willing to share.


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## brady1439 (Apr 22, 2015)

Thanks for all of the input! It is greatly appreciated! We'd love to restore it, but don't have the money nor the need to do so. It would be a shame to let such a beautiful barn go, so we'll check around with local societies and and professionals to see what we might be able to work out for it. It has some beautiful timbers so hopefully this story will have a happy ending for someone. Worst case scenario, maybe someone will rebuild it on their own lot.

Thanks again!


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## zandstrafarms (Feb 14, 2015)

ONE MORE OPTION:

Call the Amish or go visit them. You live in IN and there's plenty out there. I live in MI and our Amish all over the state do a variety of work. Some excelkent, some mediocre. They have plenty expertise on barns, and could give you a great deal on refinishing it. They might consider buying the wood too.

However, likely hood of moving it is slim. Not too many people want to bother with that. We had a guy out here trying for a year to sell his barn. Finally just sold it as scrap.


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## ponyboy (Jul 24, 2008)

brady1439 said:


> Thanks for all of the input! It is greatly appreciated! We'd love to restore it, but don't have the money nor the need to do so. It would be a shame to let such a beautiful barn go, so we'll check around with local societies and and professionals to see what we might be able to work out for it. It has some beautiful timbers so hopefully this story will have a happy ending for someone. Worst case scenario, maybe someone will rebuild it on their own lot.


If the frame is good you can sell it. Used timber frames go for more than new ones now. Someone would probably take the siding for floorboards too. See if there are any timber frame companies in your area.


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