Anyone ever torn down a barn???

Here's an interesting scenerio that I've run across. A guy wants to get rid of an old barn. Anyone ever torn down a barn? Any guesses how much roofing metal is on this thing? I wish I owned some land out in the country --- I'd use all the lumber to build a big A** storage shed. What other uses are the wood except to be used for building? Firewood? Flooring perhaps on the beams?

I'm sure the slats that are close together served as a corn crib, correct? Anyone ever spent a winter pulling nails out of boards?


http://i1128.photobucket.com/albums/...N/100_1598.jpg

http://i1128.photobucket.com/albums/...N/100_1602.jpg

http://i1128.photobucket.com/albums/...N/100_1603.jpg

http://i1128.photobucket.com/albums/...N/100_1599.jpg

http://i1128.photobucket.com/albums/...N/100_1612.jpg

if you got to keep everything in the barn as well, it might be worth some time, but i would have an outlet for that weathered wood, just as reassurance that it would be worth my time. mdg has the right idea about that

I lived in a house once that had barn siding on the walls. I'll bet the beams would sell on craigs list.
I'm guessing 50 x 100 feet on the barn.

If the lumber can't be sold, you could always knock it over and burn it as a last resort. Just make sure it's ok with the fire department or whoever.

Big project to tackle by yourself. To be safe about it your going to need a few hands and a dozer or hoe and some scaffolding or better yet a scissor lift. I would start with the outer boards. Strip them off and either sell if possible or cut them up nails and all for the woodburner. You can magnet them out later. Next thing I would do is start pulling the corner beams out with the heavy equipment and try to colapse it on itself. Strip the roof for sheet iron. Try to market those beams as they are worth $$$ in the right circles. Firewood the rest. I would not tackle it for free. I would get all materials and a flat price. Call around a few places that do that type of work for a starting point. You got to go into something like this knowing it's not like knocking a industrial building. No #1 iron here so you got to market the weathered wood and beams hard as your flat rate might just cover your equipment rental and labor. Firewood is a last resort as that's the smallest profit in the thing.

If you get the gig, rent a metal detector and do a little prospecting. Never know as those old school barns were good for a cache now and then.

advertise the wood and maybe someone will want it bad enough to come get it...then burn the rest

Thanks, folks for all the idea. I have access to a bucket truck, scaffolding, and a forklift. My personal equipment includes a 20 foot 10K rated trailer and the 2000 Dodge Ram 2500 Cummins (with a leaky hydroboost --- got to fix that thing !!!!).

Selling the outside before tackling the project would be ideal, for sure !!! I figure the main beams&posts are probably tulip poplar (wood), so more profit in reselling them as used building materials. I never considered selling the outside as fire wood, though.

Yeah, there's NO way I would tackle this without some help and being paid to tear it down.

Moderators, thanks for moving to the correct forum and if you want to close this one, you can.

Do you have a specialty wood shop nearby? You may be able to move a bunch of the wood through them. Where I moved from, there were a lot of old timers that used old barn boardds for craft projects like bird houses or for painting scenes on.

You could sell the weathered siding as paneling.People will pay more for the old stuff than it costs for new lumber.....

google resturant decorators and email them or call. I have heard that barns like the one in the pixs go for 30,000 and more.

The advice on selling the boards is a good one. I had an old pole barn that needed to be torn down and i took off all the 1x8x12' rough sawn Oak planks on the sides. I cut off the ends that were damaged to make good looking boards, took out the nails and stacked them well. I planed down a few for myself for projects and even made a few birdhouses with some small pieces. But the rest of them i traded to a local carpenter in exchange for rebuilding my staircase railing. He then sold the wood to a local restaurant that he was renovating and made an awesome bar out of it! Use Craigslist and other local outlets to sell or trade the wood. Maybe someone has some old tractors, cars or scrap metal around that he would trade for? Good luck and let us know what you end up doing!