do people still like old barn wood?

[mopinko]

i know it was a big fad back in the 70's or so. i am looking to buy a little place to have my studio, and am checking out a place that has an old barn and a granary. both likely ought to be taken down. i am trying to figure out if this is an expense, or if i could actually make some money on the wood. or at least get them taken down for free by someone who wants the wood. there seem to be a fair number of listings on ebay for good money. but asking and selling are, of course, not the same thing. i am going to watch a few auctions and see what i think.
of course, the softness in the housing market is not on my side. but maybe this is something that rehabbers would be more interested in, anyway.
???

[hedgehog]

1. First off, can you use the space? Depending on how far gone

the buildings are, they can be recovered and put to use. My husband took come-alongs and cables to jack the walls on our barn back in place and repaired the foundation as needed.

Second, it's a reasonable trade-off to have someone take down the building in exchange for the wood. Sometimes the siding is too far gone, but those old beams are priceless and irreplaceable. My husband has helped several people take down buildings they didn't want in exchange for the wood.

Check with your local County Extension for information.

[Warpy]

2. Agreed, the siding and floor might be gone completely

but those old beams are forever. There is little old growth forest left to duplicate them in new lumber. In addition, they have the patina of age.

There will always be a market for them. Good luck on finding a high end construction guy who will dismantle the place and dispose of the trash just to get those beams. They're out there, you just have to find them.

(I'd be more tempted to strip out all the bad lumber, keep the frame, and use it to build a new studio.)

[hedgehog]

3. New York has a program to encourage repair and restoration of old barns.