old barns

[ARKANSAWYER]

  Reading Wiam's post on his tractor fixing I noticed that others love ole barns.  I try to save them but most get dozed and burned.  Some people will not even let me salvage what I can.  It saddens me and I do the work as cheap as I can and often thousands less then a new pole barn but most still like the new barn. (even though they will pay more and pay more in taxes they prefer the new pole barn)
 
Barn when I got there.



Barn when I got started.



Barn when I left.



  They live in it now and the hay loft is two bedrooms and down in the main galley is living room and kitchen.  In the side wings are laundry, bath, and canning kitchen.  It sits on 80 acres and has a nice view while bobwhites sing to you.

[Ironwood]

That's a unique one!  Keep up the good work. I am a "SLAVE TO REUSE" as we say at Construction Junction, a non-profit in Pittsburgh were I volunteer.

                     REID

[Teri]

You done a nice job there, and I love the view! 

[EZ]

I myself like the old barns and I also like them alot when someone fixes them up.
Nice job, Arkansawyer.
EZ

[crtreedude]

Some of the neatest homes I have ever been in were converted barns, it is a shame when they are torn down.  Very interesting layouts too - and so much space!

No real barns down here - just corrals. All you need is a roof to hold out the rain and something to act like a fence. Also, since the grass grows year round, you don't have to store hay anywhere.

An old farm building here is about 30 years old.  Things tend to disolve in the rain after a while.

[Fraxinus]

We've got a couple of them falling down at our place
I have never seen a barn like that one, Arkansawyer.  Good on you for saving them if you can.

[Tom_Averwater]

Good looking design on that barn . Looks like you did a nice  job on it  Arky.

[Don P]

Now there was a labor of love. Good job Arky  .
When we travel around, houses nowadays look pretty much alike, I can tell where I am by the old barns. Glad to see them being saved.

[etat]

And now someday when it's real cold and someone who lives there leaves the door open and gets asked "were you raised in a barn", the answer can be YES!!!!!!


NICE WORK! 

[ARKANSAWYER]

  I lost this barn deal.  It was a very nice ole barn and for about $10 grand could have been redone and put back to use.  The concrete was mixed and poured by hand in a form that they slid up for each run.  The concrete is still there but blackend by the fire that took the barn down.  There is a green and white pole barn just up the hill now that will never have the grace that this ole barn did.



  It was framed in a style that we call "Balloon".  The arch for the roof was made by nailing alot of oak 1x4's about 4 ft long together cocking each one just a bit as they nailed them together.  But it's gone except for the photos I took. 
 

[CHARLIE]

Arky, you are full of surprises.  That was a fine job you did saving that old barn. To bad you couldn't save them all.

I love to see old barns and old falling down houses. I often wonder what kind of story they could tell.

I also love to see old silos.  I still run across some wooden ones once in a while.  They are rotting and in poor shape though.
 

[DanG]

That woulda been a nice one to save, Arkey.  I love old barns, too, and hate to see them go to ruin.  The county where I live was once famous for "shade tobacco", back before that substance fell from political favor.  There are dozens of ol tobacco barns around, but there used to be hundreds.  Most of them have fallen into disrepair and are falling down, but a few remain in decent condition.  I'll get some pics of the one across the road from my place tomorrow, along with some shots of my mule barn and cow barn.

Y'all stand by!

[UNCLEBUCK]

That is a beauty !  Very well done !

[Furby]

Well I have an artical here from back in March that was in the GR Press, but they have started to charge to read the archives so I can't link to it.
It's about a guy here in GR that buys old barns, takes them apart, sells them and reassembles them on the buyers site.
Pretty cool!

I have to say you did one heck of a job Arky!
I would love to have an old barn like that to fix up.

[TN_man]

Good job Arky
I dream of one day being able to fix up old barns and keep their memories alive. Some of the earliest memories that I have as a child is climbing up a ladder that was on the wall of my grandfather's barn that went up to a opening near the roof and looking out onto the valley of apple trees that he owned. It seems like you could see to eternity from up there. I would spend my whole day playing in that old barn. I could not get enough of it.

[Roxie]

Doesn't it just amaze ya that we can find so much in common with each other in this forum?   
Arky, restoring an old barn has got to be so rewarding!  The history, the workmanship, the hertiage, that these old barns provide just should not be plowed under. 
Recently, Cowboy Bob and I had to auction our equipment because the barn and acreage that we leased was being sold.  My greatest concern was that the place would be purchased by someone that would just tear down the barn and subdivide the farm.  We met the fella that purchased the place and to my joy, he was MORE interested in the barn than the house!  He had bought the property because of the barn, and had not even been through the house yet!     Life is good. 
Wiam's barn really caught my eye because it was so unusual....but I've yet to be inside a barn that did not have some unique feature.  I'd love to see more pictures of barns! 

[beenthere]

Seems there is genuine interest around for keeping old barns on the scene. Around in the north, an old barn seems to start crumbling when there are no more animals kept in it, and many suspect it has to do with a lack of heat in the dead of winter, as well as a lack of hay stored in the mow which may add weight and stability when the wind blows.
I think most barns would stand the test of time if a good roof is kept in good, weather-proof condition. I see too many barns that start to leak, and then go downhill very quickly. Same with homes, that get water inside, and start to decay fast.
Maybe its time to start the "Barn Conservancy" organization (parallel with Nature Conservancy) to preserve old barns. If nothing else, pay the roofers to put on a new roof periodically ( needs more work  ). 

[Bro. Noble]

Thanks for a neat thread David.

I too love to look at old buildings and imagine what must have occured there in the past.

I get real homesick for the past sometimes.  I often think of my maternal Grandad's huge barn.  I loved my Grandad and loved spending time with him especially in that old barn.  It was home to baby calves,  kittens,  and the team of mares.  It also had a corn crib,  grainery,  and stalls where the cows were milked twice a day.  The center was open to the roof and there was a loft above the milk stalls and horse stalls.  Loose hay was brought in by a haysling and fork like we talked about on a thread one time.  The hay acted like insulatinn over the animals and the barn was really pleasant to work in.  Each part of the barn had it's own aroma and I can still smell it.

After Grandad retired an uncle took over.  He built a grade A Dairy,  went entirely to tractor power,  uses big round bales,  and stopped raising grain.  The old barn just kind of set there in the way for the last 30 years or so.  The roof started sagging.  Last year My cousin hired it dozed off over the hill

[OneWithWood]

I have never seen a barn constructed in such a manner.  The second pic reqally shows the structure well.
Thanks, Arky.

[Haytrader]

Here is a site of an old round barn that is about 25 miles from me.
There are pics of it before it was roofed and painted.
I have been to dances in it as well as a wedding.

http://skyways.lib.ks.us/orgs/barns/roundbarn/

I wished there were pics of the interior.