the demolition has started

farmerjohn · Feb 1, 2018

My brother decided last summer to have this barn torn down instead of investing the money for needed new roof, foundation, and drainage, plus it is not feasible for todays methods of agriculture. An Amishman is taking it down for the materials. Sad to see it go, has been there 119 years, but I guess it is better than rotting-falling down. Western PA.

ohiojim · Feb 1, 2018

always sad to see them go

Two Dogs · Feb 1, 2018

I was expecting this to be about the one that started last year on January 20th. TDF

Mike M · Feb 1, 2018

Here in Ohio some people get paid like $ 5 or 6 grand selling them to the ones that tear them down and reclaim the wood.

Bob Bancroft · Feb 1, 2018

Sad!!!!!!
I'd be happy if someone took mine!

Zachary Hoyt · Feb 1, 2018

It's sad to see it go, but at least it's being taken down and reused instead of being knocked down with an excavator and hauled away in dumpsters or just left to rot in a pile, as seems to be customary around here. It will still live on, but in a different way.
Zach

Bruce from Can. · Feb 1, 2018

I used to think it was awful, and somehow showed some kind of failure on the farmers behalf, now I realize that this is in fact not the case. The barns were built for a specific purpose, to hold lose hay, and sheaves of grain , and to shelter livestock in the stables below the hay mow. Over built, these barns have lasted over 100 years with only minimal repair and maintenance required. As farming changed , many barns were renovated and added on to so they could allow the farmer to advance with the changing times. But you can only do so much with a old barn built 100 years ago in the age of steam and horse drawn equipment. There are no labour efficiency?s in working in these old barns nowadays. The barns no not lend themselves to storage of large round or square bales, and tie stall dairy barns are rapidly coming to a end, as the cost of labour, the low price for milk , and the unwillingness of people to do the kind of manual labour required to run livestock in these barns. I hate to see them go, as they are a direct link to my forefathers, and I have owned and worked in a bank barn my entire adult life. But given the chance to pull my old barns brown and move my cows into a modern barn, it wouldn?t take me long to make the plans to move. Barns are nice to look at, but you wouldn?t want to have to work in one.

SweetFeet · Feb 1, 2018

Sad to see the old barns go. Maybe it will live on as furniture and picture frames.

Jeff M NY · Feb 1, 2018

Absolutely feel the same. All these old barns falling down or being taken down used to be some ones life. Some one made a living there and took care of their families by milking some cows or raising other livestock or both. Same with fields that are now grown up that I remember used to be corn and hay fields.

Taking it down to reuse is the best thing to do if it needs to be removed. Some one will still get the use out of it. Once in a while one will be taken down and re erected on another site just as it previously was. That's pretty neat, but I imagine very time consuming and expensive.

Traditional Farmer · Feb 1, 2018

Yep the people that love old barns 1)Don't have to pay to rebuild them and 2)use them.As you said they very limited uses today and they are fire traps by any measure.

Gary Mitchell · Feb 1, 2018

Amen Jeff!

rossow (mn) · Feb 1, 2018

I'd rather see an old barn taken down and used for other projects than simply demolished, or worse. My uncle had a wonderful, clean, solid but unused barn that he burned down simply to reduce his property-tax bill.

The Dukester · Feb 1, 2018

Yeah, when I see old barns rotting away and falling down, it saddens me because I can remember when most of them were the centers of year around activity on the place. I'd rather see them torn down or even burnt up then just setting there falling down. A few I've seen tempted me to "put a match to 'em myself", but I have no hankerin' for 3 hots and a cot.......

JimIA · Feb 1, 2018

I love old barns and we 1 Pay to keep it in shape and 2 Use it for our cattle, store small square bales upstairs and use it for machinery storage. Our barn is part of the Iowa Barn Foundation and we gladly open our doors for other barn lovers to come and look at it.

I also use a 100+ year old hog house for our sheep operation.

Both buildings have been modified to be able to clean with the skid loader. That makes a big difference!

Sorry to see this barn going down but better to be reused on other projects than to be knocked down and buried.

Jim

D beatty · Feb 1, 2018

We tore our old bank barn down years ago. All the large beams were sold out to people that used them for mantles over fireplace. The beams in this barn were Poplar and Walnut.

newfurrows · Feb 1, 2018

Would love to see pictures of your barn Jim. The barn on the home farm was torn down and burned. Replaced a few years later by the neighbors barn being moved there after the neighbors sold out.

Thanks, Dan

olgentdc · Feb 1, 2018

" Legacy of the Family Farm and the Old Barn " was posted in "Your Stories " by me some 3 yrs ago ,.. its a good read For Those that appreciate nostalgia .

Northvale PA · Feb 1, 2018

When we bought our place 25 years ago, all the out building roofs were falling in. The bank barn had a cedar shingle roof failing with a hole all the way thru the floors. My wife hired a crew to replace the barn roof and I replaced all the others. Didn?t really have to touch the walls. Saved every building and have served us well since. I have gone back and started covering the walls with metal siding as time and money allowed. Had to do a bunch of structural work in the Big barn as we stack hay in there. So, the secret is keep the roof tight and they will last forever. Not much of a secret really. A roof might cost $10,000. A replacement pole barn $20,000, so, I don?t see the advantage of replacing one. Plus the permits. Oh well, Americans love to waste.

JimS · Feb 1, 2018

Your lucky you don't need a permit to dismantle.

Chris English · Feb 1, 2018

Was it your brother that built the new milking facility? If it was, could we see some more pictures of it in use?

Northvale PA · Feb 1, 2018

When we bought our place 25 years ago, all the out building roofs were falling in. The bank barn had a cedar shingle roof failing with a hole all the way thru the floors. My wife hired a crew to replace the barn roof and I replaced all the others. Didn?t really have to touch the walls. Saved every building and have served us well since. I have gone back and started covering the walls with metal siding as time and money allowed. Had to do a bunch of structural work in the Big barn as we stack hay in there. So, the secret is keep the roof tight and they will last forever. Not much of a secret really. A roof might cost $10,000. A replacement pole barn $20,000, so, I don?t see the advantage of replacing one. Plus the permits. Oh well, Americans love to waste.

farmerjohn · Feb 2, 2018

Yes, it will be four years this March since he moved in! Time sure flies. I will have to take some photos sometime and post them.

Blackhole49 · Feb 2, 2018

Great explanation and something a non farmer like me never would have considered. All I see is cheap covered storage compared to a new pole barn..

JimIA · Feb 2, 2018

Here are a few pictures. Built in 1921 by my Great Grandfather. 103 feet long. Large enough to house 20 milk cows, calves and as many as 6 teams of horses as well as machinery in drive in the back.

Thanks
Jim

caterpillar guy · Feb 5, 2018

As said takes a lot of money to keep them up. Ours is 90 long 32 wide and about 40 high to the peak. Has steel roof on with one end sided with steel. I would like to get the other end and back side done in the near future.
As for using we opened the door up on the east end so we could get a loader in to clean the 2 pens out. I would like to go up to the hip and come out with a lean to for machinery. That would give at least a 18 foot high door and could get about 25 ft wide outside of the old wall. Would have to go in and out from the end though with high equipment.

the demolition has started

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