I ran across the Barnwood Builders show on the DIY Network. The guys tear down old barns to sell the lumber for use in building houses and such. It might be on the Discovery Channel and Great American Country Network also.
The Amish lads have done that for years here-abouts. It's a win-win for the barn owner and for the re-claimers.
My father-in-law once told me that the big main beams in his very old barn < 1880's ? > were basswood. After they moved-to-town the new owners tore down the barn and house .. I often wondered if they burned the main beams for firewood ? or sold it off in smaller pieces for wood carvers .. $ $ John T.
The little "cottage" farm-house had tamarack roof support structure .. not sawn boards - but poles .. ... whatever works ! whatever is available .. John T.
I won't vouch for the truth but the rumor was the Barnsider restaurant in Latham NY bought an old barn to create their rustic decor. The crew tore down the wrong barn.
I was driving around in rural Massachusetts and came across a huge area of tobacco farms. I noticed that some of the drying barns were really old but some looked brand new. Different farms, and most, if not all, had a mixture of old and new.
A lady was walking her dog, so I pulled over to ask her about the area. Not just the Amish, but furniture and home renovation companies will approach the farm owners and negotiate terms to remove the old wood and replace it with new. Maybe even build a whole new barn, I don't recall.
There's enough money to be made by building and renovating with old wood that both sides of deal make out. I can imagine that it's not just people knocking on doors asking the farmers if they want an "upgrade". I imagine that there are brokers involved, etc. Farmers looking for an upgrade, builders looking for wood and a middle man negotiating the deal.
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