A question came our way the other day via our Facebook page asking where we had found our barn wood and why it was so difficult to find. I hadn’t given it much thought until then but I reckon it is a bit tough to find. It seems the market for what was once considered “scrap wood” or “barn junk” has been saturated by designers, pickers, and artists inspired by the unique look, texture, and (oft-time) availability of such. We have managed to incorporate two different sets of reclaimed lumber and one load of discarded lumber into parts of our tiny house; the subfloor, a couple of actual walls, and now our ceiling! So how did we find this wood and how can you find similar for your build? If you know where to look you can find salvaged timbers that are free for the taking or a minimal price. Here are a few ways to get the free recycled wood you are looking for.
Old Barns and Buildings
Old barns and mills are a great source for high quality virgin timber (read: no off-gassing). So how do you get a barn owner to give you their barn? It is really quite easy. Most barn owners will happily give you there old dilapidated barn just to get it out of the way and cleaned up. This was the case for my brother-in-law back in March 2011. A friend of the families had an old barn he wanted removed so he could make way for a newer, larger outbuilding/barn. The wood was beautiful and we wanted it. We struck a deal. If we took the barn down and removed the debris we could have all the wood and the metal. It took a couple of long days in the cold but we did so and got a nice haul of yellow pine as well as a pile of metal we were able to scrap and sell for pocket money.
TAKE ACTION:
Start by placing an ad in your local newspaper or on Craigslist. It might read:
Wanted Old Barns to Recycle
We will remove your barn and
clean up the site in exchange for
the lumber. Call 555-555-5555
We did this on multiple occasions. We got some calls that weren’t worth the time to listen to and some were quite fruitful. Some folks wanted money and some just wanted us to get rid of their junk. Whatever the case, it worked to our benefit. You do need to remember though that you will be lucky to get useable material out of 35% of the barn. Most of it will be beyond repair and either warped or bowed. Once a roof goes the rest of the building is quick to follow. Before you agree to anything know what follow up work will need to be done to make it worth your while.
Remodeling Contractors
Wouldn’t it be great if all you had to do to get free reclaimed lumber is drop off a trailer wait a few days and pick it up full of reclaimed wood? It’s been done and it is done far more than you even realize.
Get in contact with some remodeling contractors in your area. Let them know that you will haul away any wood that they tear out of a house. Contractors will be happy to give the antique building materials to you, it will save them a bunch of money on disposal costs. This works best if you are in an area where there are a lot of old houses. In other words, the more urban you are the more possibilities you have for this sort of reclamation.
Make sure to let the contractor know that you are recycling the wood, and you take wood only. No drywall, insulation or other debris, only wood, nails are okay if they are in the wood. If it becomes a problem and you are finding a lot of debris, you can start charging a disposal fee or just remove your trailer and part ways (amicably, of course) with the contractor.
You will get some junk wood and possibly some lumber scraps, It is okay if you do. You can sell the scraps in bundles of campfire wood, or burn it for heat in the wood stove in your shop. I know we have burnt off our fair share of scraps and junk wood!
Just Ask
Don’t be afraid to just ask. Get the word out. Place classified ads in your local newspaper. Post on your Facebook page. Tell everyone you know and everyone you meet that you recycle wood of all types. People will be happy to help you in any way they can. You may very well end up with more lumber than you know what to do with!
IN CLOSING:
Very few free things come easy. In the case of reclaimed wood and barnwood you often have more work to do to prepare the wood to reuse as you do to get the wood. In our case we have spent literally days pulling nails, planing, ripping, cutting, sanding, scraping, and planing some more, just to get the wood in a useable condition. Be careful not to plane and rip the character off though. Part of the allure of reclaimed wood is the story behind it and character it has become!
You may mention pallets as well, very accessible and often very free on Craigslist everywhere! While not structural, they can be used as a facade with some elbow grease (not recommended inside however because of possible chemical exposures)
Agreed. Agreed. Agreed. Great point Macy. I was considering a full post on pallets. I haven’t used them for tiny house but I have made some outdoor chairs with them!
Hi Folks,
As a professional barn wright, I must give a warning of concern, with words of encouragement These beautiful landmarks are very much in decline nation, and world wide. Destroying them just to get to there wood is a travesty and very dangerous. Each year I hear of, (or witness severe accidents/deaths by novices trying to “salvage wood,” from an old barn, mill, warehouse, wharf, etc.
If I can’t save a barn, (or one of these other historical pieces of architecture,) on their original location, I take it down and restore it for future use, after restoration. We never take them down just for their wood!
Now for the words of encouragement. If you contact companies or individuals like me, You may sometimes be able to assist in the disassembly of a building as part of the crew, assuming you have the physical, mental and skill base capacity to do the work safely. Several times a year we bring on folks like that and compensate them with the wood from the roof and siding, which is often better repurposed for other use, unlike the frame which can often can be restored and saved in it’s original form.
Regards,
Jay
GREAT perspective Jay. Thank you so much. You raise some excellent points. On behalf of Tiny r(E)volution thank you for what YOU do. Thank you for your hours of preservation and restoration. It is truly appreciated.
Jay, I live in Ontario where family farms are in sad decline. I want to scream when I pass a barn that with a few boards and a little elbow grease could be held for another 20 years. The loss of this important and socially significant history is huge. These barns were build by communities, men with the wood and women with the meals. The raising of barns encompassed entire communities. Sadly, when my dad died and my step mom took over our family farm she is also too lazy and mentally unwilling to take the initiative to manage the care of this structure. It was build ~150 years ago by my great great grandparents and the community.
I was never a huge fan of the woman, I admit this, but watching this barn decline is as good as stabbing me in the heart. I wish that I had the power to make people see the value of this barn, of all barns.
Years ago a friend of mine used some amazing wood for ceiling beams and assorted things in his house. It came from crating around some huge electrical turbines. The power company installing them was happy to have him take the wood away. There was a variety of tropical hardwoods. Guess that was kind of a one-off, though.
I am very familiar with those “one offs” Alice. Our kitchen countertop is going to be of Malaysian hardwood which once lived a life as the flooring for a cargo truck used to carry specialized items. It was a fluke but I heard about it and pursued it! Sure glad I did.
The tiny house community really needs a materials swap/notification site.
I work for a used building materials nonprofit in Brattleboro Vt. We almost always have barn wood beams and dimensional rough cut lumber for sale. That being said it’s not the easiest stuff to get. It’s labor intensive, and expensive to take a barn apart and it’s barely a break even situation most times. If you have the time and insurance people will let you take their barns down, but you can spend more time and money and a good chunk of your summer taking a barn down. Posting an ad is great like you suggested and there are sites like the Barn Pages and Craigslist that list barns for sale.
That sounds awesome Mk. Thank you so much for speaking up. You are right. One thing I wanted to get across in my post is that it IS NOT as easy as it seems. It requires some skill, a lot of elbow grease, and a good knowledge of safety as well.
Finding old barnwood and other old lumber isn’t as easy as it was a few years ago. Farmers and other owners of old buildings have started to realize the value of their old buildings and what used to be free is no longer! These old buildings are now being purchased for their lumber and the material is being sold through craigslist and local reclaimed lumber centers. This old reclaimed lumber and material is usually sold at a premium to new material making the decision to include reclaimed lumber in your project more difficult.
You would be surprised how many farmers around who will give you all of the wood from their barn if you agree to tear it down and clean it all up. We still have guys in the Minneapolis area who are signing contracts with barn owners who are being paid up to $6000 to take a barn down. This is more typical if there is a large foundation that is difficult to remove.