I have a barn that is probably 125 or more years old. It is built out of chestnut wood (before the blight), and is structurally sound. The beams and columns inside are all massive wood, and put together with pegs rather than nails.
The outside, however, is in poor condition. A lot of rain comes in between the boards, and some are missing.
I would like to get opinions on what I could do to economically replace the "skin". I am probably only going to do one side now (the worst one), depending on cost. I scanned it, and the area of siding (including doors, windows, etc) is 4500 sq ft. The side I want to do right now is 1166 sq ft.
Here is the worst side:
and from the inside:
Here is another side from inside that is in better shape:
I really like the old board look.
I would remove all those boards and number them.
Mount lathing over a waterproof/insulating material to create an air space.
You could even use tarpaper like under roofing shingles and it would keep the wind and rain out.
Replace those boards. Add a cap on each corner.
To brighten up and refresh natural board finish, spray with a water and clorine/bleach solution and in days and weeks later the old moldy color will go away.
I'm not an expert on outside wood siding by any means, but wouldn't that potentially let moisture sit on the backside of the boards and cause problems? Especially on the North side where the sun wouldn't hit it to help dry it out? Just asking.
Is that your house in the background of the second photo?
My house could spend the night in one of the bedrooms of that house 🙂
Don
Mighty pretty looking farm. Wouldn't mind hanging out there with a cup of coffee and a good book.
> I really like the old board look.
>
> I would remove all those boards and number them...
My opinion also. Although the wood is a bit dried out and swiss-cheesy, I bet it could be salvaged somehow.
Like Mr. Harris suggested, remove the siding, place some sort of weather layer, then replace old siding with some treatment and TLC. Cool barn.
> I would like to get opinions on what I could do to economically replace the "skin".
Economical? The most economical solution is to sell that siding for about 3 times what any new rough sawn board and batten siding would cost you! I can give you some contacts of folks that take apart such structures and sell them to "city folks" who want that classic weathered barn look. That is one extremely attractive barn.
Alternatively, you can keep what's on it now, but turn it into board and batten siding, thereby sealing up the cracks, by buying in-expensive 1x2 or 1x3 pine or hemlock battens, then staining them to closely match what's on each side of the barn. If you have access to a shot blast machine, blast them to bring out the grain, then stain them...with a year or two of additional natural aging, you'd never know it was new wood.
Economical? Well...I found a place that sold 3'x8' corrugated steel siding panels factory painted barn red. they were blems and cost 10 dollars a sheet. Economical...yes. Aesthetic...probably not. But they made for a nice skin over my frame/plywood shed.
You possess a jewel in the rough. Survey off a bit of land around it and put it up for sale. If marketed properly, there are crazy people out there who might pay you as much as they would for your house. In the proper hands, with enough easy money to spend, your barn could become someone's dream home.
If you wish to ruin it by keeping it for yourself indefinitely then the answer to your question is common metal roofing. Many old barns live on for decades after the application of common "tin" roofing material to the sides. Simple and inexpensive. The best type is the older variety corduroy-appearing skin. The big, squared-off style roofing is not nearly so attractive and requires significant capping to prevent rain from going down the back side and rotting the old wood siding. I own one barn that was given the tin siding fix probably 40 years ago. It's in very good shape today.
Wrap it with tyvek and put lap siding over the top of it. Would look like new from outside, take full advantage of existing sideing, preserve the integrity of the structure and make it weather proof for another hundred years. My .02'.
Plus 1 on preserving the look.
That is a really neat looking barn. I would 100% re-use the old siding.
In addition, I would get rid of the modern garage door and install a horizontally sliding wooden door.
I would not feel bad about spending a lot of money on a structure like that.
I you were inclined, that barn could actually pay for it's self easily.
I could see people wanting to rent the barn/lawn area for weddings and receptions.
You could probably recoup the costs of the improvements in a couple years.
:good:
If you want to keep it as a barn, strip the siding off the worst side and use the material to repair the other sides. Then have a local sawmill cut you some similar lumber to replace the side that you used for salvage. It should weather to match in a while. If you want to seal it up, remove all the siding and sheath with plywood or chip board, wrap it with Tyvek and a layer of Tar Paper for esthetics. Then reapply the siding using new lumber for one side and stain or just let it weather. I like the look of the siding but it needs to be a little more weather pro ok. Please post pictures when it is completed.
Just ideas. Replace 20% of the boards, on the "bad side". Add bats. Don't mess up that nice old barn!
N
