Recycle! Old barns wood all across America are being ripped and torn down and the beams, walls, roofs, and post from them are really just being discarded with out any thought to re-use or recycling. Most of the wood that is cast off is perfectly good and could be used for a number of things instead of being trashed. Recycling these ancient and decrepit barns, if you are not going to refurbish o reclaimed and use them as property structures, is an environmentally friendly way to use up existing and good resources.
Don’t write of recycling this wood because it will be a lot of work…just one look at the wood you have at your hands will inspire you to use it or sell it for future use.
With the right type of wood, you can make – and if you want to – sell barn wood furniture as reclaimed barn wood, like tables and a number of other things. And best of all, the wood is already conditioned for hard weather or strain, since it was part of a barn after all, and survived elements like, snow, wind and rain.
It’s true that about 50 years ago more than half of people were living and working rurally and that now only about 2% of America’s population fall into this category, but that dosen’t mean we can’t find a use for the beautiful old barns. If you’re keeping your barn as a structure on your property, you could refurbish it into a home office or workshop. They also make great places for children to play and explore the great outdoors and play games. If you choose to do this though, it is important that you make sure the barn structure, old as it is, is safe and secure. Remove nails and rusty farming equipment, clean up and remove mold or decayed farming supplies so it’s safe to have company and/or your children.
If you are taking down the structure of the barn, offer up the wood to woodworkers for barn wood furniture, or sell it to surrounding neighbors for firewood. And don’t forget to find out if it is good enough to be used for wood flooring! There’s actually a fair amount of people who will pay good money for reclaimed barn wood they do not have to cut up or prepare themselves, so you could benefit.