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A Barn Saga - from Iowa Having grown up in rural areas of the Midwest, my husband and I both have a deep love and respect for ‘old’ things, such as antiques and primitives. We have a special love of barns, especially the very old ones. They have many stories to tell – if they could just talk! A few years ago, we learned about an exceptionally large barn nearby which was marked to be torn down, in order to make room for a more modern, more efficient building. It was much too large to burn, as it would present a significant danger to the surrounding buildings and the house. The owner was willing for someone to take it down, but whoever did it must take the whole thing, not just a few nice boards here and there. We talked about it, and told the owner that we would like to have it, and that we would take the whole barn. He gave it to us wholeheartedly, and told us that he wasn’t in any real hurry to build the new building, giving us the time we needed to work. In March of 2004, we began a family project to salvage as much as possible from this grand old barn. It was about 120 feet long from front to back, and three stories high. There was a lean-to beside it, which was added later, and it was being used as a machine shed. The owner wanted us to save the machine shed if possible, and just take down the original barn. (Sounds simple, right?) I can look back now, and see that we had absolutely no idea what we were getting into. We had never before taken a barn completely apart. We had removed some boards from another neighbor’s barn before, but not on this large scale. We don’t have any expertise in barn dis-assembling, but we do have some other qualities which kept us going, such as tenacity and patience. All of this work would have to be done outside everyone’s regular work and school schedules, which meant evenings and weekends. Safety would be a top priority. This was a very old barn, and it was already coming apart on its own. The roof was full of holes (It looked like lace from the inside, when the sun was shining through), the flooring in the haylofts was beginning to rot through in places, and there were nails, sheets of metal, and numerous sharp things everywhere you turned. (Not to mention all the raccoons, spiders, snakes, and other critters we worked around. They stayed out of our way and we tried to stay out of theirs.) The Lord had His hand on us as we worked over the three years; no one was hurt! The goal was to retrieve and salvage every single board, outside and inside, for re-use. We also planned to get every beam we could safely and successfully remove, as many were hand-hewn and full of hand carved wooden pegs (which we saved). The outside, weathered boards would make delightful furniture, and even the straw and hay stored inside could be used on the garden. It was all ours, ‘free’ for the taking. When you buy a wooden piece from Iowa Barn Country, I can promise you that it was not made from ‘free’ wood. This wood was purchased with hundreds of long hours of tedious sweat, and every single board was personally handled, de-nailed, and cleaned. It is authentic, it is beautiful, and it is Iowa. We hope you enjoy the pictures, which will give you an idea of where the wood from our Barn creations originated. Have confidence in buying from us! We always do everything the hard way, and don’t stop until we know its right. We would not sell something that we didn’t think would be good enough to bring into our own home. Here is the grand old barn in Eastern Iowa which was taken down, one board at a time. It was built in the mid-1800’s, but a few boards on the east side were replaced in the mid-1900’s. 
The crew, my husband and our three sons, pose for a quick picture before the first board was removed. Without the boys’ help, we never would have been able to do this. They gave us many, many hours of their ‘free time’ to help work on this barn, something I doubt many young people would be willing to do. Although it was hard work, there were lighter moments here and there, and the camaraderie among the brothers was always a blessing to mom and dad. Whenever things looked bleak, and the sun was hot, I would remind them that they were ‘building character’, and that someday they would be able to look back and realize what an incredible thing they had accomplished! Oh the stories they could tell…. I, the mom, was not specifically part of the crew as such, but I was the photographer, and I documented the entire experience, from the first day to the last. I did try to help carry boards whenever possible, but mostly they all just wanted me to stay out of the way so I wouldn’t get hurt. 
The first board was removed; some of the longer ones were 15 and 18 feet long. 
They pushed out the loose straw which was stored in the hayloft, and then baled it with the help of a neighbor (who was 80+ years old!). It would make great mulch for our garden, and great bedding for his calves. 
Most boards were removed with simple tools, while standing on a ladder. 
We salvaged every stray bale we found. We knew we could find a home for them! 
We had to take time out to remove some poison ivy which was growing up the east wall of the barn. 
Weather sometimes sent us home early. We worked through all seasons, as long as we could tolerate being outside. We weren’t able to do as much in the winter because daylight hours were much shorter. 
Since we were working in HIS feed lot, this local ‘resident’ often kept a close eye on us. We were careful not to upset him…. 
Once we removed boards from both the outside and the inside, it was time to free the lean-to building from the main barn, by chain-sawing along the adjoining frame. The plan was to save the machine shed, while removing the original barn. We hoped the plan would work. 
We planned to pull the barn frame down at some point, to gain easier access to the upper boards and beams. Safety concerns prevented us from taking the entire building down by climbing; it was just too unstable. We attached chains in strategic places, and with the help of some local farmers and neighbors (and their tractors), we were able to accomplish our goal with minimal collateral damage. We knew we would lose some boards, but it was more important to protect the lives of those who were working. 
The barn did not come down in one big crash. It took several pulls, and many hours of attaching chains, moving tractors around, taking chains off, and so on. Here are a couple of pictures of the barn coming down at various stages. 
We knew there was a white globe on a lightning rod on the highest point of the roof. We didn’t know it would ‘ride the barn down’, completely unscathed, and remain attached! The boys climbed up the rubble to retrieve it when they thought I wasn’t looking. We saved the glass globe, of course! 
As you can see, we managed to save the machine shed. It still stands, and will become a part of the new building sometime in the near future. 
Not every board is usable in an old barn. Many were rotting, or splintered beyond use. We began to burn what could be burned, saving us a lot of hauling. We never burned anything that could be used for something. (Mom’s rule) 
The crops in the field around the barn changed each year – one year it would be soybeans, the next year corn. We saw many seasons come and go as we worked on this wonderful old barn. I snapped a few corn pictures near our burn area, up close for your viewing! 
While we understand that there are perhaps more efficient ways to dis-assemble a barn, you must remember that this was our family’s project, using simple tools and minimal equipment, done in our spare time. It took three years, only working when two or more people were free and the weather was cooperative. (No one ever worked at the barn alone, for safety reasons.) Safety was always a priority. We wanted every board, every beam, and every wooden peg we could find, but we would never compromise anyone’s safety to retrieve them. We had very little loss when the barn frame was pulled down, and even many of the boards that were broken in the fall were able to be partially saved. It was a tremendous project. It was often filthy work, and for many months it seemed as though we were making no progress at all. It was often discouraging, handling and removing crummy boards in order to get to the really good ones. But it was a great learning experience, and a memorable one. We were all very glad to be done! Since I recorded the experience in pictures, we can share with others what it was like to bond with this grand old piece of Iowa history. And now we are sharing some of it with you! Welcome to Iowa Barn Country!
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