How to sell/sale/sail reclaimed wood

Pbj ak

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My best friend which is like my brother came down from Michigan for Christmas to visit. We have recently moved and he hadn’t seen the new place so I walked around the property showing him this and that and we came to the old barn. He said there were people selling old wood like this for big bucks although he didn’t know who exactly.

So my question is, does anyone know where to start trying to sale the old wood from a barn? It’s my grandpa but he has mentioned wanting to tear it down because he thinks it’s an eyesore. I’m not sure on its age but would say 75 years plus. There’s also an old farmhouse that was built in the 1800s but I’m not so sure about tearing it down. It would be awesome to restore but I don’t have the money for a project like that. If he’s going to tear the barn down anyway I just wanted to see if there was any monetary value in the wood before it’s destroyed.

I have no idea about where to start or if it’s worth doing. I thought cff would be the best place to start because I think a lot of you guys and know that most of you will point me in the right direction. Any and all info is greatly appreciated. I can post pictures if that would help as well.



Thanks,
Zack
 
First, I would go about trying to determine what type of wood it is, and then determine the approximate total board feet and condition of the wood. After that a decent asking price could be determined. Like said above, there are people who will come in and do this for you, and pay you up front/ do all the work. Best advice I can give if you go that route is to shop it around and ask for a few references. You want people who will clean up after themselves.
 
Be careful not to underprice it especially the larger beams. People are paying serious money for barn wood now.
 
The biggest money is in very old barns (1800’s era) with large beams and hand cut mortise and tenons. A 75 year old barn won’t be as valuable.

I would doubt that there would be “big bucks” to the landowner because the labor to dismantle is significant. In many instances the primary benefit would be the removal of the eyesore.

I would start by getting quotes from some dismantles. You can usually find them by looking for barn wood sellers on Craigslist.
 
I'd like to dismantle a barn and repurpose the wood to build a small house. It's one of the few ways to keep new construction below $125 per square foot!
 
I don't know if they are still there or not, but one of the largest sellers of reclaimed wood on the east coast used to be in the Reidsville area. When I worked for a company that had a landfill we had a guy bring in a tractor trailer load of timbers and pay to dump them. I took a look and told the manager that I was pretty sure those were old heart pine beams and asked him to push them to the side. Found those guys in Reidsville and they came out with a flat bed and picked all of it up and gave us about two thousand dollars.

So big money is a relative term.
 
I wouldn't say it's "big" bucks, but there is some money in it. There's a place in Brevard I love to visit--Underground Salvage Company: https://www.facebook.com/undergroundsalvageco/

They gather old wood, furniture, hardware, doors, etc. Some of the stuff that they put time into restoring and/or turning into something can cost some serious money. But the salvage wood isn't terribly expensive, especially compared to new junk on the shelf at Home Depot or Lowes.
 
Do you have any idea what species of wood it is? We had a garage on my folks place built from chestnut planks cut after the big blight in the early 1900's
 
I’ve got a barn that I would like to take down myself. I think it’s oak, and have been told it’s over 100 years old but can’t verify. The last snow storm caved the roof in.
 
Just a suggestion but try searching for "reclaimed wood" and see who is selling it in your area. Then see if they want to buy yours. They gotta get it from somewhere.
 
I tried calling my gramps today but he had already left to go to town and rarely takes his phone. I wanted to ask the age so I’ll post it later but here are a few pictures I just took.
ACA84354-017F-4D3C-91CD-2D31961C96EE.jpeg 345C700B-B9D5-40AC-99D2-0F2515BB152B.jpeg E01DCB1C-73CB-4440-B79D-0F8155DC774F.jpeg 467432BA-3AF2-4990-AA09-94130FEF12EE.jpeg 1A354029-8551-41FA-946A-F41B8C3807D6.jpeg B210E3C5-FDAF-4472-9865-D8FDA0D3896D.jpeg


Here are a few pictures of the old farm house I took just for fun. Thought you guys might like to see it as well.
95E8C317-EAC3-40C9-863F-31BFBCD689A1.jpeg 10AFDFAF-7255-43F8-9FB2-E354BA8207A3.jpeg 8B249EDB-0790-4DC8-ABEC-A5238A7548F2.jpeg F6772D93-52F9-4C6F-B885-A5C798B5A778.jpeg
 
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Do you have any idea what species of wood it is? We had a garage on my folks place built from chestnut planks cut after the big blight in the early 1900's


I don’t know and specs but will find out and post soon.
 
"Here are a few pictures of the old farm house"


That looks a lot like my great grandmother's house ( been gone for years )

.
 
I wanted to say thanks everyone for the info and comments.

I just talked to my grandpa and he said he thought the majority of the wood was oak. Also he bought the property in 1963 or 1967 and the barn was 60-70 years old then. His mind isn’t the greatest anymore and was thinking they had only had the property for 30 years but after we did the math is more like 55 years (give or take), putting the age of the barn over 100.

I’m going to call around on the next few days and see what or options are. If anyone has anything to add please don’t hesitate. I’d love to hear your thoughts. My home is only a short walk from the barn so if there is any info I could add feel free to ask.
 
Dang - you should fix up that old farmhouse. Just keep the roof solid until you reach the point that you’re able to work on it.
But I’m not a good decision maker. I’d be trying to fix the barn roof and keep it too. :)
 
Dang - you should fix up that old farmhouse. Just keep the roof solid until you reach the point that you’re able to work on it.
But I’m not a good decision maker. I’d be trying to fix the barn roof and keep it too. :)

The house would be awesome. My wife and I love the wrap around porch. One big problem is the chimney is collapsing. Also I’m not sure of the wiring and there’s only a sink and toilet, no shower or tub. I’m sure all of this could be remedied but man at the money it would cost.

Another problem that may get me laughed at is, I swear it’s haunted. Even now, when I walk by the house in the dark, I catch a glimpse of a figure in the window out of the corner of my eye. They’re standing there in a gown and when I look closer there’s nothing there. Other than those little things I’d love to live there.
 
Another problem that may get me laughed at is, I swear it’s haunted. Even now, when I walk by the house in the dark, I catch a glimpse of a figure in the window out of the corner of my eye. They’re standing there in a gown and when I look closer there’s nothing there.
I believe that. My in-laws house is an old farmhouse from 1911 that they bought and fixed up in 1997. The original owners raised 7 kids there, and one died really young. They have some minor weird things happen, nothing sketchy, but it is repeatable. Like dolls and stuffed animals moving or electronic stuff making noise. You could get it to happen if you talked about it in one room and acted like you were talking to a little kid. I never saw it happen, but I didn’t try to, because I didn’t want to see it. :)
 
The house would be awesome. My wife and I love the wrap around porch. One big problem is the chimney is collapsing. Also I’m not sure of the wiring and there’s only a sink and toilet, no shower or tub. I’m sure all of this could be remedied but man at the money it would cost.

Another problem that may get me laughed at is, I swear it’s haunted. Even now, when I walk by the house in the dark, I catch a glimpse of a figure in the window out of the corner of my eye. They’re standing there in a gown and when I look closer there’s nothing there. Other than those little things I’d love to live there.
and for this reason I'd be out. Things in life I dont mess around on

  • brakes
  • tires
  • concealed carry gun & ammo
  • ghosts
 
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