# A little local history story for you...(wood related)



## Herb G. (Mar 19, 2018)

Back many years ago, I went to high school with a guy who's family was in the salvage business.

They took down old barns piece by piece and stored the lumber in a yard until they sold it.
Keep in mind these were mostly Amish built timber frame barns from the 1800's.
90% of the good wood was stored in open sheds, covered by a roof at least.
They had about 25 acres of land with sheds all over it.
They had a ton of equipment, lots of mobile cranes, huge backhoes with grapple jaws, flat bed trailers, you name it, they pretty much had it all.
They took down old barns around Maryland for a living. They got paid to dismantle them, haul them away, and then made more money selling off the old wood on top of it.

At one point they were the largest barn dismantling company in the whole state.
My friend worked the weekends & Summers with his family.
I worked a few Summers with him, and made good money doing it.
It was always hot, dirty, sweaty work, but they paid well at the time.
I always had a pocketful of money, I seem to recall.
Not that it matters.

Anyway, when big tobacco went belly up, a lot of barns were dismantled and sold off for the wood they contained. A lot of barns went down one Summer in Southern Maryland. And they contained a chit ton of really old, great wood. I'm talking about American Chestnut beams 120' long X 4' to 6' square. Or larger.
I bet you'd have to look far & wide to find wood like that today.

What I'd like to know is how in the world they got those huge beams 40' up off the ground in the first place.
I was told by the guys working the cranes that those huge beams weighed 20 tons or more.
They did not have cranes back then in the 1800's, capable of lifting that kind of weight.

I remember loading beams of Black Walnut that were 2' square, and 60' long on trailers.
Well, honestly, I didn't load them, I just strapped them down.
But anyway, it's amazing that long ago, they were into recycling to the degree of actually taking an old barn apart piece by piece and hauling it away, VS. burning it to the ground.

At least some one had some sense back then.

Reactions: Like 2 | Great Post 1 | Way Cool 2 | Informative 2


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## CWS (Mar 19, 2018)

I was in a house in Fairfield county Ohio a few years back and one of the rooms were restored to the log walls that were there when they built the house in early 1800's. The beam that held up the second story was exposed. It was 2'x 18" walnut. I am in awe of the things the pioneers could accomplish with very equipment. Great post Herb. I am always interested about history. Thank You.

Reactions: Agree 3


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## Schroedc (Mar 19, 2018)

I've watched a barn raising with an Amish timber framed structure, you wouldn't believe it watching them stand up a wall with just a bunch of people and some horses

Reactions: Like 2 | Agree 1


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## Mr. Peet (Mar 19, 2018)

At least some one had some sense back then.
[/QUOTE]

Colin is on the ball, most of the posts and beams were assembled on the ground, then stood up. Stabilizing the first section is the key. Setting the cross-beam ties was the next challenge (between section 1 &2). Once the first 2 sections are standing and tied in. the rest can be partially craned off of them. Remember, when you double your snatch blocks, you nearly double your winch, so simple math worked. Pulleys, levers and oxen and horses with quality chain and rope did a lot.

Your 'Chestnut' beam sizes don't seem to fit. Yes, they had 4' x 4' beams, but I never heard of any over 60' feet. Some of the biggest 'Chestnut' recorded were around 8-10' @ DBH and were with heartrot. The tallest were 150' or so, while most under 120'. To have a beam 4' x 4' x 120', you need a 300' foot tree following the general form of the historical American chestnut.

Now your 'Black walnut' beam size, yes, I have seen many of those.


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## Herb G. (Mar 20, 2018)

Well, my memory is probably failing me at this stage. They could have been ship lapped beams or some other species I suppose. The barns were gigantic, that much I remember.

And I remember that these beams were enormous. They were very heavy & extremely dangerous when being moved around.
The owner of the company was adamant that no one was under those when they were lifted, in case a strap broke or whatever.
They had a yard full of huge beams waiting to be shipped at one point. I remember them loading them on double long flat beds & taking them to the rail yards to ship out to where ever.
Some went back to the NE USA, but a lot of them were shipped overseas.

They went out of business about 20 years ago because the son didn't want to stay in the business, and the regulations covering their business just got ridiculous over the years. It's a shame too, because there might be 1 or 2 companies still in business in Maryland that dismantle barns, but they are nothing like the company I worked for. Not even close.

One of my neighbors owns property way down in Southern Maryland & he had an old dairy barn taken down a couple of years ago. They came in with chainsaws & a bulldozer & that was it. It was on the ground in 2 hours.
They just shoved it into a pile & burnt it.

What a waste.

Reactions: Agree 1


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## Mr. Peet (Mar 20, 2018)

Herb G. said:


> Well, my memory is probably failing me at this stage. They could have been ship lapped beams or some other species I suppose. The barns were gigantic, that much I remember.
> 
> And I remember is these beams were enormous. They were very heavy & extremely dangerous when being moved around.
> The owner of the company was adamant that no one was under those when they were lifted, in case a strap broke or whatever.
> ...



I'm familiar with Maryland's fire permitting. Legally, it would have cost a few hundred to a few thousand just to burn a barn. Prep can take days, removing any hazardous materials, asbestos being a big one. The EPA has to sign off before any local authority has rights. It was a 60 plus page permit ten years ago. I can just imagine now...


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## Albert Kiebert (Mar 20, 2018)

Saving old barns and houses is great stuff, there is a show that's on tv that shows a company in WVA or Western MD. doing exactly what Herb is talking about.

https://www.diynetwork.com/shows/barnwood-builders

Reactions: Like 1


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## Ralph Muhs (Mar 20, 2018)

Barnwood Builders is located in Lewisburg WV. They dismantle old barns and use the timbers in the construction of new homes. A very good friend and a close neighbor lives in one of these houses. One room, (about 18 X 24 and about 16 ft high) is made from old, hand hewn beams. The rest of the house is modern with a a rustic touch. The "log cabin room" has a stone fireplace, chestnut floors, a balcony... Really cool family room!

Reactions: Like 2 | Way Cool 1


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## Wildthings (Mar 20, 2018)

Albert Kiebert said:


> Saving old barns and houses is great stuff, there is a show that's on tv that shows a company in WVA or Western MD. doing exactly what Herb is talking about.
> 
> https://www.diynetwork.com/shows/barnwood-builders



That's a great show!!

Reactions: Agree 2 | +Karma 1


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## Eric Rorabaugh (Mar 22, 2018)

Anyone see the episode where they took a little log spring house down? That was a 4 minutes from my house. I watched the episode and knew it was in Wythe County. I said to myself, self that looks familiar. The next day I drove by and sure enough, it was where I thought. Wish I knew they were around. I'd have went by.

Reactions: Like 1 | Way Cool 2


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