Old-Style Barn Built From Scratch

Old-Style Barn Built From Scratch BUILDINGS Livestock 30-6-22 Gary Wyn of Byron Center, Mich., preserved a bit of history by salvaging two old barns and using the original lumber to build an old-style barn of his own design. He did all the work himself. The 1850's era barn measures 28 ft. wide by 48 ft. long and is built mortice and tenon style, with a cement floor. It's complete with a "loose hay" hook that hangs from the peak and a cupola that stands 31 ft. tall. The windows are adorned with flower boxes, and there's a large 16 by 48-ft. lean-to on one side that's full of antiques. A small roof overhang adorns a door on one side. He built a stairway to the hay loft, which has a traditional rope swing in it. Even the electrical wiring is authentic, using the traditional tube and wire system. He used some leftover siding to make an outhouse that's located nearby, and he moved a corn crib from a farm two miles away. "I made it as authentic as possible," says Wyn. "It looks like it has been there forever. I worked on the barn alone on weekends. Building it was more fun than work. "My wife Penny uses one corner of the barn as a potting shed, and the rest of the barn is used to store old farm equipment. We also use the barn porch extensively for family get-togethers." Wyn figured out the design of the old barn in his head. "I just decided how I wanted to make it look and started building," he says. The two barns were located about six miles from his house and were built with wooden dowels. In dismantling the beams, he found that it was sometimes hard to get the dowels out because the barns had settled and the dowels were locked in. So he had to cut the beams apart. The rebuilt barn has a big 12-in. sq. wooden post at each corner. To pick up the big beams, he built a 3-pt. mounted crane that allowed him to stand each corner post vertically. "The crane allowed me to pick up the middle section without having to hold the posts in place," says Wyn. Large beams extend the width of the barn. He developed a special machine for vertical cutting of the mortise joints. He also built a mechanism to hold a chain saw so he could plunge cut with the saw without having it jump back and hurt him. It involves use of a block and tackle. He built a new metal roof with an old look, similar to the standing seam roofs on old barns. He also bought a set of new hay hooks and hung them from the peak. The hay hook operates on a pulley that lowers down the hook to grab. A trolley brings the bundles inside as needed. The last job was to stain the barn with a wood preserver. "I'm pleased with how it turned out," says Wyn. "I got the idea because whenever I'd be out driving in the country I'd often see barns falling down. My wife and I thought it would be nice to have our own barn and preserve history at the same time. When our grand kids started to come along, I wanted a barn for them to remember what the old-time barns looked like - a barn they could play in. I wanted to be able to show my grand children the construction of barns, which they might not otherwise experience. The hay loft has a swing set for them. I hung a bunch of antiques such as old wagon wheels, horse-drawn sicklebar mower, and crosscut saws in the lean-to. "I didn't spend a lot on materials. My biggest expense was for the cement floor and metal roof. My total cost was about $6,000. "The hardest part was putting the roof on, because I had a lot of different individual roof boards. The cupola is there for appearances only - I didn't even cut a hole in the roof." Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Gary Wyn, 8860 Homerich Ave. S.W., Byron Center, Mich. 49315 (ph 616 878-3941; gary@rapidcontrol.com).

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