Midwest Barn Gets New Montana Home

2013 - Volume #37, Issue #2, Page #34

[ Sample Stories From This Issue | List of All Stories In This Issue | Print this story | Read this issue]

A barn on a St. Ignatius, Mont., farm has a new life since being taken down and transported more than 1,700 miles from Goshen, Ind. With a metal roof, custom siding with a chinked look and two new cupolas, it has been upgraded from its original design.
  But inside it preserves and showcases the skill of the craftsmen who assembled the hand-hewn mortise-and-tendon timbers 150 to 170 years ago, says Clyde Selby, co-owner of Second Chance Barn Restoration. He and his business partner, Blake Riley, numbered the wood pieces and took down the barn – saving it from demolition when it was in the path of a highway bypass.
  “I stand in awe at the craftsmen who built barns like this,” Selby says. “They didn’t have the tools, equipment and education we have, yet they built structures that have lasted well over 100 years. They’re works of art.
  “This barn had more knee braces than any barn I’ve ever seen. There were over 150 of them,” he says, noting each cross member had a brace going in every direction.
  Selby and Riley added barn restoration to their log siding business when the economy slowed down a few years ago. They transformed one barn into a horse barn for a hobby farmer and turned a couple old barns into produce stands. Selby’s parents, Ben and Joanne, hired them to restore the Goshen barn on their Montana farm.
  The timber frame style is new to the area, Ben Selby says, so it stands out. But it’s appreciated and well used. Part of the 40 by 76-ft. barn has in-floor heating for a workshop and gathering place, including bathrooms and a cozy loft area.
  It and the unheated part of the barn each have big doors to bring in equipment to work on. Tools, equipment, and other farm items are stored on the unheated side. The Selbys raised the ceiling under the loft to 13 1/2 ft. for more space, and were able to reuse most of the barn material. They replaced the foundation logs and installed new rafters between the ridge, purlins and plates to replace the original poplar rafters, which were reused as vertical nailers for the siding. Instead of chinking between the logs, they hired a local mill to cut board siding that left circular saw marks on the wood. The chinked look was created with inset board pieces painted gray.
  Saving the old barn and making it useful again was a worthwhile project, says Ben Selby. And it was a bonus to have his son and family in Montana for a month. With a steel roof, new foundation and other upgrades, the barn should last many more years in its new home.
  “I was in the construction trade for 35 years, and I appreciate the craftsmanship,” he says. “Right away I realized the value of saving something like this.”
  His son, Clyde, agrees that restoring barns isn’t about saving money.
  “We can build them (customers) a new one for the cost of restoration,” he says. “People don’t do it for cost savings. They restore to save something that’s lost and that they appreciate.”
  Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Ben Selby, 32446 Mission Creek Rd., St. Ignatius, Mont. 59865 (ph 406 546-7952). Second Chance Barn Restoration, 30195 Co. Rd. 40, Wakarusa, Ind. 46573 (ph 574 354-2171).

Click here to download page story appeared in.

Click here to read entire issue

Midwest Barn Gets New Montana Home BUILDINGS Miscellaneous A barn on a St Ignatius Mont farm has a new life since being taken down and transported more than 1 700 miles from Goshen Ind With a metal roof custom siding with a chinked look and two new cupolas it has been upgraded from its original design But inside it preserves and showcases the skill of the craftsmen who assembled the hand-hewn mortise-and-tendon timbers 150 to 170 years ago says Clyde Selby co-owner of Second Chance Barn Restoration He and his business partner Blake Riley numbered the wood pieces and took down the barn – saving it from demolition when it was in the path of a highway bypass “I stand in awe at the craftsmen who built barns like this ” Selby says “They didn’t have the tools equipment and education we have yet they built structures that have lasted well over 100 years They’re works of art “This barn had more knee braces than any barn I’ve ever seen There were over 150 of them ” he says noting each cross member had a brace going in every direction Selby and Riley added barn restoration to their log siding business when the economy slowed down a few years ago They transformed one barn into a horse barn for a hobby farmer and turned a couple old barns into produce stands Selby’s parents Ben and Joanne hired them to restore the Goshen barn on their Montana farm The timber frame style is new to the area Ben Selby says so it stands out But it’s appreciated and well used Part of the 40 by 76-ft barn has in-floor heating for a workshop and gathering place including bathrooms and a cozy loft area It and the unheated part of the barn each have big doors to bring in equipment to work on Tools equipment and other farm items are stored on the unheated side The Selbys raised the ceiling under the loft to 13 1/2 ft for more space and were able to reuse most of the barn material They replaced the foundation logs and installed new rafters between the ridge purlins and plates to replace the original poplar rafters which were reused as vertical nailers for the siding Instead of chinking between the logs they hired a local mill to cut board siding that left circular saw marks on the wood The chinked look was created with inset board pieces painted gray Saving the old barn and making it useful again was a worthwhile project says Ben Selby And it was a bonus to have his son and family in Montana for a month With a steel roof new foundation and other upgrades the barn should last many more years in its new home “I was in the construction trade for 35 years and I appreciate the craftsmanship ” he says “Right away I realized the value of saving something like this ” His son Clyde agrees that restoring barns isn’t about saving money “We can build them customers a new one for the cost of restoration ” he says “People don’t do it for cost savings They restore to save something that’s lost and that they appreciate ” Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Ben Selby 32446 Mission Creek Rd St Ignatius Mont 59865 ph 406 546-7952 Second Chance Barn Restoration 30195 Co Rd 40 Wakarusa Ind 46573 ph 574 354-2171

To read the rest of this story, download this issue below or click here to register with your account number.

SUBSCRIBE OR RENEW NOW