Barn Doctors Rescue Aging Structures
Before Barn Doctor Aaron Barritt looked at the old barn on our newly purchased farm, my wife and I weren’t sure if it should be restored or torn down. The roof sagged. The walls were bellying out, and the posts on the bottom level were slanted. Sill posts were rotted out, as were the ends of numerous posts and beams.
When I asked if it could or should be restored, Barritt didn’t hesitate. “If we tighten it up, the roof will straighten, the sides will pull in and the support posts will straighten up as well,” he said. “We can cut away the rot and splice in good wood.”
The former owner of our barn had at one time partially fixed the ailing barn. On the positive side, he had replaced buckling stone walls with poured concrete and installed a new concrete floor in the basement. The metal roof had only two small leaks.
On the negative side, many fixes had been left half done, or poorly done. Railroad ties on the loft floor were bolted to support beams in the basement as triage against rotted sills. Steel channel iron and thin plate did a poor job tying posts and beams to sills.
We told Barritt we wanted useable, not museum quality restoration. We needed equipment and parts storage, a workshop area, and a place to set up a small sawmill. Tearing down the barn and building new wouldn’t be cheap. Also, we would lose a visual barrier between where we planned to build a house and the township road.
Barritt’s bid came in at $18,770 and included a list of what would be done. Another company’s bid came in at about the same price based on pictures. They didn’t bother making an on-site visit. A third company, when asked for an estimate, instead made an offer to take the good lumber for $1,500. The remains would be left for us to clean up.
After talking it over, my wife and I decided to make the investment. Six months later, Barritt showed up with 3 men. In less than 2 weeks they did everything he promised and more. The more cost a little extra, but it was worth it.
Barritt and crew installed steel cable with come-a-longs in the basement. He anchored them to the most westerly post pads in the concrete floor and pulled the east wall back into place. In the loft he installed more cable, pulling the east and west walls together. As promised, these actions straightened the roofline and the support posts in the basement.
A few new holes were made in the floor of the barn loft. These allowed temporary supports to be placed between the roof sill beams and jacks on the basement floor.
Literally raising the roof and supporting walls allowed the Barn Doctors to do surgery. Railroad ties found new life as sill beams on the foundation walls. Rotten wall post ends and floor beams that had rested on the old sills were cut away with new/old wood spliced in place. Spliced sections were reinforced with channel iron and steel plate.
The west side of the barn faced the road. Barritt suggested covering it with new wood and using recovered boards to patch the other 3 sides. This meant the sides we would most often see would all have the old wood.
“I have a supplier with the wood we need for the wall and two sliding doors,” he said. New wood and installation, including 2 sliding barn doors, would come to $1,700. The recovered west wall boards proved just sufficient for repair of the other walls. A little extra was used to make a sliding door on the basement level.
At the advice of a friend who had similar barn repairs done, I was on-site for a time nearly every day. That gave me the opportunity to check on progress and review plans with Barritt or his foreman.
When Barritt and his crew were finished to our satisfaction, the total bill came to $20,470. It is still an old barn. The hayloft floor needs patching, and the 2 small leaks in the roof remain. Basement windows and doors need replacing. However, the side bellies are gone, and the back is straight. The Barn Doctors have given the old barn another 50 years of useful life.
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Barn Doctors, Inc., 1920 Murray Ave., Slayton, Minn. 56172 (ph 507 836-8353; cell ph 507 829-6605).
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Barn Doctors Rescue Aging Structures BUILDINGS Miscellaneous Before Barn Doctor Aaron Barritt looked at the old barn on our newly purchased farm my wife and I weren’t sure if it should be restored or torn down The roof sagged The walls were bellying out and the posts on the bottom level were slanted Sill posts were rotted out as were the ends of numerous posts and beams When I asked if it could or should be restored Barritt didn’t hesitate “If we tighten it up the roof will straighten the sides will pull in and the support posts will straighten up as well ” he said “We can cut away the rot and splice in good wood ” The former owner of our barn had at one time partially fixed the ailing barn On the positive side he had replaced buckling stone walls with poured concrete and installed a new concrete floor in the basement The metal roof had only two small leaks On the negative side many fixes had been left half done or poorly done Railroad ties on the loft floor were bolted to support beams in the basement as triage against rotted sills Steel channel iron and thin plate did a poor job tying posts and beams to sills We told Barritt we wanted useable not museum quality restoration We needed equipment and parts storage a workshop area and a place to set up a small sawmill Tearing down the barn and building new wouldn’t be cheap Also we would lose a visual barrier between where we planned to build a house and the township road Barritt’s bid came in at $18 770 and included a list of what would be done Another company’s bid came in at about the same price based on pictures They didn’t bother making an on-site visit A third company when asked for an estimate instead made an offer to take the good lumber for $1 500 The remains would be left for us to clean up After talking it over my wife and I decided to make the investment Six months later Barritt showed up with 3 men In less than 2 weeks they did everything he promised and more The more cost a little extra but it was worth it Barritt and crew installed steel cable with come-a-longs in the basement He anchored them to the most westerly post pads in the concrete floor and pulled the east wall back into place In the loft he installed more cable pulling the east and west walls together As promised these actions straightened the roofline and the support posts in the basement A few new holes were made in the floor of the barn loft These allowed temporary supports to be placed between the roof sill beams and jacks on the basement floor Literally raising the roof and supporting walls allowed the Barn Doctors to do surgery Railroad ties found new life as sill beams on the foundation walls Rotten wall post ends and floor beams that had rested on the old sills were cut away with new/old wood spliced in place Spliced sections were reinforced with channel iron and steel plate The west side of the barn faced the road Barritt suggested covering it with new wood and using recovered boards to patch the other 3 sides This meant the sides we would most often see would all have the old wood “I have a supplier with the wood we need for the wall and two sliding doors ” he said New wood and installation including 2 sliding barn doors would come to $1 700 The recovered west wall boards proved just sufficient for repair of the other walls A little extra was used to make a sliding door on the basement level At the advice of a friend who had similar barn repairs done I was on-site for a time nearly every day That gave me the opportunity to check on progress and review plans with Barritt or his foreman When Barritt and his crew were finished to our satisfaction the total bill came to $20 470 It is still an old barn The hayloft floor needs patching and the 2 small leaks in the roof remain Basement windows and doors need replacing However the side bellies are gone and the back is straight The Barn Doctors have given the old barn another 50 years of useful life Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Barn Doctors Inc 1920 Murray Ave Slayton Minn 56172 ph 507 836-8353; cell ph 507 829-6605
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