He Sells Barn Wood Nationwide

He Sells Barn Wood Nationwide BUILDINGS Miscellaneous There’s a big market for barn wood and Michael Maringer proved that with sales in all 50 states Headquartered in a small southeastern Minnesota town he generally knows what he’ll find in local barns “Most barn floors in our area are pine ” says Maringer “However if the frame and floor joists are oak the floorboards may be as well ” Maringer notes that oak is the best for flooring as it stands up well However old pine is better for flooring than new pine which is even softer He describes the color of pine beams as honey color brown when lightly sanded Reclaimed oak is typically a chocolate brown color While pine beams and boards can have a 2 to 4 week lead time the less common oak is special order only “In Wisconsin you can find old tobacco barns that are solid oak ” he says “We resell oak boards from horse farms in Kentucky too ” Maringer says there are a lot of things that go into the value of an old building in addition to the kind of wood The shape of the floor holes and mold all come into play as does age “Are the timbers sawn or hewn? Is it timber framed and pegged or 2 by 4 framed?” asks Maringer “Hewn and timber framed are more valuable as are red-sided barn boards ” Every barn is different Many are small unlike what he refers to as his best barn yet “It had gray siding and was 150 ft long and 35 ft wide ” recalls Maringer “It had pinned timbers in the mow and 33 ft long 12 by 12-in floor beams over the basement ” The work doesn’t end once the wood from such a barn is harvested Maringer runs most wood through a kiln to kill off any insects in or on it Then he uses a metal detector and digs out nails or bits of nails “You can rip 3 feet out of a bandsaw if you hit just one nail ” notes Maringer “Digging nails out of pine isn’t so bad We just use an old fashioned nail puller for a lot of nails ” Maringer sells a lot of wood as flooring and wall covering but the most popular item at this time is beams for fireplace mantles “I sell a lot of beams for mantles on Amazon ” says Maringer “The next most popular items now are sliding doors made with barn wood and after that comes flooring ” Maringer’s website shows a number of furniture items he sells as well as different types of flooring and other boards and beams He also produces all types of custom furniture on request Prices vary by the piece and type of wood A 5 ft 4 by 6-in pine beam is $299 Prices increase based on size Pine barn wood counter tops are priced at $45/sq ft while oak counter tops are $55/sq ft Sliding pine barn doors with windows start at $800 Solid barn doors made with reclaimed red or grey siding start at $400 Contact by email or letter is preferred Maringer notes that his is a small business and voice mail is not always adequate Business visits are by appointment only Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Creative Hardwoods 324 2nd St NW Utica Minn 55979 ph 507 951-0235; sales@creativehardwoods com; www creativehardwoods com

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