You can get cash for old barns from a Minnesota company that's found a market for timbers, siding, and floorboards.

Big Wood is one of a number of companies that makes a business out of finding new uses for old wood. But not every old building is a keeper, warns co-owner Dave LePage.

"You need a good roof over the structure," he explains. "Half the barns we look at are either too dangerous to take down, or the effort wouldn't be worth the quantity or quality of the wood you would get."

LePage looks for good siding and notes that old 12-in. vertical boards have more value than horizontal siding. What he really prefers to work with are the worn hayloft floors and even roof boards which, if in good shape, have their own beauty.

"There is a lot of elbow grease involved in taking down a barn if it's done right," he says. "In dismantling a barn, you do it in reverse order to assembly -- taking off the roof, then the purlins and siding. We use a crane to take down the superstructure. It's dangerous work and involves a lot of equipment and labor."

If you find a buyer for your barn, make sure you have a contract before they start work, adds LePage.

"If it were my barn, I would make sure the guy has good insurance," advises LePage. "Watch out for people who will pick the carcass, taking the barn boards and leaving you with a dangerous skeleton."

LePage and his partner Mike Nicklaus use recycled timbers to build timber frame structures for clients. They like not having to worry about shrinkage from green timbers, and they like the appearance of old, sometimes hand hewn timbers.

If you have an old barn or other building you are considering tearing down, they may be interested. You can send them pictures or digital images. "It's great to get contacts from people trying to save old building materials and not just have them pushed into a hole in the ground," says LePage.