Minneapolis, MN, October 25, 2005--Old barns have become a hot commodity as designers of luxury home seek seasoned timber to give new buildings a vintage look, worrying those who want to preserve the barns and a piece of the Minnesota's history.
Parts from the barns are lending a fashionable look to rustic ski lodges and million-dollar mountain getaways across the country. Twin Cities homeowners aiming for an old-world look also are choosing such wood.
"People are looking for something different," said Jim Eckes, owner of New Beginnings, a southern California flooring store specializing in reclaimed wood, which typically costs 20% to 50% more than new wood.
More than 40 million board feet of reclaimed wood - including material from barns - is sold in the United States annually, according to industry estimates. A decade ago, the number was 8 million.
The growing demand has led to plenty of business opportunities. But to barn preservationists, such businesses are endangering Midwest's most visible reminder of its agricultural history.
Richard Jefferies of Mapleton and his two employees travel the country to take down barns. At his headquarters - a rented metal pole barn near the Blue Earth County town - old barn timbers and boards are stacked 10 feet high.
Jefferies, who has been in the business for 16 years, said he is usually contacted by people who want their barns taken down. In most cases, a barn has sat unused for years. It may be in a developer's way, or have a sagging roof or crumbling foundation.
After he buys the barn, Jefferies' employees would tear it down, remove the nails by hand, sort and treat the wood to kill bugs before selling it to clients.
John Hagel, a spokesman for Friends of Minnesota Barns, said his group is worried about the steady loss of barns around the state and the Midwest - whether they were taken down by businesses or bulldozed by developers or road construction crews.
Citing a Minnesota Historical Society survey, Hagel said the state is losing about 1,300 historic barns - those build in the 1930s and before - annually. Minnesota has about 70,000 barns standing.
"We advocate saving the barns," he said. "If not, then find a salvager who can pass the (wood) on to someone who is restoring theirs."
Reclamation specialists like Jefferies say they are giving old barns a better fate. Having the wood wind up in a home or store beats burning it, which often has been done in the past, or letting it deteriorate.
"It's kind of corny," Jefferies said. "But I feel like I'm finding a new home for the wood."
