Going, Going, Gone - Vanishing Barns
By: Sven Kraumanis - owner/operator Legacy Vintage Building Materials & Antiques
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WHERE ARE THE CARETAKERS?
The corollary to urban sprawl is rural evacuation. To be sure, there is a repopulation of the countryside by fugitives from city life. However the promise of material riches that has grown cities and emptied rural communities since the industrial revolution has yet to be broken. Just as the 19th century’s 80/20 ratio of rural to city dwellers has now been turned upside down so too have survival skills dramatically changed. For country dwellers horticultural, animal husbandry and construction skills were basic and compulsory. Time to spend on the “three R’s” was considered a luxury.
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On the other hand, as city dwellers the former artisans must now focus on their manufacturing jobs or indulge in cerebral activities concerning information, communication and the education related to their work and home-life – expertise in the basics being limited to the purchase of potting mix, poop scooping and the assembly of our latest big box store’s imported purchase. Our basic survival skills atrophy whilst we cope with urban demands. We forget how to build things. There are no home remedies. We no longer trust our judgment, nor do we have any practical instincts. We learn how to read instructions; we become a nation of assemblers, not makers. Duct tape replaces baling wire. WD-40 replaces the numerically inferior 3-in1 oil (before we even figured out what the “3” referred to). We begin to question chicken soup’s magical qualities. Home Economics class disappears from the high-school agenda- deemed redundant in light of the proliferation of Swiffer-Sweeper and other helpful infomercials. Alas, the future of our built heritage as it relates to barns and outbuildings appears dim. Maintenance of them is too much like work.
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GONE BUT NOT FORGOTTEN –THE SALVAGE OPTION
It is a daunting task to save a failing barn but timber frames can be salvaged in whole or in part and an industry has developed around this enterprise. Timber frames are commonly resurrected as freestanding structures, additions, or used as décor in combination with other structures. Alternatively if a barn is beyond repair, complete salvage of the roof steel, roof boards, rafters, barn-board, granary board, timbers, flooring, doors, fittings and stonework is possible.
The salvage value lies in the fact that the antique beams and lumber typically hail from mid 19th century structures; themselves built from 100-year-old "first growth" trees. As a result, the beams comprise wood that is at least 250 years old!
Shaped by craftsmen using adzes and broadaxes, structural timbers were usually squared. Odd sizes and exotic species are not uncommon in timber frames but pine and hemlock were often used due to their abundance and easy workability. Moreover because the end grain of pine was found to be resistant to moisture absorption, thus adding longevity to joints in building structures, it is by far the wood most commonly found in surviving timber frames.
Reclaimed beams and planks have nail holes, worm trails, wear distress, insect scars and joinery pockets. This is Mother Nature’s artful contribution. Within days of dismantling, successive ultra violet and rain exposures tan the beams turning their honey brown patina into a protective grey colour. A light pressure wash (even the coin-op car wash will do) will restore the warm barn-fresh brown colour. Sanding or soda and sand blasting, depending on whether one prefers a smooth or grainy appearance, will also restore the colour.
With pine as the medium, and heavy winter winds and snows as the test, unsupported beam spans seldom exceeded twelve feet. Knee or wind braces serve to diminish the spans and prevent racking of the structure. As a result, hand-hewn beams frequently display through-mortises or knee-brace pockets. This artful carpentry is part of their charm. Often the craftsmen's joinery tolerance during construction of these immense structures was 1/16" - as tight as you might find in a piece of furniture.
REQUIEM
I know that not all vestiges of our agrarian past can or should be preserved. But I also know it was not advisable to jump from the 30 foot rung on the hayloft ladder into the hay pile while trying to slow my descent with an open umbrella. That’s a childhood memory I’ve filed along side those spent chasing imaginary bad guys through a musty stable –emboldened in my pursuit by holsters full of empty cap guns.
Barns are magic places. Given a moment of reflection they can instill awe in the minds of all who enter. Sitting quietly inside is a much different experience than driving by at 120 kmh on highway 401. Their mere existence is testimony to the enterprise of the ordinary folks that built them and the extraordinary community effort it took to make them appear again and again along the horizon. These stately structures beg thoughts far more entertaining than the penny arcades of yesterday and the virtual realities of today. Visit one soon and let your imagination do the rest.
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Image 1: Floor boards and joists are being pulled away from the beam, with the southerly migration of the wall adjacent.
Image 2: This beam has failed due to water damage left unchecked for decades.
Image 3: In 2000 the Blenheim farms barn was essentially waved by the rebuild of the north wall at the bank ramp. Note the hand hewn floor joists.
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Sven Kraumanis is the owner/operator of Legacy Vintage Building Materials & Antiques in Cobourg, Ontario.
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