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Reclaiming wood
December 1, 2009
4:49 PM
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September 12, 2008
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I like to call it 'the old barn wood myth'.You spend lots of time and money sorting and saving the wood and no one ever shows up to buy it.My favorite is when some clown tells the barn owner he is going to take the barn down for him,spends one day to remove one beam ,almost kills himself in the process and you never see him again.You have to get paid to tear the barn down if you get paid for the wood thats great but it rarley happens.Dengler Demolition

December 1, 2009
6:52 AM
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November 7, 2009
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I have so much old barn dismantling to be done it's not funny. Most of the barns I've looked at are white or red pine siding, oak or white pine beams, floors, rafters, and haylofts. Maybe some hickory

The big problem here is finding a buyer. The Amish fellas are willing to buy it at a decent price, but they are nearly impossible to get in contact with. The non-Amish sawmill owners don't have the time to deal with you, want to buy it for nothing, or are impossible to reach by phone or email, or are back-logged (no pun intended) with other work. The big city guys want you to give them the wood for nothing, give them the address so they can flash some dollars in a old farmers face, or only want to buy small quantities.

My problem is, where the hell do get rid of this stuff in large quantities without killing my profit and be able to pay my guys to pick these barns apart? The things they could do with this wood is amazing when
you finish it as flooring or faux beams. Any help would be great, I have passed up a ton of these for lack of a serious buyer.

October 7, 2009
5:53 PM
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Who buys them on the East Coast? We might be acquiring a substantial amount of early 1900's yellow pine.

September 12, 2009
12:03 PM
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i disagree i have people that buy old timbers if they are sellable y not sell them ..?

May 28, 2009
6:26 AM
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Thanks for the info splatman,i am going to saw down both sides of the beam like you suggested. I found a customer for the beams and the planks.Now i have to figure the most efficient way to get the 12" inches of insulation and four inches of roof material and stone off the 80000 square foot of roof.

May 27, 2009
11:35 PM
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I have no idea what the beams are worth, but I've heard they can can fetch big bucks.
The T&G boards may be worth something, depending on general condition (are they free of rot, etc.?).
In my experience, salvaging T&G boards is the most difficult, because of the high risk of tearing off the tongues and grooves when prying them off on at a time.
Try this: Lift the first T&G plank enough to allow a Sawzall blade under it, and slice the nails with the Sawzall, remove plank and repeat.
Of course, there's always the cat's paw method, though that may take more time, unless you can get more workers with cat's paws and prybars to pluck every nail, then you can just pick the planks up and move on to the next stage.
Old wood in decent condition is always worth something; the question is, is it worth your time? If yes, do you have time?
You said the planks are nailed every 5 feet. Do you mean 5'-centers? Like in the beams spaced 5' center-to-center? If you don't have/not worth your time to do the Sawzall or cat's paw methods, here's...
Another idea: Using circular saws, cut the planks along both sides of each row of nails, giving you a multitude of 55"+ long planks, then remove the remainder of the wood and the nails from the beams.
55"-long T&G planks may not fetch as much as longer ones would, but there's still an opportunity to make some $$. Even if at just a few cents per lineal foot, it beats paying to get rid of it.:yesway:
Give it a Splat!

May 27, 2009
2:00 PM
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i have a building with 400 20' foot long 5" by 12" douglas fir beams ,they have 5" by 2" douglas fir toungue and groove roofing nailed on top .The toungue and groove is nailed with three 20 penny nails into the beams every 5 feet .My question is what are the beams worth and is the toungue and groove worth salvaging?

May 21, 2009
9:32 AM
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I agree with Wolf on this one. I think a few years ago it was more feasible and profitable.

May 19, 2009
3:52 AM
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May 16, 2009
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Thank you for the input. I am glad I am asking these questions. My mind is racing in regards to the possible possibilities. LOL

May 17, 2009
11:44 PM
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Better to dumpster it. Most of that wood has lead paint on it, or it's so old it's rotten. Prolly best just to crush it up and trash it. That's what landfills are for.

May 17, 2009
7:16 PM
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May 16, 2009
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Is there any profit in reclaiming some of the lumber in older homes? I was wondering if a guy took the lumber and utilized it in another way. Maybe offer it for sale at half the price of new? Maybe built portable storage buildings to sell? Or is the, "time value of money", just make it not feasible? Every time I tear down a mobile home the other folks in the park invariably come up and ask me for the scrap 2x4's. I usually just give them away or dumpster them. Opinions?????

Thanks

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