The End of an Era | Pulling Down 100 Year Old Barn 

Think about how proud some farmer was of his huge new barn 100 years ago. Time moves on. Hopefully you'll have a huge new barn to be proud of in a few years.

I told my kids when they were growing up that fewer and fewer barns will be around. Most were built between 1910-1930, then again between 1945-1955. Their lifespans are over. Very few are used in the way they were designed. Storing hay above the livestock and dropping it to them everyday doesn't happen anymore. Most forage is fed mechanically. It's sad to see such rural icons disappear.

When I lived in rural Michigan. Working with the Amish was always a pleasure. Damn dependable and hard working ppl. And they are always open to a good barter

The end of an era marks the beginning of a new one. It may be sad to see old things go, but that clears the way for new things.

6:52 saw the door closed. I guess it’s ghost 😂

The retail value of that barn siding and the beams in Chicago would’ve paid for the beginnings of a pole barn.

We’ve had good luck with lime screenings in our lots for cattle. It’s a lot cheaper then concrete and pack just as hard. Layer it about 8 in deep and pack it hard

My father keeps debating how worthwhile it would be to keep some of our older barns, they are nice icons and are handy for storage, but by no means are built for today's usage. It'll be some problem I'll have to solve one day, we try to upkeep them the best we can with new paint and repairs to the slate every now and then. Sooner than later they are just going to reach a point of now being worth it to repair. The older ones in our area of NE ohio were from the 1890s or so. The beams and frame of one of those barns has eaten away by time and now the powder post beetles have started into it. Wish they could be fixed to new, but would take a lot to do so. But then again, a new barn isn't cheap either. Scares me to death driving machines in some of the older barns.

I used to take down barns like this with my dad and brothers. Only we saved everything. We didn't pull the barn down, but tore off all of the shingles, lifted off the rafters and disassembled the pegged hand-hewn beams. Usually, we didn't even have a tractor to use. Most of the lumber was reused, in various building projects. Consider the cost of lumber today and it's apparent that there are a lot of dollars in an old barn - even in what was pulled down here.

That old wood will make some pretty furniture. Set fire to the rest quick easy clean up.

Big thumbs up for having someone reclaim most of the wood

Ah man... sad to see the barn go, but it looked bad after the storm. Looking forward to see what the future holds for this place😉👍

👍We had an old barn / corn bin / equipment shed that blew over in wind storm. It had been leaning for a while Always regretted not shoring it up

Barn comes down at around 6:10. We had a barn built in 1883, came down in 2015. Still in sound condition, we just did not need it any more. We wanted to salvage it before it rotted and came down on its own. I think we got around $3000 for the barn boards and dimensional lumber. All pine. Some of the barn boards went to Texas for a house Tiger Woods was building.

Hey Ryan!! My Dad and I tore down a few of those old barns. Always sad to see them go.

Man that old barn had old memories true the years .

We have an old barn that is about to go over, we use it for hay and chicken coop and machinery storage still. Will miss it when it goes.

Ryan, sad to see the old barns disappear, but they are expensive and a lot of work to keep up.

THAT noise of wood crackling then falling is what I hear in my area during ice storms. A majority of the trees around me are Oak and stand 100' or more. So imagine being in bed and suddenly hearing that near by....nerve racking. As for the wood, I'd burn it first then bury the ash. One hellluva bon fire while a hoedown dance takes place on the old floor!

The old girl didn’t give up easy Lots of good timber in there if you will get it out!

I would get a sheet of silage plastic and cover that floor up so everything stays dry underneath

Thanks, Ryan. Cool demolition video.

Alot of memories in that barn! We made alot of hay forts in there!

I'm glad the Amish took some wood. It was a good donation from you.

Should have had Heritage Movers in Mt Hope lift and put a new poured concrete foundation under it. Did that with my barn a few years ago. Dug it down for more height in the lower level. Now works great for both cattle and machinery storage. Save history where a person can.

I agree with you that is it sad to see a piece of history go, but safety is key and certainly wouldn't want see the cattle get hurt. Hopefully you'll get your shed in a few years.

I think is very cool you helped the amish out like that. Very very cool thing to do.makes me proud to now people like that

I wish I was closer. My cross beam has a crack .hard to find beams in that good of shape. The big pond forces me to go around Chicago to get to your area

It is a shame to see an old barn go down. But,sometimes it just can't be helped. They will put the salvaged wood to good use. It was just luck that your bad storm didn't topple it over.

Frame is what is called peg and post. No nails were used to hold it together. Only the siding used nails. Sad to see them go I put lots of hay and straw in them. I miss those days!!!!!!!!!

Some huge beams there pal. 🇬🇧🇺🇸🇬🇧🇺🇸👍

Did u guys notice the shed door closes at 6:53

Sad it's gone. But excited to see you and Travis start making your farms the way you want them

Sad to see it go but it’s the right thing to do. Looks just like my barns in side. They knew how to build them in the old days. Look how much power it took to pull it down even after all the bracing was removed.

Its not going away-- it's going somewhere else.. taken apart and moved is likely the very best fate for this old barn!

Those logs appear to be hand sawn, not hand hewn, which is indicative of the style and era. So sad to see them go, though. What a beautiful old barn.

a freind reclaims barns like this ... builds beautiful furniture and give the history of the wood in a lil pamphlet to the buyers of the furniture. that really has some beautiful wood in it ...

yes to see an old barn to be takedown we had to to the foundation started to break up too dated in 1890 thought about saving the timber what was still were good but the manure smell in the was not what i wanted to have we did rebuild the barn and did the stone foundation again this time was not the weather of time storm we had to tear it down fixed that problem we are still flooded in places have 30 acres clean up so far stone and larger rocks I am looking at in the fields now the stones and rocks are going to be put back in the builds

Sad to see the barn go. But it’s for the better.🇺🇸

Thanks for taking us along on your barn razing.

Look up hay bale home construction and see if you might be able to do that with your steer shed plans. Bales between shot-on concrete. Super strong, super insulating. If you are just building a single height building, I don't know why it wouldn't work and you've got plenty of straw.

Well as hard as it is, at least some of it will be repurposed! That’s always a good thing

Get some inexpensive plywood and cover a bunch of the holes in the floor, help keep it dry in there.

A bit of history bites the dust, A demo like that is risky and great that you got it done without incident. It's a mix of sad and happy feelings, Great Vlog thanks

You should have called the Barn Wood Builders and have them take the barn down. Good money for those beams!!

We viewers need to start Ryan a new barn fund

If only walls could talk. How much happened in the barn since it was built. They don’t build stuff like that anymore. Cost 10 times as much now and only last quarter of time. Thank you for sharing

It’s sad to see it come down but it is a part of life time makes a change in all things. Thanks for the video Ryan 👍

Hello. Its sad seeing some history leaving but you have it well documented and I would call that a sympathetic demolition no shame for that shed stood a long time and went through lots. Hope you get a good one to replace it. Oh and better make it twice as big as your thinking. 😉 Stay safe 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

Those old barn are tougher than you would think. We pulled one down with a 200 trackhoe, it put up a fight.

Yes sad but it has done its job. Thanks for sharing this day with us.

Glad to see it isn’t all going to waste with the armish boys taking the walls

All good things come to a end at some point

Sad to see , but made for a cool demolition video Ryan:(:)

For some reason, most folks think I’ll win a big power-ball or mega ball .. ( I need to remember to play!) lF I do win a big one, I’ll donate to your cattle cause, if it’s not offensive to you.I just subscribed to your channel. The barn “razing” is the first thing I watched ! Very cool! I was raised pretty much “cityfolk”, but took a job on a horse ranch in Colorado in the early 90’s. I loved it & learned a lot. Your channel looks like it’ll be interesting to me! Best wishes!

So sad to see a barn go like that but like the saying goes all good things must come to a end good luck with ur future plans ryan

We have one VERY similar to that. Worked great when I was growing up, but 15+ years of not doing any upkeep is taking its toll.

The milk house door slammed shut after the barn was down!

I would love to have a old barn like that one

Ryan you should save some of the boards and then find someone to paint a mural on them or take a photograph of your farm and have someone recreate it. Just a thought.

Great video. Thanks

As the farms get consolidated in my area, more and more farmhouses and barns are sitting empty or being torn-down. My neighbor across the road just pulled-down his family homestead after it sitting vacant for over a dozen years and is building a new house where it stood. His cousin pulled their family farmhouse down when his father retired. In the immediate area at-least half the old farmhouses are sitting vacant. Bad foundations kill a lot of old farmhouses and barns around here. A hundred years of Winter frosts do a lot of accumulated damage over the decades. My youngest brother's 1720 farmhouse was actually picked-up and moved to a new poured concrete basement a half-mile away when my brother-in-law sold the land and the new owners torn down the outbuildings. My middle brother's place has a solid 200-yr old brick house, but the dairy barns, silos and outbuildings were all torn-down by the previous owners 40 years ago when they converted to grain farming.

The frame looks really good, that would make a fantastic post and beam house , placed on a new foundation

Ryan it is sad to see history disappear but I guess that is progress.

Those 100 year old barn boards are worth a ton of money here in California.

Your right, sad to see them go. Ours had to come down to when the renters son took the side out with a tractor and field cultivator. That one was built in 1910, before they even built the house. What do expect from my Norwegian ancestors.

All things must end... It had its day and it had outlived its usefulness and was basically just going to get worse and worse. Grandma decided to quit spending money to maintain her Dad's uncles barn that was built on the farm in the 1890's, because 1) it was just needing more maintenance all the time which was costing more and more money and 2) we didn't do small square bales anymore and thus had no use for it... it wasn't constructed in a way to make use of it for a machine shed or anything, and not enough room to store but a handful of round bales in it, if that. It stood another 15-20 years going downhill and the west half collapsed in on itself coming down into the central alley of the barn in a hurricane... the east half stood on a lean for a few more years til it came down in another hurricane. I've got video on my channel where we pulled down an old barn on my BIL's place... it was just a nuisance and an eyesore and still being taxed because of its very existence... He had several folks asking about getting the lumber out of it and told them to do it, but nobody ever came. He finally got in touch with some local Amish who came and got what they wanted out of it. The neighbor even came over to get some free lumber to build chicken coops, but the wood was SO OLD and SO HARD that you literally couldn't pull the nails out of it... (and my experience with a loft full of old wood Grandpa got in the 50's and 60's when he tore down buildings for folks for the free lumber taught me usually you can't drive a nail through it either-- it'll either bend the nail over in half OR split the board from one end to the other like kindling... SO unless you want to drill pilot holes for EVERY NAIL, the stuff is worthless except as kindling). They basically resorted to chainsawing the boards just below the top rafter and then beating them off the lower beams and purlins with a sledgehammer... once they got what they wanted they attached a haywire up inside it and the BIL pulled it down with the Case 4890 4WD... later he dug a hole, pushed what was left into it, burned it, and buried whatever was left. Later! OL J R :)

Took my barn dn & I removed the foundation. It took me only 4 years to come up with the money to build, my New barn/ hay shed. The thing that helped me, was my able to adjust my farm payment. The bank noticed, I was improving the farm.

Sounds like good things to come in the future

“Not worried at all” Nervous laughter ensues

Save your post to put in the new shed good thing you bought the grapple bucket

It sucks to see it go but it's a lot more peace of mind (in the viewpoint of if I lived there) knowing that the barn wont fall on machinery, animals, or ay people with it being taken down as it just was vs standing. Those amish are going to find a great new purpose for all those boards and it will live on, just not there

This is the ultimate recycling project- the Amish will build sheds, hay wagons, furniture, etc. with this lumber and this barn will live on for hundreds of years. Amazing.

I seen that fear in your eyes. I knew you had it well I'm glad you're safe Hayden see an old barn go but I'm with better things you make that property look nice once it's said and done we have faith in you

Ah yeah, the typical Amish beard and hat combo. I was wondering, until you mentioned it. As much as i wouldn't want to be Amish, i'm glad you've found helpers and a new home for all that wood/lumber. Re-use is always best, mostly. :) Have a nice day, y'all!

thanks for sharing the video sad to see the shed fall

What you really mean when saying cement pad, is a Concrete pad, cement is weak, concrete lasts maybe a hundred years or more. Shame the old building have to go, but more modern is the way to go.

I hated to see the barn go from the farm I grew up on too. It is amazing how those things were built many years ago. Massive structures.

the amish will put that wood into goood uses for sure thumbs up and shared

The lumber in that barn was probably worth a good down payment on a shed......old barn boards like that are in hot demand here in our area (in the midwest). My father in law does a brisk business making furniture pieces and home decor out of it.

All tongue and groove. yup old. "This old Barn."

My cousin had a barn that size the Amish contractor jacked it up off the crumbling stone foundation and replaced it with cinder block. Should last another 100 years

It always makes me incredibly sad with another barn comes down. I understand Ryan's reasoning but another piece of history is gone forever.

Glad it's going to be your cattle in the reminder of the barn and not mine. Doesn't look very sturdy to me.

SOIL CEMENT: 1 BAG PER 5'X5'X4" SQUARE AND HIT IT WITH A TILLER. ( Check the you yube for it's applications and uses. Add MORE or LESS as needed.

Ryan what you need is a winning lottery ticket

Sad to see them go but its a lot of money to fix them up. Parents tore spend a pretty penny to convert our old one into a safe garage/man cave. I tore mine down and put a pole shed.

Sad to see it go. We had the Amish clad our old barn in steel.. The old foundation is still good. That's just luck. So it looks good but it is not at all practical. Not really. It is not easy to justify saving them. Here in Wisconsin they are coming down right and left.

Always sad thinking about the lifetimes that were spent working in there and all the experiences those people had. Back in "the good ol' days." :)

You could save that top hay door, it was pretty much intact.

So sad. Not many old barns left in my part of the world.

Gosh that sucks. Barns are plenty of maintenance just like a house :( gotta admit i am slightly jealous our neighbors have the big old hoop barn original to the property... but theirs is in rough shape too... probably worse than yours even. Can't build anything like that anymore... not for cheap!

Start by putting in a good drain system under the barn yard. It is all down hill and you have a ditch not far away. You need to stop the water from uphilll getting into the yard. Without a drain system the concrete will not be stable.

Too bad about the the barn, but it's useful life was at it's end. Glad all went well.

Sad to see it go, but glad you made the decision to remove it under controlled circumstances. I'm sure the cows were a bit concerned with what you were doing to their house while they were away lol

Did you go as far as you wanted? It looks like there is more lumber there to salvage, if you wanted that. Thanks for sharing with us, Ryan! In some ways, sad to see the old girl go.

Wow. Fewer and fewer of them around. Sorry to see it go.

buy a load of plastic to cover the top of there and put a load of rocks around the edges and a few in the middle to stop the wind from lifting it it won't be a permanent fix but it will hold for a while

Shine on you crazy diamond vibes goin on...

You should put some cattle panels around so you don't have any accidents and some signs keep off !