Reclaimed Lumber from Historic Barns

Ohio Timber Works reclaims structural timbers, siding, and deck boards from historic barns and agricultural buildings across Ohio and surrounding regions. We clean, sort, and prepare this material so builders, designers, and homeowners can add authentic, old-growth character to modern projects while keeping usable wood out of the waste stream.

Why reclaimed lumber?

Reclaimed lumber is not just “used wood.” Barns built in the late 19th and early 20th century were framed with slow-grown hardwoods and softwoods that are difficult to source today. Tight growth rings, full-dimension sawn sizes, and long clear faces make this material ideal for high-end interior work, accent walls, mantels, and furniture pieces. Reusing wood also reduces the embodied energy of a project, since reclaimed lumber typically requires far less energy than milling and drying new stock.[1][2]

A regional story

The Midwest continues to lose historic agricultural structures through age, redevelopment, and changing farm practices. Rather than allow these barns to collapse or be burned, Ohio Timber Works dismantles and rescues the usable timbers, giving them a second service life in homes and commercial interiors. This approach is consistent with national preservation guidance that encourages sensitive reuse of historic barn materials when full preservation is not feasible.[3]

What We Salvage and Sell

Every barn is different, therefore our reclaimed inventories changes constantly. Typical lots include:

  • Hand-hewn and sawn barn beams for mantels, exposed trusses, and decorative posts.
  • Weathered barn siding suitable for interior cladding after cleaning and kiln treatment.
  • Full-dimension 2x and 3x material that can be resawn into paneling, stair parts, or trim.
  • Species with local heritage such as White Oak, Red Oak, Beech, Elm, and occasional softwoods depending on the structure.

Tell us what you are building—feature wall, restaurant interior, custom furniture—and we will pull boards or beams that match in color, texture, and size. For projects that combine reclaimed and new hardwood, see our Hardwood Products page for kiln-dried companion material.

Where Reclaimed Lumber Works Best

  • Residential interiors: accent walls, fireplace surrounds, floating shelves, kitchen islands.
  • Commercial spaces: hospitality build-outs, farm-to-table restaurants, retail counters with local Ohio history.
  • Architectural details: barn-beam mantels, stair stringers, sliding door slabs, range hoods.
  • Furniture and tops: tables, bars, benches, and counters that benefit from tight-grained and character-marked stock.

For structural uses or outdoor applications, tell us up front so we can recommend the right pieces and treatment.

Processing: making old wood job-site ready

Barn wood is not ready to install the moment it comes off the building. To protect tools and interiors, we:

  1. De-nail and surface inspect to remove fasteners, hardware, and embedded metal before milling.
  2. Kiln-dry or heat-treat material headed for interior use to reduce moisture and kill insects—an important step many DIY salvagers overlook.[4]
  3. Sort by structural soundness so sound beams can remain whole and more weathered pieces can be ripped into thinner boards.
  4. Document origin when possible (county, barn type, approximate construction date) so you can tell the story of the wood in your finished space.

This prep work is what separates barn demolition scrap from usable reclaimed lumber. In the case you need additional milling—planing, straight-line ripping, or tongue-and-groove—our team can arrange it before pickup.

Relative embodied energy to deliver usable lumber (illustrative) New, kiln-dried lumber ≈ 11–13× Reclaimed lumber baseline
Figure 1. Life-cycle inventories published by the USDA Forest Products Laboratory show reclaimed flooring and framing can require roughly an order of magnitude less cumulative energy than their virgin counterparts, once deconstruction and cleaning are done.[1]

Sustainability and market context

The U.S. wood-reuse and recycling sector has grown steadily as deconstruction replaces mechanical demolition in many markets.[5] At the same time, the National Park Service has documented the ongoing loss of historic barns as farms consolidate and equipment sizes increase.[3] That combination—more barns coming down and better techniques for recovering timbers—creates a reliable stream of reclaimed material for regional suppliers like Ohio Timber Works.

Choosing reclaimed lumber does three things at once:

  1. Reduces demand for freshly sawn material from current forests.
  2. Captures the cultural value of historic rural structures.
  3. Keeps heavy, high-quality wood out of landfills.

A Second Life for Mr. Cretcher’s Barn

When Ohio Timber Works dismantled Mr. Harold Cretcher’s dairy barn outside Dola, in the northern part of Hardin County, the ridge beam had already sagged several inches. Years of wind and snow had worked the frame loose, and daylight was pushing through gaps in the siding.

“I figured it’d end up in a pile before long,” Mr. Cretcher told us as we started pulling nails, “but at least this way, it’s not wasted.”

We salvaged the hand-hewn White Oak posts and the better runs of weathered siding, cleaned and kiln-dried each piece, and set them aside for interior projects where the history would still show. As Mr. Cretcher put it: “That barn stood a hundred years right here. Feels good knowing parts of it will go another hundred somewhere else.”

How to buy from Ohio Timber Works

Because reclaimed inventories change constantly, the fastest path is to contact us with sizes, species preferences, and photos of the look you want. We will confirm current stock, moisture status, and milling options, then schedule pickup or delivery in Ohio and neighboring states.

Contact the experts at Ohio Timber Works or call (937) 451-8905 to reserve beams or boards for your project.

Notes on inspection and safety

Older materials may contain traces of lead-based paint or agricultural residues. We strip or isolate painted components and recommend appropriate PPE when cutting or sanding. Tell us if your application is sensitive (schools, food service, bedrooms) so we can steer you toward clean, kiln-treated stock.

References

  1. Bergman, R.D. 2010. “Using Reclaimed Lumber and Wood Flooring in Construction.” USDA Forest Service, Forest Products Laboratory.
  2. Falk, R.H. 2002. “New Uses for Old Lumber.” USDA Forest Service, Forest Products Laboratory.
  3. National Park Service. 2017. Preservation Brief 20: The Preservation of Historic Barns.
  4. Ohio Timber Works. “Forestland Habitat and Recreation: How to Improve Your Woods After Harvest.” (internal, for drying/sustainability context).
  5. Dovetail Partners. 2019. “The Current State of Wood Reuse and Recycling in North America.”