常见问题

In all of the barn projects we have built, the question that must ultimately be answered is: We love the idea of a barn home, but how much is this going to cost? And how much does it cost to build a barn home in comparison to building a regular custom-built home?”

Our first answer to this question is that price depends on what you put into a barn home. Hardwood floors cost more than carpet or stained concrete floors. Rock on the outside walls costs more than cement board siding. Custom-built all-wood kitchen cabinets cost more than fiberboard cabinets. And construction labor costs also vary for the same items in different regions of the country.

But an easy and approximate way of determining construction cost is to look at the project like building a custom home and adding the price of the historic timber frame on top of this price. (Though the timber frame itself is structural and therefore not as much new framing is needed.)

If there is one piece of advice we give to every barn buyer it is: DO NOT BUY A BARN FRAME THAT IS NOT PROPERLY FUMIGATED! If you do, you are looking for big trouble from some very little bugs, like powder post beetles. It is one thing to fumigate a barn frame in our yard when it is disassembled. It can be over twenty times more expensive to fumigate these stubborn pests when they are in your finished barn home and you need to move out of your house and have a fumigation company tent your entire house in order to fumigate it. We have a licensed in-house fumigator and every one of our barns is thoroughly treated before it leaves our yard with a fumigant that is effective yet has no residual effect.

Our antique timber-framed homes have timeless character that cannot be duplicated in a home built with new materials. The materials speak of a past in which craftsmanship and enduring quality went hand-in-hand. The hand-hewn structural timbers were cut from the early American virgin forests and are much larger than any timbers available today. These time-tested, hand-crafted structures are then finished with modern, innovative, energy-efficient designs and materials. The completed structures make beautiful and unique homes, guest houses, commercial spaces and even…barns!

Our barns range in age from 125 to more than 250 years old. Many pre-date the American Revolution (1776), the Lewis and Clark Expedition of 1803 and the Battle of the Alamo (1836).

The primary clues that give away the original time period of a barn’s construction are the tools and construction methods used to build them. The types of tools used are known by the marks they left on the timbers. As the Industrial Revolution of the 1800’s began to influence agriculture, changing its focus from self-sufficient homesteads to larger, agri-business farms, it likewise affected the construction of barns. Also useful, but not always available, are historical documents, oral traditions, or family histories that give a date to the building’s construction.

We have also recently started to use dendrochronology, that is dating by study of the growth rings in the beams. This method of dating is very precise and can give us the exact year the timbers were cut.

One of the wonderful things about these barns is that no two are the same. While each frame follows one of several basic traditional designs, the variations in a barn’s overall size, species of wood, girth of the timbers, etc. are as diverse and unique as the farmers who used them, the craftsmen who built them, and the resources of the region in which they were built.

Barn homes are now widely touted in construction and design magazines. Architectural Digest regularly runs articles featuring restored barn homes, and other articles featuring barn homes are coming out regularly in publications as diverse as Victorian Homes and Timber Homes Illustrated. Barn homes have also been regularly featured on programs such as “This Old House.” The uniqueness, rustic beauty, and timeless craftsmanship of restored, historic timber-frames are appealing to a very wide cross section of custom home buyers and therefor enhance their resale value.

Numerous options are available in designing your barn home. You can use one barn or several, add lofts, and even use conventional framing to make additions to the barn frame. Please take a look at our finished projects on the Showcase of Completed Homes page to view some interesting and creative variations.

Heritage Restorations offers complete Architectural design / build services. We are AIA members staffed to produce Architectural drawings and details. Re-claimed timber design and construction is a unique construction type. Designing and building projects from concept to completion is an exciting way for us to explore the large number of options available in a re-purposed custom space.

Yes. We will restore and relocate these historic buildings anywhere in the world.

Yes. We can supply the historic timber frame, restored and re-erected on your building site. We can also provide custom millwork such as doors, flooring and staircases, as well as antique materials. And we general contract the entire finish out of homes.

We stay with you throughout the process and are always available to you, your contractor and your architect.

We have built barn homes on concrete slabs, on pier and beams with wood-framed floors, and on full basements. You can finish the floors in anything you like, including carpet, tile, wood or stained concrete.

Structural Insulated Panels, or SIPs, are a cost-competitive, highly energy-efficient and labor-saving way to enclose an historic timber frame, and have been used in new construction for decades. They are basically panelized walls, replacing in one step: framing, sheathing, and insulating.

No, you can use conventional 2x4 framing around the timbers and insulate with spray foam or fiberglass or other insulation.

SIPs and spray foam have several energy-saving advantages over standard construction methods. Their R values are at least 30-40% higher than fiberglass insulation of the same thickness, but this is only half the story. Their greatest energy-saving advantage over conventional framing and insulating is they create a seamless, insulated envelope around the timber frame.

Not at all. You can use any type of roofing siding, and interior finishes available for conventionally constructed buildings. We have finished barns wrapped in SIPs with roofs of metal, slate, cedar shake, copper, and asphalt shingles. Exterior siding can be stone, wood, stucco, brick or any combination of materials. Interior finishes also can be anything from textured and painted drywall to stone and antique barn wood.

The panels come with wire chases already run in them. You simply tap into these existing chases. If access is needed somewhere off the standard pattern, the panels can be cut from the inside to allow wire and pipe installation, then the openings resealed with spray foam.

After the foundation is prepared, we can deliver and erect your barn frame in one week. Once the frame is erected, SIPs can be installed, depending on the size of the barn, in as little as 3 or 4 days. From there, the finish out will take no longer than any other custom home.

We have a large inventory of antique materials, including weathered barn siding, 2-inch thick threshing floor boards, and many other types of materials. We also have hand-hewn timbers, hand-forged iron hardware, barn doors, and more.

Learn More About Our Antique Materials.

You can, but rarely do people finish the beams. They have a deep, rich patina that has been acquired by years of exposure and they do not need a finish.

All of our barns are completely washed and fumigated during restoration. We have never had a problem with residual odors.