Part of the agreement between the seller of a 100-acre farm and a major residential home developer was the reconstruction of a historic barn on the site. Traced back to the late-1700s, the barn was severely dilapidated and in desperate need of repair. To begin the project, Structural Preservation Systems (SPS) and the structural engineer for the project conducted a structural condition assessment of the barn. Once the assessment was complete, the engineer developed drawings to educate the owner on what needed to be done to stabilize and reconstruct the barn. The owner decided that it would not be cost-effective to renovate the barn to make it an occupied building and instead opted to use the barn as a visual amenity to the development. They chose this option because the barn is positioned across the street from the sales center and adjacent to walking trails.

With the goal of making the barn structurally sound, SPS first shored the flooring of the barn to facilitate a safe environment while working inside the structure. A demolition contractor was hired to remove collapsed framing and walls. The remaining two-foot thick stone mass walls required stabilization, so SPS crews dug footings on the outside of the building and built trusses out of two-by-eights to stabilize the walls so they would not collapse when the roof was removed.

Some project highlights included the replacement of 75 percent of the wood floor structure and 100 percent of the wall framing and roof framing. Additionally, SPS crews reconstructed 2,000 square feet of stone walls that had collapsed and were in disrepair, performed 5,000 square feet of stone re-pointing, replaced a 5,000-square-foot standing seam metal roof and installed a lightning arresting system on the roof.

To ensure that the barn maintained its historic look, the team used rough sawn planks for the siding and a standing seam metal roof.

The schedule presented a difficult challenge for this project. Beginning in the harsh winter months, the project was delayed several times because of severe weather conditions. In addition to weather, the area surrounding the barn was an active jobsite. SPS scheduled sequences of work around multiple contractors working on the development. This included the dynamite blasting of rock to create roads and the construction of a storm sewer line adjacent to the building. 

Beginning in November 2006, crews completed the project in November 2007. The owner was extremely pleased with the result, and the barn serves as an attractive anchor to the development.