Old Indiana barns being salvaged in reclaimed wood trend

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - Some Indiana businesses are reclaiming old barn wood and turning it into new decorative pieces.

Barn owners often turn to wood-salvaging businesses to take down their barns after learning it's cheaper to build a new barn instead of repairing an old one, The Indianapolis Star (http://indy.st/2txASDH ) reported.

Adam Dick, owner of Bloomington-based Hoosier Reclaimed Timber, said he's taken down about 30 barns throughout Indiana and Ohio. He used to search out barns he could take down for free in exchange for the wood, but now he gets calls from barn owners every week.

"I used to seek them out, but now they come to me. To get the better ones, you still have to seek them out," Dick said.

Dick said the best barns have a lot of oak and date back to the mid-1800s.

Dick either sells the lumber or turns it into flooring, staircases, custom furniture, bookshelves, cabinets and more in his woodshop.

Angie Crouse owns Reclaimed Barns and Beams which so far has taken down five barns. The company has another five in the process, which have all been given to the business in exchange for the labor of taking them down.

The slow process of dismantling the barns and preserving the wood can take about six months. Crouse then crafts the wood into tables, backsplashes and other pieces.

"Our goal is to pass on the heritage of the barn. . My brother always says if you listen quietly enough when you're in a barn, you can hear the stories they're trying to share," Crouse said. "People that have a barn know that the memory of their family won't just be buried. It will be passed on to another family and it will make more memories for them."

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Information from: The Indianapolis Star, http://www.indystar.com