On Thu, 13 Aug 2020 13:07:33 -0700 (PDT), DerbyDad03
wrote:

On Thursday, August 13, 2020 at 3:40:43 PM UTC-4, Clare Snyder wrote:

...snip...

The place was likely worth almost as much for the recycled lumber as it
was as a house...

A few years ago SWMBO and I were driving through rural Massachusetts and
came across an area full of tobacco farms and their drying barns.

https://i.imgur.com/AB6j5f9.jpg

Some of the barns were really old and some were almost brand new. We stopped
to chat with a local resident who was walking along the road and learned that
the new barns were the result of the "reclaimed wood" trend.

Furniture companies and home builders would negotiate with the farm owners and
come to an agreement related to the barns. I don't know the exact details, but
it was basically "I'll replace all the wood on the outside of that barn if
you'll let me have the old planks."

The "reclaimed wood" trend is profitable enough for the companies to supply
the labor and parts to rebuild the barns so they can resell the old wood.
I'm sure that there are lots of details behind all that, such as the quality
of the wood, the condition of the barn's bones, etc. but that's the general
concept.




My father-in-law once told me that the big main beams in his
100 + year old barn were basswood.
... in my thoughts many years later - when the subsequent owner
tore-down the barn - not sure if anyone re-claimed anything or not.
- a big truck-load of basswood for the carving crowd, maybe ?

I don't recall any rush to re-claim tobacco kilns' wood in our area -
they rotted away when the ginsing craze took over.
.... I wonder if it would stink forever ?
John T.