Reclaimed Barn Garage

Giving new life to an old family barn. This is one of those stories that'll be retold and retold. It starts with our clients, Jon & Bee. They fell in love with the land and equestrian community in Geneseo, and thus decided to move across the pond from England. Soon after they'd settled into their new timber frame home, it was time to design and build their garage. Turns out they had a distant ancestor who coincidentally moved to Geneseo and like them, put down roots — only it was more than a 150 years ago. As luck would have it, the barn bearing their family name was still standing. While it had outlived its usefulness, it still held enough good timber that a new structure could be designed using the salvaged beams. So we went to work.

More good luck. Our sister company, Pioneer Millworks, reclaims wood from agricultural and industrial buildings around the nation. They're one of the biggest sources for reclaimed timbers, and our main provider anytime we need antique wood. This experienced team deconstructed the barn, keeping careful inventory of its parts.

Once the timbers arrived in our shop, they were cleaned and re-cut, maintaining the original hand hewn surfaces, mortise pockets and peg holes wherever possible. True to the original barn's traditional post and beam construction, the new barn was recreated using post and beam and timber frame joinery. Enclosed with antique barn siding, the resulting structure looks like it has always been a part of the landscape. Jon and Bee like the space so much, it's become known as the party barn, hosting charity events, summer parties, and more. Unfortunately, they now need a garage!