BARN RESTORATION AT STONE COOP FARM

In 2012 when we starting building at Stone Coop Farm, we knew that we would need a couple of barns.    We loved the idea of saving and restoring an old barn that another farm no longer needed.  Perry DeBruhl, Joannée’s husband, contacted the Michigan Barn Preservation Network and asked them to help us start the search.
Weir Farms in Hanover, MI is a large dairy farm.  Their original barn, built 1850 and another barn from 1907 were centrally located on their property and they needed to build a large maintenance building in that space.  They wanted to save these barns and contacted the Michigan Barn Preservation Network to help them find a new home.  Tim Wiles agreed to take the barns down, label all the pieces and bring them to Stone Coop in November 2012.  Perry and Tim, from Timbers & Pillars Construction, began rebuilding the barns in September 2013 and completed them in May 2014.
The “Old Barn”, as we call it, has been built to house animals in the future.  You can still see the bark on the pole rafters.  The “New Barn” was completely rebuilt and then insulated and wrapped with new siding.  Both had new roofs installed and we intend to have them last well over 100 more years. The New Barn houses our cooler, a workshop, wash and pack area for the crops, and a bathroom on the first floor.  The second floor is where you can see all the details of the mortise and tenon joinery, pegs, and hand crafted balcony and stairway railings.  There is also a deck where you can see the back 10 acre meadow.  We are truly fortunate to have such fascinating and lovely old structures on our property.

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