Builder Finds Niche In Barn Restoration

Builder Finds Niche In Barn Restoration AG WORLD 28-2-24 Bruce Willemsen has been working construction since his parents stopped farming when he was just 16. The Pella, Iowa, building contractor can handle just about any type of new construction or remodeling, but one recent project changed his focus û and maybe his life. "A customer asked us to build a barn like the one that was on his parents' farm when he was a boy," Willemsen tells. "He wanted the exterior to be as authentic as possible, complete with a limestone foundation, carriage doors, and a big hay loft. I was able to buy a complete roof system for the barn from a log building manufacturer, or that might have been a problem, too." "The only problem was the stone foundation," he continues. "We had no trouble finding the right kind of boards for siding and actually found an overhead door that looks just like the doors he wanted. But I couldn't find a trained stone mason anywhere in central Iowa who could do the job." Not one to let little things like that stop him, Willemsen began studying how the old stone masons laid limestone barn foundations and laid the foundation himself. "What I learned is the art of building with stone is nearly dead in the Midwest," he says. He says the barn turned out great and the customer was pleased. Inside its old barn exterior, Willemsen built a garage, workshop, a complete kitchen and bathroom. The hay mow area, with its authentic board floor, was intended to house an extensive model railroad. Even though Willemsen hadn't been able to find a working stonemason, he did find that there was a need for his newly acquired skill. After building that first "new old barn," he's built several more. Even more challenging, though, is restoring old barns to like-new condition. "I just spent five months restoring an 1870's barn in the Nevada, Iowa, area that should soon be listed on the National Register of Historical Buildings," he says. This particular barn, in addition to having a stone foundation, also had a bridge into the hayloft. "It required extensive restoration," he says. "The whole foundation had to be redone. The windows were an odd size, so I had to make all those. The sills were too soft or rotted to reuse, so they all had to be replaced. And it needed all new siding." Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Bruce Willemsen, 656 Hwy T14, Pella, Iowa 50219 (ph 641 628-9169; website: www.barn-builders.com).

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