How to Use Wood From Old Barns

How to Use Wood From Old Barns

• 1

  Remove the barn wood from the barn and bring it to your house to use as wanes coating. Barn wood makes a great wanes coat for your dining room, especially if the old boards were originally put up in a board and batten style.

• 2

  Choose a height for the wanes coat and cut enough pieces at this height to go around the room. Anywhere from 30 to 34 inches is a good height for the wanes coat. This project is ideal, if the original barn had wood installed in a board and batten style, for all you have to do is repeat the pattern of a wide board alternating with a narrow strip of weathered wood to cover the vertical seam, where the larger boards meet.

• 3

  Run 2 pieces of 1-by-3 inch furring strips around the perimeter of the room. Do this at the height of 10 and 20 inches. Nail the furring strips to the vertical studs with some #8 or #10 common nails, using two nails per stud.

• 4

  Nail the wider boards of barn wood to the furring strips. Use #10 finish nails to do this. Make sure each barn board gets nailed to both rows of the 1-by-3 furring. Be sure to cut holes for any electrical boxes that are located along the lower part of the room. In fact, it might be a good idea to have an electrician move the box out from the wall so that it is flush with surface of the barn wood.

• 5

  Nail the weathered pieces of batten to the larger pieces of barn wood to obtain a board and batten effect. Use # 10 or #12 finish nails to do this.

• 6

  Cut a cap for the wanes coat. This cap piece will be the same thickness as the rest of the boards, but it should be ripped to the width of 3 inches, so that it can be nailed on top of the wanes coat.

• 7

  Stain the underside of the cap piece to match the color of the barn wood.

• 8

  Nail the cap on top of the wains coating. Place nails that go right into the wains coat and also drive some nails at an angle, so they reach into the vertical studs. Make sure the cut edge of the cap is placed directly against the wall, so the bare wood does not show.

Build A Rustic Piece of Furniture (bookcase) With Barn Wood

• 9

  Cut 2 pieces of barn wood to the height of 6 feet. Make sure they are the wider boards and that they are the same width.

• 10

  Cut 5 pieces at 4 feet in length. Again make sure every piece is very close in actual width to the two boards that you cut in Step 1.

• 11

  Stain the bottom side of the 4-foot pieces with a stain that matches the color of the barn wood.

• 12

  Cut 2 pieces of the barn wood at the length of 6 inches. The width should be the same as the rest of the pieces. These two pieces are designed as spacers that will go below the bottom shelf. They will be glued and nailed to the vertical side pieces so the weathered surface faces towards the interior edge of the bookcase. These pieces are designed as both support and also for appearance.

• 13

  Nail and glue the 6-inch piece to the back (smooth) side of the 6-foot vertical side piece. Make sure that the bottom of both pieces are flush and that the smooth back side face each other after they are nailed and glued together. Do this to both side pieces.

• 14

  Place a 4-foot long shelf on top of the 2 6-inch spacers. Nail the shelf to the spacer and more importantly drive some #10 finish nails from the outside of the vertical side piece into the edge of the shelf. Now you have the first shelf of your bookcase in place. It will be very wobbly, but you can stand it up.

• 15

  Cut a pair of spacers at the length of 16 inches and glue and nail them to the inside of the vertical side pieces. Make sure the bottom of these spacers rest directly on top of the bottom shelf.

• 16

  Place the next shelf on top of the spacers and nail it just as in Step 6.

• 17

  Cut pairs of spacers at the length of 12-, 10- and 8- inches. Complete the shelving of the bookcase in the same manner that you completed the first 2 shelves.

• 18

  Cut a diagonal brace and attach it two the back of the bookcase with #10 finish nails. Make sure the weathered side faces forward. Nail the board to the side pieces as well as whatever pieces of shelving that is crosses. And of course be certain that it does not extend past the side of the uprights.