Tried salvaging lumber from a collapsed barn last month, regretted every second

My buddy Mark called me up saying he had a whole barn full of old oak beams just waiting for me. Drove out to his place near Ellsworth thinking I hit the jackpot. The wood looked good on top but the bottom layers were full of rot and nails I kept finding with my hands. Spent 6 hours pulling boards and only got maybe 12 decent pieces out of it. My back was wrecked for three days and I still had to dig splinters out of my palm with tweezers. Anyone else ever fall for the 'free barn wood' trap or did I just pick the wrong barn?

3 comments

3 Comments

patricia_wright1mo ago

Life's like that, seems everything "free" costs you in missed sleep or sore muscles lol.

simonreed1mo ago

Patricia_wright's right, my back's still mad at me and it's been a month.

patricia3858d ago

Honestly, I feel your pain so much. I did the same thing last spring with a buddy's old chicken coop, thought I was being smart getting "free" wood. Ended up spending two full weekends pulling nails and dealing with wood so dry it cracked before I could even use it. @simonreed, I feel you on that sore back thing, mine still remembers that April trip. It's like the universe makes you pay for trying to cut corners, even when you think you're being thrifty. Ngl, now I just buy my lumber at the store and call it a day.