Remember the old Ira Barn we have oft-written about?

The original barn had three parts: the main frame we wrote about earlier, a 32-foot frame that we are currently working on dismantling, and a third, 14-foot timbered section on the far end that was not salvageable.

Below is a picture of the old timber frame – to help jog your memory!

Timber Frame Barn in Ira, VT

While this isn’t our usual MO here at Green Mountain Timber Frames, it was too dangerous to dismantle this small section by hand so we organized a controlled demolition. In my over 30 years of experience in timber framing, I have never before done this kind of demolition before. In this case, however, the safety concerns warranted this more dramatic approach.

We first salvaged material from the failing section of the barn. In the picture below, you can see us using a tractor to remove equipment from the barn before the controlled collapse.

Controlled Collapse of Timber Frame Barn

We then used a block and tackle, a maple tree and four chains in order to do the demolition of the small timbered gable end section. We captured the whole thing on video! You can view it below, or on our new Green Mountain Timber Frames YouTube Channel!

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As you may recall, we also found some vintage horse-drawn equipment in this old barn. When we last wrote, the equipment was soundly frozen to the ground, but with spring’s thaw, we were able to remove the equipment. Here are some of the treasures we found inside: