'Deconstructed' Century Old Barn Lives On In Other CT Homes

BRANFORD, CT —Inside a northwestern Connecticut home there's now timber from an ancient "deconstructed" Branford barn, purchased to match the existing 19th century floorboards. In a house in the state's northeastern corner, the barn's 110-year-old doors now live. And, an artist purchased pieces of the barn built in 1912 for their studio.

On a 3.7-acre parcel gifted to the Branford Land Trust, sat a 109-year-old barn and shed. The trust could not afford to restore it or maintain it and so tried to find it a new home —in itself a costly and ultimately unsuccessful endeavor. Not wanting to destroy it, the land trust took another route that would keep it alive.

Described as a "handsome, historic barn," it was part of a "large gentleman’s farm" owned by Branford businessman Alden M. Young. As explained by Jen Payne of the land trust, Young was a "successful entrepreneur who, among his other accomplishments, brought electricity and trolley service to Branford."

"For close to a year," Payne said, the land trust worked with the New Haven Preservation Trust trying to find "someone to relocate" the barn and a shed, something she said was a "painstaking, detailed, and expensive process often costing more than new construction. "

Plan B went into effect: deconstruction for reuse.

Payne said the barn's deconstruction was done by New England Reuse in North Haven by contractor Christian Kling and staff.

"Carefully, he and his crew dismantled each building, stripping them to their bones, and neatly piling the boards and windows for delivery to their warehouse in North Haven," Payne said. And while doing the work, they "found some pieces that predated the 1912 construction – lumber from 19th century structures that was reused then and would be reused again now."

“The sustainable deconstruction of buildings is a simple alternative which gives building materials a chance to be reused," Branford’s Sustainability and Compliance Manager Diana McCarthy-Bercury said. "Decommissioning projects, such as this one, help save energy and conserve natural resources that would have otherwise been used to create new materials.”

So far, 3,000 feet of siding was bought for an artists studio, 1,000 feet of siding was bought to match an "1800s floor" and the barn doors and floorboards went to a residential structure in northeastern Connecticut.

“We talk about reducing our carbon footprint with the triangle of Reduce-Recycle-Reuse, but the Reuse tenet is often forgotten,” land trust president Peter Raymond said.

“We feel really good about having these materials reused and kept out of the waste stream. There’s a lot of embedded carbon in a building, so putting the materials to re-use is one step towards reducing the carbon footprint. We encourage people to consider this process for their own projects,” Raymond said.