Old Barn wood interior!

[grantgoold]

I wanted to get some opinions regarding the look of old barn (not red) as the interior decor for my conversion. I have sat in the Knotty Pine and thought the interior was very creative. I like the idea of wood with character. The boss says she is ok with Barn wood as long as I kill/remove all spiders....

Your thoughts.

Grant

[JimC]

Grant,
I think it could look great with the proper wood. I think that gray weathered look is really sharp. And due to the nature of the wood you don't have to try to get every seam perfect, because you will never get them that way. With the right furniture and accessories it could be really cool.

I live in barn country so I know that a lot of the older barns were built prior to kiln drying so you have to look well to make sure that the wood is not infested with powder post beetles. 

jim

[grantgoold]

Jim, thanks for the comments. I am thinking about getting several pieces together and then have the looked at by the University Extension folks to see if they can find any problems with the wood. If the wood checked out, I was going to reseach a method to clean/dry the wood without damaging the color or character.

Thanks

Grant
Sacramento

[Utahclaimjumper]

It will take some thought to maintain balance, a too dark interiour gets real "close" real quick.>>>Dan

[captain ron]

I used it in my bedroom and it looks nice. The only thing I don't like is when you rip a piece the edge has a different color. It's ok for joints that but, but if the edge shows then it would be nice to miter the those joints. As far as cleaning it you can pressure wash it then let it dyr for a while. I just knocked mine hard against the floor to get loose dirt out and any bugs.

[Jerry W Campbell]

Hi Grant,
   I love the look of old wood too.
We have built with barn wood and lived with it. If I had to do it again I would not put it inside. The reasons are, It is way too dark and gets darker as time goes along. That requires too much light. It makes a small room really feel small. It is also really hard to clean because of its irregular surface.
   I have decided to use knotty pine wanescotting from Home Depot running horizontal. It's thin and light colored. I hope to do that in the spring when we get home from our present adventure. I'm not going to do it but I hope you do so I can see what it looks like. I'm sure it will be beautiful.
Good Luck
Jerry

[brojcol]

If you lightly sandblast pine, you can get the same effect.  Of course you will have to stain it to get the desired color.

[niles500]

Run it through the planer (edge too) then seal it with PolyU - should look like new - HTH

[Reddog]

Old cedar fence is a good source for aged looking wood. Nice and gray, uniform dimensions, not too brittle. In Texas, they used to take the stuff to the dump when they took a fence down. Now they take it to the yard and sell it to decorators and frame builders. Don't know what they get for it, probably more than I would think.
Doug Engel, Gunnison, CO

[captain ron]

Run it through the planer (edge too) then seal it with PolyU - should look like new - HTH

Kinda defeats the purpose of using barn wood doesn't it?

[mandolinplucker]

If that wood is old heart pine you should run it through a planer before you decide how to use it. That stuff is beautiful after it is planed. If it is your planer, it is a good idea to pressure wash it cause dirt and grit is hard on planer blades. Get an inexpensive metal detector and check for nails and staples cause they will nick blades. That stuff sells for around $3.00 per board foot (1 in thick X 1in wide X1in deep). For my taste I would rather live in the lighter colored,more evenly matched planed wood than the dark  wood like it comes off the barn. I have friends who just put a beautiful cedar log house on the market because they say that it is depressing to live with all that dark wood.

[JackConrad]

I think 1 board foot equals 1" thick X 12" wide X 12" long.  As far as finish choice, whatever YOU & YOUR SO like is what you should use. Best to consider the comments of those that have used this, before making your decision.  Jack

[Dreamscape]

You might consider using the barn like wood in a couple of areas instead of through out the coach. Like others have said, it's dark and rough. Would be hard to keep clean. But most important, Do What You Like!

Jack is correct, board foot dimension size is 1" x 12" x 12".

Good Luck and post pictures when you finish.

Paul

[cody]

Just as a thought, barn wood is great to work with and when properly done can really look sharp, keep in mind that it will darken the interior and can be hard to clean but really makes for a unique interior.  Possible suggestion to concider would be to use barnwood accents with another wood for primary use, when barnwood is the primary wood it gets lost in the total view of the bus, kind of like not being able to see the trees cause the forest is too thick, but with barnwood as accent, it draws your eye to it and makes it stand out. Also, on your cuts, I've found that a slight angle to the cut will hide the white wood that isn't weathered the same, a 5% bevel will allow the wood to be tightly drawn together and will minimize the expansion and contraction that is normal to barnwood over time and temperature changes.  Just some thoughts to concider, the main thing is to create the interior that you want, anything can be done with patience and planning, what you want is what you should do.

[oldmansax]

I agree with some of the others, wood can be dark and hard to clean. We have a  lot of wood paneling in ours but it is light and smooth.

The final decision should be made according to what YOU (and the Missus) like, of course.