Home Sweet Barn:

Farmer Builds One-of-a-Kind House

By Darcy Dougherty Maulsby

When it was time to build a new house, Randy Golightly of Van Meter knew three things—he didn’t want any drywall, a spacious loft was a must, and little to no maintenance would be ideal.

“People drive by and ask if I’m putting up a house or a barn,” said Golightly, 47, who hired Barn Builders, a Pella company that builds and restores barns, to build his new home between Van Meter and Booneville. “It’s an interesting twist.”

The house, which was adapted from a barn kit, combines the best of both worlds. The 2,200-square-foot interior features white oak beams, while the interior siding includes ponderosa pine on the walls and ceilings. Though the one-and-a-half-story home is still under construction, an ammonia aging process created a patina that makes the beams look like decades-old barn wood. With its vaulted ceilings, the upper level recreates the spacious look and feel of a hayloft.

Like Iowa’s barns that have stood the test of time, Golightly’s home is built to last. The roof is finished with steel shingles that have a 50-year lifespan, and the exterior is covered with 60 tons of sandstone. The barn house is also designed for warmth and energy efficiency. Insulated roof panels offer an R40 thermal insulation rating, while a foam insulation system in the walls provides an R16 rating. Like most Barn Builders projects, the home has provided plenty of learning opportunities, said Bruce Willemsen, the company’s owner.

“There’s no blueprint for this, so you have to do it on the fly. It’s been a lot of fun to see everything come together.”

Home designed with family heirlooms in mind

While he considered building a log home (with models ranging from $200,000 to $300,000), Golightly said he’s glad he opted for a barn home, which has proven to be more affordable. With its full basement and custom-designed interior, Golightly’s home has also been designed to showcase his family’s antiques, including walnut furniture. To keep the home’s appearance as authentic as possible, Barn Builders used square-headed nails from Vermont’s Tremont Nail Company on the interior walls.

Golightly will move into his new home, which was delivered to the farm on Jan. 3, within the next few weeks.

“I’m glad I worked with Barn Builders,” added Golightly, who raises registered Maine-Anjou cattle and farms with his brother, Brad. “I like the fact that Bruce comes from a farm, raises livestock and understands rural life.”

Honoring Iowa’s rural heritage

For Willemsen and the Barn Builders crew, no two projects are ever alike. “Each barn we work on has its own personality,” said Willemsen, who has run his own construction business for more than 10 years. “In the past every barn was customized for the farmer who used it, and that’s true for today’s barn owners.”

A member of the Timber Framers Guild, Willemsen has worked with a number of barn owners who are involved in the Iowa Barn Foundation and has assisted Living History Farms in Urbandale. His Barn Builders crew built the carriage house at the 1870s-style Tangen House, and this spring they helped the museum staff build a new barn at the 1850 Pioneer Farm.

“This work takes creativity and imagination, since there aren’t old blueprints to follow,” said Steve Davis, director of marketing for Living History Farms. “Bruce offers this knowledge and experience.”

The learning curve has involved a process of trial and error, said Willemsen, who is now in his mid 30s. “Nobody taught me how to do this, and there’s no book that you can check out from the library.”

Willemsen’s expertise has helped him carve out a unique niche in the construction world. While he focuses on Iowa, his company has filled Barn Builder catalog requests from Connecticut, Montana, Vermont, North Carolina and beyond. Customers’ interest in round barns has also prompted Willemsen to offer round barn kits, which are now available.

As demand for Willemsen’s services have increased, so has the size of the Barn Builders crew. “When I first started the company there were three of us. Now there are 12, and we’re still looking for more help,” said Willemsen, who enjoys passing on the skills of hand-crafted construction to young people. “I’m willing to hire young kids with a strong back and ambition who want to get involved.”

To share his knowledge, Willemsen will also host a “barn school” this fall near Woodward. Students will help sheet the barn, side it, and install stairs and a loft. Willemsen may also offer a course on barn restoration in the coming months. “At Barn Builders we take pride in restoring our history and recreating the past,” he said.

Try some hands-on history

 If you’d like to learn the skills used to cut, hew, dog, notch and dovetail 1,000-pound logs into place for Living History Farms’ 1850 barn, don’t miss the “Building a Barn in 1850 Iowa” special event on May 20-21 at Living History Farms. Barn Builders staff will be on hand, and you can get some hands-on experience hewing and making shake shingles.

For more information about Barn Builders, log onto www.barn-builders.com.