The first thing a good barn contractor should do before they start taking down your barn is to make sure that all electrical and water lines to the barn have been turned off and disconnected. After those things have been done the barn contractor can start to remove the roofing and barn siding. The barn siding may or may not be worth saving and unless the barn’s roof is slate, the old roofing is usually put into the dumpster. On the topic of dumpsters, plan at least one or more large 40 yard dumpsters to haul away the non usable old barnwood that comes off the barn. With the old barn siding off and the roof off, the barn timber frame is ready to be disassembled. If the barn frame is to be reconstructed and relocated to another site, the barn timbers will need to be tagged and documented and a set of drawings made of the barn timber frame configuration. Then all the wood pegs are popped out and each wall section or “bent” is taken apart piece by piece and made ready for transport on a truck or flatbed. If the barn is not going to be relocated and converted into a new building, the barn contractor may either take the barn down beam by beam or simply push the entire barn frame over and then take the good pieces. The barn’s condition will usually determine if the the barn is to get another chance at life in the form of a barn home conversion or commercial building.