Meet the Nellis Brothers, saving historic barns
STILLWATER, N.Y. (NEWS10) -Corey and Justin Nellis have been in the barn restoration business for six years. Inspiration came from taking down a barn for lumber.
“It appeals to the baby boomers; the generation that grew up in these barns, played in these barns,” described Corey. “There wasn’t traditional electricity back then, you went outside.”
This once overgrown barn in Stillwater has been getting some TLC from the Nellis Brothers:
Over the course of three months, it has been deconstructed, moved and reconstructed for a brand new purpose:
The owner of Old Tavern Farm, Nicole Borisenok, bought it so the barn wouldn't be demolished. It will still be holding grains, just in the form of whiskey. “All sourced from local farms here. So I think that only helps make the story and the connection that much sweeter.”
It’s not cheap to do what these brothers do. Each piece of axe-cut lumber is given its own tag during deconstruction, making rebuilding feel more like a puzzle.
Justin said there’s more than nostalgia holding the barn together. “When you take care of something, it lasts and we do have the tighter growth rings and mix of different woods. Pre-American so we have the chestnut blight.”
Close to all of the wood is from the original barn. What needed to be replaced has been sourced from other pre-American barns, right down to the stakes. The Nellis Brothers told NEWS10's Anthony Krolikowski that this barn will be finished in about two weeks.