PARIS — A restored 1846 post-and-beam barn owned by the president of the Paris Hill Historical Society served as the venue Thursday for a talk on the barn’s restoration.

Janet Brogan and her husband moved to the Lincoln Street home from California three years ago.

“At that time, this barn was heading south,” she said.

Scott Hatch, a barnwright who restored the structure with a small crew, spoke about the work that needed to be done. Hatch said the central posts in the barn had been removed and replaced with trusses.

“The broadsides were carrying the entire roof load,” he said.

In addition, nearby tree growth had damaged the roof. Hatch said encroaching vegetation accounts for about 50 percent of damage to historic structures, due to pressure on foundations and roof damage from limbs.

The damage was so severe that he and the crew started restoration work on the first day the Brogans were in possession of the property. The crew set up escape routes through the barn in case it started to collapse.

“This was definitely the building that was the closest to imminent failure that I’ve worked on,” Hatch said.

Since its initial construction, an addition replicating the front portion of the barn had been added to the back. Hatch said the front portion of the barn had a more stable footing, but the addition was in better shape than the original structure. The crew ended up dismantling the rear addition and using the materials to restore the barn.

Other work included the re-installation of posts to prop up the roof and the restoration of the foundation with original granite stone. The restoration took four months, Hatch said.

Brogan found through research that the barn was built in 1846, she said. She found an article indicating that the building had been altered in the 1880s when the residence belonged to J.C. Marble.

Hatch said post-and-beam barns are solid structures that can be restored over long periods, if necessary.

“A structure like this could last 1,000 years,” he said.

mlangeveld@sunjournal.com

Barnwright Scott Hatch discusses the restoration of an 1880s barn on Paris Hill on Thursday.