08/11/08 Restoration of the U of I barns

The historic barns at the University of Idaho campus in Moscow are getting a face lift. Palouse Center Superintendent Don Thill says the 90 year old barns are undergoing a restoration that should keep them in good shape for the rest of this century. THILL "All of the old wood cased windows are being replaced with vinyl windows. They look just like the old ones but the old ones have been they about 90 years and so it was time to replace them. The original wood siding had been covered in the 50's with that asbestos shingle type siding and that was all removed. We're covering the original siding with this concrete fiberboard so it has a plank look appearance which is very similar to what the original siding had. All the doors, windows and everything will look like they did before." The restoration of the three barns is expected to cost more than 400 thousand dollars when completed this fall. The horse and sheep barns were built in 1918, the beef cattle barn was added in 1922 and a few years ago new roofs were put on each building. Thill says new four rail metal fencing will replace the aging wooden fences that surrounds the barns that stand on a hill on the west campus farm. Today's Idaho Ag News Bill Scott