Entrepreneur proves barns are        structures of nobility
By JOHN DUVOLI 

   WESTBROOKVILLE, NY -

   To Mark Pilipski, owner of BARNS ARE NOBLE, Box 588, Westbrookville, NY  (973)-614-9101, Barns are Noble is both a philosophy and a unique business.

 

 Pilipski grew up in this rural Sullivan County community. And al­though he spent years in medical research, specifically in respiratory physiology, in major hospitals in Newark and Manhattan he decided upon a new career that offered new, artis­tic and creative challenges.

 

 Pilipski purchased the family home that he grew up in from its own­ers and, at the suggestion of one of his children, Mark Jr., who was nine years old at the time, labeled his company Barns are Noble.

 

  Billing himself as ‘The Rock Man,’ Pilipski set about doing decorative and architectural renovation, including barns, some of which are listed in the National Registry. Recently, Pilipski restored a barn on Four Corners Road in Warwick that was built in 1732.

 

  Most times he can save the structure. Sometimes  he  concludes  that  it  would  be

more cost-effective to simply raze it.

 

  “Raising and razing are two in­teresting words in our vocabulary. The first means lifting or building a barn, the second is bringing it down. Notice how similar they are in spelling and pronunciation,” Pilipski noted.

 

  “I am the son of a mason, so it gives me great personal satisfaction to match a piece of wood or timber that was built in a barn two centuries earlier, or build something new that is decora­tive and architectural from stone.

 

   “Most barns are really very du­rable buildings,” he said. “Water is their natural enemy, as it seeps in along the floors, so exterior and inte­rior woods require replacement from time to time.  Using traditional, as well as, modern techniques, even large beams can be crafted with mortise and tenon joints to replace damaged or aging structures.”

 Recent examples of Pilipski’s work can also be found at the Culver Randal Millhouse, in Florida (NY), which is listed in the New York State and Na­tional Register of Historic Places.

 

    
 (reprint of original article HVBJ retains copyright)

 
A recently restored barn on route 209 homestead of BARNS ARE NOBLE founder Mark Pilipski.

 

 

  Grant moneys and tax benefits are available for many who restore their barns, Pilipski noted, because govern­ment officials believe they are a prac­tical, visual and agri-tourism amenity to rural areas.

 

  Government agencies require a cost estimate from a contractor, so Pilipski’s practical knowledge of restoration also comes into play here.     He will then restore

the  barn,   from  soup  to  nuts,   “bottom  to

 top,” as he says.  A project can run from four to eight weeks depending upon  what  is

required.

 

   Barns are Noble does a full range of work on timber structures, from building and repairing to restoring and renovating barns, houses and carriage houses to the creative construction of waterfalls, patios and walkways.

 

    While Pilipski, who is headquar­tered on Route 209 between Mamakating and Port Jervis with an office in Passaic, NJ and works throughout the entire Northeast, likes to do most of the work himself, he some­times needs assistance in lifting heavy beams. When this happens, he has a ready and able workforce, considering that he has eight children.

 

  Pilipski also has extensive knowl­edge of the  historic  Delaware  and  Hudson  Canal, which would become portions of Route 209, and has restored many canal houses along its length.

 

   These small buildings, often of only two rooms, have been purchased over the years. by individuals who use them as summer bungalows or build onto them for year round use.

 
Barns are Noble
Renovation  and  Restoration
Oak Timber  and  Stone Wall
Raising  and  Razing
 Barns are Noble
Box 588
Westbrookville, NY 12785
NYC METRO (973)-614-9101

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