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May 6, 2024 Welcome to Business Profiles 2024

The Barn Yard

VICE PRESIDENT CHRIS SKINNER, LEFT, AND PRESIDENT EVERETT SKINNER IV.

The father-and-son team of Bill and Everett Skinner III opened The Barn Yard in 1984 with a straightforward goal – to build top quality barns, garages and sheds while also providing an unparalleled customer experience.

Forty years later, the family values, traditions and dedication to quality carry on under the leadership of brothers Everett IV and Chris Skinner, president and vice president, who were taught that hard work and building something right will lead to success.

“Our faith in our products and continued innovation has helped us remain successful for 40 years,” said Everett. “Specifically, our unique blend of innovation and tradition has allowed us to go far in the post and beam industry. Our builds allow customers to have the nostalgia of traditional post and beam construction, combined with all the modern upgrades and amenities they’d like. In a world where you can expect less and less out of a product or service, we strive to do the opposite.”

In addition to post and beam barns, cabins, pavilions and barn homes, the Ellington-based company offers quality custom garages, sheds and pool houses. It also builds custom timber frame projects ranging from residential custom barns to timber frame offices and buildings for commercial use.

Chris says more and more people are turning to timber framing for what might have been considered unconventional uses 15 or 20 years ago.

“In the past few years, families have been traveling less and instead are investing in their home and backyard structures,” Everett said.

“Most people have only seen post and beam barns used for storage and occasionally as an event venue. As events in barns, namely weddings, took off, people started to realize the nostalgia and charm that a barn brings to its surroundings and marveled at the intricate craftsmanship. Customers have been using their backyard barn as an extension of their home. The barn is not just a place to store a car anymore,” Chris said.

Today, it’s very common to see barns used as family gathering spaces featuring kitchens, bars, TVs and furniture. Businesses are also taking advantage of this trend by incorporating timber framing into offices, creating spaces combining a unique blend of tradition and old-time craftsmanship that is both visually appealing and expertly designed.

The Barn Yard’s shop features two state-of-the-art CNC machines, which have reduced the time needed to craft a barn’s timber components from weeks to just days.

“Our team of passionate timber frame craftsmen hand-sand and prepare these timbers for raising as they come out of the machine,” Chris said. “Although we’ve used modern technology to adapt timber framing to the 21st century, we still use authentic mortise and tenon connections joined with hardwood oak pegs in all our builds, and not just metal straps. Our dedication to the craft and our ability to combine modern technology with old time craftsmanship set us apart.”

In addition to custom timber frame party barns such as the Bald Hill Barn, with a western theme, and the Bradway Barn, with a modern flair, The Barn Yard offers custom commercial builds. It recently completed a 70-foot clear span timber frame octagon on the Salisbury Beach boardwalk in Massachusetts and built a 7,010 square-foot, two-story office in Ellington for solar company Earthlight Technologies.

The Barn Yard has showrooms in its hometown of Ellington as well as Bethel, both serving New England, plus a dedicated sales rep serving the southeast states. The Barn Yard can ship and raise timber frame structures nationwide, and their barns dot the U.S. from coast to coast.

Address: 120 West Road, Ellington, CT 06029

Phone: (800) 628-2276

Website: barnyard.com

Product or Service: Post and beam barns, cabins, barn homes, and pavilions, as well as quality custom garages, sheds, and pool houses.

Number of Employees: 100

Top Executive: Everett Skinner IV, president

Year Founded: 1984