Re: This week: Why are many barns painted red?

November 12, 2005

And probably much safer to the farmer and the animals than lead

paint. KC, your curiosity and ingenuity for this post is a benefit to

us all!

Carl Grimes

Healthy Habitats LLC

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> This week: Why are many barns painted red?

>

> Answer: Turns out the answer is a simple one - it was cheaper, said

> Jerry Apps, a professor emeritus at the University of Wisconsin-

> Madison and author of numerous articles and columns in state and

> national publications.

>

> Ferric oxide, a primary component of red paint, is inexpensive and

> this appealed to the thrifty farmers, according to an article written

> by Leik, editor of The Barn Journal.

>

> " Barn red " is not the bright, fire-engine red that we often see

> today, but more of a burnt-orange red, according to

> howstuffworks.com. As to how the oil mixture became traditionally red,

> there are two predominant theories: • Wealthy farmers added blood from

> a recent slaughter to the oil mixture. As the paint dried, it turned

> from a bright red to a darker, burnt red.

>

> • Farmers added ferrous oxide, otherwise known as rust, to the oil

> mixture. Rust was plentiful on farms and is a poison to many fungi,

> including mold and moss, which were known to grow on barns. These

> fungi would trap moisture in the wood, increasing decay.

>

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