Bull's Old Barn: Gonna Need Some Help *Updated 11pm 3/6*

[58Yeoman]

Maybe the best thing to do would be to build a whole room upstairs, separate from the barn, for household storage stuff. It would be easier to seal up, and the barn wouldn't have to be air/weather tight. Would probably be cheaper, too.

[little d]

Bull, search wind brace, lots of easyer ways to keep it in place besides taking all of the siding off, also you will add the thickness of the boxing, if ya use 7/16th on all walls you will add 7/8th" overall and your siding will be short. You could make up the difference with your trim but....Here again, your time and money, not mine. If you do decide to take off the siding, Dad built a tool for this, he took a bumperjack and welded two peices of 1/4" plate, 2" times 12" @ about 100 digrees, it just fit over a 2 by 4 and the pry points were perfict to not tear up the boards.

Yes, you nailed it on the straightning of the walls, like has been said, just take your time. Easy to get excited and want to do it all at once, don't. Instead of a hook, try a chain, your come-a-long has hooks for a chain and it is easyer to lag a chain than a hook.

Went back and looked at the pics of the foundation, don't see anything that needs replaced. Would still like to hear from Moose on why not to patch the foundation with mortor? Have done this all of my life (now 51) and have yet to see any isues with doing this but, would like to hear more why he says to not to?

[NUTTSGT]

Originally Posted by Bull

Do you guys see something particularly wrong with the foundation for a building that I just want to use for clean, dry storage? I mean, there are a couple cracks in the walls, but really, I have seen worse foundations on homes that people live in. I am sure that my grampa didn't go down 4 feet or do what a pro concrete crew would do today, but the foundation just doesn't look wasted to me.

I could spend a lot of money jacking the structure up, removing the foundation and pouring a new one, but for what gain?

The most important is where the main beams sit. Make sure they are good to go.

[Omphaloskeptic]

Usually, it is the foundation failing that causes the rest of the structure to no longer be plumb, level, and square. Have you ever taken the time to check how far out the peak, corners, floors, etc., etc., etc. are off; using a plumb bob, laser transit, string-level, or any accurate methodology? More importantly perhaps is the question of rate of change from year to year, or even seasonal change of those repeated metrics. Is mother nature continuing her efforts to bring the barn down to the ground? If so, either I would take steps to first stabilize the foundation, or be sure not to store anything of value in the barn so I could sleep at night when the strong winds blow!

[Bull]

Originally Posted by Omphaloskeptic

Usually, it is the foundation failing that causes the rest of the structure to no longer be plumb, level, and square. Have you ever taken the time to check how far out the peak, corners, floors, etc., etc., etc. are off; using a plumb bob, laser transit, string-level, or any accurate methodology? More importantly perhaps is the question of rate of change from year to year, or even seasonal change of those repeated metrics. Is mother nature continuing her efforts to bring the barn down to the ground? If so, either I would take steps to first stabilize the foundation, or be sure not to store anything of value in the barn so I could sleep at night when the strong winds blow!

Because I am an admitted amateur, I certainly do not own anything like a laser transit. Also, because of my amateur status, it does not always occur to me how to check things using the items you describe.

Chum, the Cambodian fellow who replaced my sills and sistered my framing and all the rest of what you see in the pics above, used a 4ft level. That's it. Heck, I can't even be sure what my grampa used when he built the barn.

[little d]

Bull, your barn's how old?....Ya, I don't think the foundations going anywhere.

[Bull]

Originally Posted by little d

Bull, your barn's how old?....Ya, I don't think the foundations going anywhere.

I can't be precise about when my grampa built the structure. My mom estimates the 1950s, so it isn't one of these antique 1800s post and beam barn like some folks in these parts have. Apparently, he had help from a carpenter from the local University, which at that time was just an agricultural college.

I looked up the wind bracing, little d. Diagonal braces for the rafters, right?

[NUTTSGT]

Bull, stop by the local hardware store or lumberyard pick up a string level and a roll of contractors string. It'll cost you less than 10 bucks.


http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1...keyword=string level&storeId=10051

http://www.homedepot.com/Tools-Hardw...&storeId=10051

[theoldwizard1]

Originally Posted by NUTTSGT

Bull, stop by the local hardware store or lumberyard pick up a string level and a roll of contractors string. It'll cost you less than 10 bucks.


http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1...keyword=string level&storeId=10051

http://www.homedepot.com/Tools-Hardw...&storeId=10051

Put a nail in a corner post and stretch the string to the next corner post. Adjust the second nail until the string level is level, then nail it in. Make certain the string is not touching any part of the structure.

Measure down from the string to the top of the foundation.

This is likely how your grandpa did it and still works today.

[little d]

"I looked up the wind bracing, little d. Diagonal braces for the rafters, right?"
Same idea except done on the walls. There are several ways to do it but, the fastest and easyest way is straping, just like you are going to do with the come-a-long. After ya get it racked back to where ya want, in the corner, nail (not screwed, they can pop the heads) the straping from the top plate, diagonaly to the sill plate. I make sure it is where the stud meets the botom plate but, thats just me, I tend to over kill on my work. Then do the same thing on the oppisate corner of the same wall, then take the come-a-long off. Now you have it braced from both ends and it will take an act of god to move it and straping is thin enough, if ya want to cover the walls, you can put anything over it and it shouldent show.

Like nutt and wiz said, run a drystring with a line level and mesure but, it's a friggin barn/shop thats been there for 60 some odd years now....

[Bull]

I did a little poking around the net, and it seems to me that if I use a come-along to try to straighten the back wall and it breaks, I could be in a heap of hurt from that cable flailing around. I have a pair of Allied 4-ton come-alongs that I bought a few years ago because they were highly rated as being of good quality.

But, I have also discovered "lever blocks," which seem to use chains and heavier components to do the same work as a come-along. What is the likelihood of snapping a chain in trying to straighten a wall? How much force does it take to get a wall to move, anyway?

I want to save money, gain experience, and do this myself. But, it is not worth it to me if I am getting into something that can cause me serious potential harm.

[1948]

thats why i said use a chain one before(maybe its called what you said i have no idea) i wouldnt trust a cable, as far as chain breaking i dont think so. id be more worried about your anchor point, and the wall. go slow. get someone to help watch the wall and listen for cracking ect. youll get it

[Bull]

Originally Posted by 1948

thats why i said use a chain one before(maybe its called what you said i have no idea) i wouldnt trust a cable, as far as chain breaking i dont think so. id be more worried about your anchor point, and the wall. go slow. get someone to help watch the wall and listen for cracking ect. youll get it

Now that you mention it, I do recall you recommending something with a chain. I thought you were just talking about using a chain to help attach the come-along cables to the tow hooks. I saw a guy on the internet who did just that. But, I can be slow on the draw sometimes.

[1948]

Originally Posted by Bull

Now that you mention it, I do recall you recommending something with a chain. I thought you were just talking about using a chain to help attach the come-along cables to the tow hooks. I saw a guy on the internet who did just that. But, I can be slow on the draw sometimes.

the chain come along i have is aluminum, and has like a round casting on it and a big handle. ill try to get a picture of it tomorrow.