1870 Bank Barn Question

[Jeffro Bodine]

Hello fine folks. We recently purchased a 1870 Colonial in midwest Ohio with an old bank barn with 6 animal stalls in the basement. My question for you all is ...how concerned should I be parking my 3,000 pound JD Tractor on the wood floor? My apologies if this is a stupid question, we've never had anything quite this old and I really don't wanna damage it. Thanks !!

 

[The Bean]

Likely the beams and joists are very large and could hold a lot of weight. The question is: what is their condition, e.g. dry rot, beetle damage, end bearings, cracks, etc.
3000# is just 750# on each wheel probably supported by more than a few structural members...
If you are really concerned, a post and beam to split the span below could be a help.

 

[Jeffro Bodine]

Likely the beams and joists are very large and could hold a lot of weight. The question is: what is their condition, e.g. dry rot, beetle damage, end bearings, cracks, etc.
3000# is just 750# on each wheel probably supported by more than a few structural members...
If you are really concerned, a post and beam to split the span below could be a help.

Thank you, appreciate the advice

 

[John McA]

Greetings,
Welcome to GJ.
Kinda really need to inspect the floor. And the lateral system. Dead load and dynamic loads interplay with a vehicle.
Good luck,
John McA

 

[Jeffro Bodine]

Greetings,
Welcome to GJ.
Kinda really need to inspect the floor. And the lateral system. Dead load and dynamic loads interplay with a vehicle.
Good luck,
John McA

Thanks John

 

[turbowoodworker]

Cool place. Agree that it is probably ok but inspect for condition will tell you a lot.
Post some pictures from below. We like pictures.

 

[Jeffro Bodine]

Cool place. Agree that it is probably ok but inspect for condition will tell you a lot.
Post some pictures from below. We like pictures.

Thank you, I definitely will tomorrow in the daylight and post them , im still working on getting lights up right now.

 

[Jeffro Bodine]

Few pics of the old girl, I will get some pics of the back and basement tomorrow. These are a couple weeks old, it's amazing how leaves 21 Sycamore trees can drop in just 2 weeks.

 

[jar944]

Every bank barn I've been in always had a fully loaded hay wagon sitting in it at least part of the year. Those are way over 3000lbs.

I'd expect yours to hold, assuming it looks fine visually.

 

[The Bean]

Here is an interesting discussion of similar barn.

Hay Loft floor structural analysis - Structural engineering general discussion - Eng-Tips

Hello everyone, Greetings from southern Wisconsin! This is my first forum post ever, so please excuse me if I don't get the etiquette quite right.. I'm trying t

www.eng-tips.com

 

[mike93lx]

If you aren't comfortable doing it, spend the money to get someone qualified to take a look at it.

We can all speculate or even assure you that it is fine. But ultimately, what will make you comfortable? A real, in person review? Or a bunch of free advice from random people on the internet?

 

[The Bean]

free advice from random people on the internet

Agreed.
I'm just a random architect with 30 years experience working on old buildings including historic barns. I do a lot of my own structural designs, up to a point. I use a trusted structural engineer for the tricky bits.

 

[mike93lx]

Agreed.
I'm just a random architect with 30 years experience working on old buildings including historic barns. I do a lot of my own structural designs, up to a point. I use a trusted structural engineer for the tricky bits.

I'd not digging on anyone replying, but how can this guy know of anyone's credentials? Are you offerring a stamped report to him that he can lean on if something goes wrong? How can he know that you aren't lying and are just an accountant that enjoys DIY

You may be the world's preeminent expert on old barn floors...I have no idea. But if you are, this guy is lucky

 

[The Bean]

Not licensed in Ohio so, no, can't offer stamp. I'm also not anyones preeminent expert. I just want Jeffro to feel confident that a reasonable analysis of the floor structure is not unobtainable. I'm not offended by your comment in any way. You are correct to be skeptical.

Old buildings, especially barns that are open to weather and critters and insects and corrosive elements will degrade over time, weakening from their original design capabilities. Consideration must be taken, especially when upgrading the use to accommodate modern equipment, vehicles and operations.

Also, it's very important to check and see if there were any structural changes made over the years. A clever yet ignorant farmer might have thought a column or beam was in the way...


Also, past repairs could have been done incorrectly, or themselves become compromised (metal replacing wood and then rusting).

Your barn looks beautifully preserved.

 

[Uncle murph]

Hello fine folks. We recently purchased a 1870 Colonial in midwest Ohio with an old bank barn with 6 animal stalls in the basement. My question for you all is ...how concerned should I be parking my 3,000 pound JD Tractor on the wood floor? My apologies if this is a stupid question, we've never had anything quite this old and I really don't wanna damage it. Thanks !!

In its day it easily supported a wagon carrying several tons of hay along with a 6-8k# tractor pushing it.The floor certainly looks solid but without seeing the underside there’s no way of predicting what it’s capable of supporting in 2022.One area of frequent troubles is where the floor joists contact the foundation.

 

[Jeffro Bodine]

If you aren't comfortable doing it, spend the money to get someone qualified to take a look at it.

We can all speculate or even assure you that it is fine. But ultimately, what will make you comfortable? A real, in person review? Or a bunch of free advice from random people on the internet?

Very true, I was just curious to see the responses on here as I know most of you all have alot of experience in these old bank barns. I do appreciate all the feedback.

 

[Jeffro Bodine]

Not licensed in Ohio so, no, can't offer stamp. I'm also not anyones preeminent expert. I just want Jeffro to feel confident that a reasonable analysis of the floor structure is not unobtainable. I'm not offended by your comment in any way. You are correct to be skeptical.

Old buildings, especially barns that are open to weather and critters and insects and corrosive elements will degrade over time, weakening from their original design capabilities. Consideration must be taken, especially when upgrading the use to accommodate modern equipment, vehicles and operations.

Also, it's very important to check and see if there were any structural changes made over the years. A clever yet ignorant farmer might have thought a column or beam was in the way...


Also, past repairs could have been done incorrectly, or themselves become compromised (metal replacing wood and then rusting).

Your barn looks beautifully preserved.

The Bean...appreciate your feedback very much. The barn definitely appears to be well preserved, the previous owners put on a new metal roof and added 16 solar panels along with some other modifications however he did mention that he wasn't comfortable parking his truck in there. We dont have any vehicles that we absolutely need to park indoors (besides a couple motorcycles a zero turn and some small lawn equipment) so I was more concerned about the details on the house. I think contacting a local architectural engineer to get a detailed report is not a bad idea.

 

[Armorpoxy]

We are no experts on wood, but we do deal with a lot of construction projects so our two cents are get an engineer in to look at it for safety of the people that will be in there. You could have the finest construction and beams, but wood-boring insects over the years or dry rot, etc could significantly reduce the load capacity of this structure.