Barn Resto help!

[Cb-man]

Hello.

I am attempting to restore an old 18x24 barn on my property. I am looking for some guidance and direction.

It is a two store barn and there is rot on the sil plate and header for the first and second store.

If any one has done this it would be greatly appreciated if you could help.

Should i start at the bottom and work up and how should i support or jack the headers so i can get the sil plate out?
Thank you!
Attached are some pics of what i am working with

 

[DougWil]

I would bolt a long length of channel to either the inside or outside of studs horizontally above anything you need to replace. Or both with 2 channels.
Is an inside floor in the way?

Jack it up and block it in multiple places just enough to get out what you need.
Probably would cable tie it off in several places so it doesn't start collapsing.

Are the walls sitting on the occasional pier? Or continuous footing?
Because it doesn't look bolted down to anything at that corner.
And if piers, have they sunk?

 

[Cb-man]

Yes there is a continous foundation all the way around. The inside floor is dirt.
What do you mean by cable tie?
Like tie off to the ground to keep it from falling over?
Sounds like a good plan. And same for the header between stories?

 

[Cb-man]

There are a few anchors in the foundation but not many. I plan on adding more

 

[DougWil]

Yes there is a continous foundation all the way around. The inside floor is dirt.
What do you mean by cable tie?
Like tie off to the ground to keep it from falling over?
Sounds like a good plan. And same for the header between stories?

Yes, cables staked off or attached to heavy vehicles, etc beyond collapse distance.

You are going to lose a lot of lateral support jacking it up off the j bolts and with all that rot you have lost a lot already.

1st floor header you should be able to replace by jacking up at midpoint of the 2nd story wall.

You will have to use some sound judgement.
Don't just start jacking away. Watch to see it is raising it uniformly, nothing is buckling, ripping apart, etc..

I would consider raising it slightly and reaching under the sill plate and cutting off those few and far between j bolts (probably pretty rusty anyways) and installing all new epoxy anchors.

Rather than having to raise it high enough to get a new TREATED sill plate over the existing J bolts.

 

[Cb-man]

This is a HUGE help thank you!
Should i go cut all J bolts all the way around before jacking anything?
Also should i start with the Sil or replace some rotten studs first?
This is the back side of the barn 18 ft side. As you can see there are 2x8's fastened on the inside i put up for a horse stall. They go 10 ft down the long side as well.
Im hoping this helps keep it tied together

What exactly is an epoxy anchor so i can pick some up?

Thank you so much! I have never attempted such a thing but im pretty skillfull

 

[DougWil]

I would take off the nuts off the j bolts where you are jacking up. Jack up just enough to get out a section of sill.
That old barn is going to plenty flexible to just jack up a section.
Reach under the sill and cut the bolts off with a recip saw. Cut out the stud to sill nails and anything else holding the sill down.

Replace the sill, studs and anything else rotten in that section, lower down nail, strap, and move on. You only raise that section enough to get the old out and the new in.

You predrill holes in your new sill plate BEFORE installing and making sure they land between studs. About 1 ft from each end MAX of the sill and 4ft or so on centers.
Use 1/2" or 5/8" threaded rod.
When in place, you drill down into the footing with a masonry drill with a bit slightly larger than the threaded rod you will insert.
You must clean the holes with bore brush and compressed air and nozzle that reaches to the bottom of the hole, repeatedly until you get all the dust out.
Then use a commercial construction epoxy like Simpson or Hilti, plop, plop insert the threaded rod slowly, rotating it down to eliminate air voids.

Wait a day, 2 or week to torque down the washers and nuts.

 

[matt_i]

Just to clarify if using a 1/2" threaded rod, drill a 1/2" hole. 5/8" hole for 5/8" threaded rod. The brushing and blowing out, with a pencil-sized long pipe/nozzle/etc is very very important until no more dust comes out. The epoxy takes longer to cure in cold temps but should not have too many issues right now. I like to take the rod and with a gloved hand, work the epoxy into all of the thread crests, then a little more into the hole. If you try to put it all into the hole, it is much more difficult trying to "extrude" it up in the small space left, by turning and pressing and turning and pressing. Trying to hammer it all the way down into a blob does not work well since its viscous and you will damage the lead thread unless a nut is put on. That said, I do like to tap tap with a hammer just to verify that I reached the bottom and its solid now.

Make sure you have enough length on the rod so it can reach the bottom of the hole, enough to do thru the bottom plate, and another 1" or so for the nut and washer.

 

[Jackfre]

Given the way that thing is racked, I'd want to install some plywood shear at the corners to tie that thing together, both wall to wall and overlap first to second floor. I'd also run some cables diagonally and thru-bolt them to the corners. Lifting a building and then having to work under it is ticklish stuff. You have no idea how the loads will transfer as it goes up and you have no idea which way it will squirt if it goes. Safety first. How fast can you run?

 

[TractorJeff]

They built the first floor, then built the second. All is not a continuous timber to the top like a Post & Beam constructed barn.
Like others have said, stabilize the structure before jacking.
I spent 2 summers jacking Post & Beam barns to replace piers. They were way easier than that stick built building you are messing with.
Looking over the photo's again, you need to replace corner posts. I would go full size with pressure treated on those. I think I would crib 6 to 8 feet back from the corner and do a lift from the ceiling to hang the corner. Then replace the corner stuff with a PT post, going out on each side of it replacing the studs. Square the corner up, brace it how ever necessary, then set it down moving to the next corner. Use your first corner as your square reference point moving the building in line with it.
Clear as Mud?

 

[Cb-man]

Clear as mud correct. So i will tie off the corners diagnal out from the corners. There is siding still on all the other sides. And all the 2x8 on the inside.
I planned on fixing one wall at a time. Do the back sil studs and on up then moving to the side and removing siding.

I dont really like how the 2x4's come off the second story header and up to the rafter. Kind of creates a hinge point.
I wish i could change it but may just have to brace it the best i can.

I just need to jack enough to pull the sil.
I was thinking of setting a 4x4 on a concrete block and wedging it under the header. Like 6 of them across the back.
This may not be enough. I have a 12 ft piece of angle iron i could attach to the studs and jack and block.

I would much rather lift from the header

Thanks for all the help. I will go slow and keep checking

Also there is a loft floor with center posts. The floor joist sit on the header

 

[archauto]

The barn looks like it was a one story barn to beegine with and someone raised the roof and added a second floor. Do you know the history off the barn? Very cool and a great save. If you added the diagonal let in wall corner ties on the first level that would help with the stability of the first floor or plywood/OSB wll the walls before adding siding.

 

[DougWil]

I dont really like how the 2x4's come off the second story header and up to the rafter. Kind of creates a hinge point.
I wish i could change it but may just have to brace it the best i can.

That is pretty much how most wood frame multi stories are built.
1st floor walls, 2nd floor diaphragm extends all the way out to the outside face of the studs.
2nd floor wall is framed on top.

If yours is built the same, there really isn't a hinge point because the lateral forces are directly transferred into the roof or 2nd floor diaphragm and down through the walls normal (in line) to the force.

Is your 2nd floor diaphragm continuous? If not over a large area (stairwell opening etc is OK) and then you have a hinge point.

But you really don't have much shear support in exterior 1x8?? boards with gaps between them. Wall sheeting, OSB or plywood or Simpson type strapping diagonally is far better.
The strapping is thin enough it won't make a lump under your siding.

 

[Cb-man]

I really wish i knew the history of this place. I live on a road named after the original farm family and believe this was one of their barns. The house was built in 75 but the barn looks older.

I was more worried about support for the building when i go to jacking it.
Im not sure i have an 18ft piece of channel.
Im still thinking of ways to jack it up

 

[DougWil]

Im not sure i have an 18ft piece of channel.

Buy what is required to do the job VERY safely, what is you life worth?

 

[TractorJeff]

Its not super old as the corner in your last photo is 2by4's nailed together. Looks like pine as the horses have been chewing on them.
If the intent is to follow direction of cutting the sill bolts by raising it slightly(less than an inch). Then a 4by4 and a 6 ton hydraulic jack will lift the corner.
Think of a 4by4 diagonal on the headers of a corner with a 4by4 going down to the hydraulic jack. This jack needs to be on a 2 foot square pad of cribbing to spread its load in the dirt or it will compact and sink.

 

[Cb-man]

Thank you for all the replies and help. with all the other house work i havent gotten to work on it as much as i like. But i got the rear jacked up and I put in a new 2x6 treated Sil plate. set with epoxy anchors. I might have to invest in or rent a hammer drill next wall. its a work out with a plain 1/2 corded drill.

As i continue on with the studs I was wondering your opinion on how to finish.
I was thinking of putting up 2x4 stringers like a pole barn on the outside to hang metal siding. I was planning on doing this as i finish each side of the barn. As to limit the amount of rain getting in.

should i finish each side before hand or just leave the bare framing and move on then do siding once i have finished the framing?

 

[laurie71]

Quick fly-by posting: you might find the YouTube channel linked below interesting, he has a whole series of videos of some very extensive old barn repair. Larger scope project than yours, but you might pick up some useful tips.

https://www.youtube.com/user/bcbloc02/videos

 

[fathertorque]

not sure if you are trying to maintain an "old" aesthetic look or if all the wall structure is going to be hidden under sheating and finished on the inside but one method I have used in the past to repair a couple exterior walls that had rotted out at the bottom and couldnt jack due to structure above was like this:

We added shoring to support the load from inside about 3 feet back from the wall and a diagonal brace from the stud just below the top plate to the bottom of the shoring to minimize bending of the joist\rafters,
installed temporary diagonal bracing (2x6 on an angle with multiple screws into each stud, we then cut horizontally across the wall in 4 to 6 foot sections 2 feet up from the bottom.
the bottoms of most of the studs were also rotten, we then removed the entire lower section we cut, installed a new treated sill with gasket, cut lengths of stud to fit back under where we cut off the old studs and then added a new stud to the side of the existing one to over lap the joint of the where the old stud sat on top of the new one.
As we completed each section or 2 depending on size we would re-sheet with 5/8 ext plywood to help stabilize the structure.

we would move the shoring and bracing along the wall as we worked, sort of leap frogging it in sections so we would never remove more than one set at a time, this helped maintain squareness of the structure(not that it was square to begin with). We also did some jacking to restore level where needed.
we did it this way as we didnt have access to all the equipment needed to jack entire sections at once.

the nice thing about doing it this way is it gave a nice clean opening to work in and no fighting with old nails in the studs while trying to squeeze a sill plate under etc.