Looking for advice on reclaimed cooling tower for Barn.

[chadgra]

Hello everyone,
I am located in south Texas, and the company I am working for is tearing down a cooling tower and replacing it with a fiberglass one.
That being said, I have managed to salvage lots of SS bolts, and Marine grade lumber, but not sure how to proceed. Maybe some of you Gent's have some advice.

I have pretty much all the stainless steel hardware I could need and they include as follows:
1/2" x 5"
1/2" x 8 1/2"
1/2" x 7 1/2"
I have about 20 sheets of 1 1/8" marine grade plywood ( not all full sheets but most are close) and I have access to about 60 more but others want some of it. So Im not going to "Hog it all."

There are also a large amount of 2"x6"x10' marine grade lumber with some 4x4x10 but not many of those that can be salvaged.

What I am wondering is...I know that the plywood is overkill, heavy, and probably a nightmare to work with, but having all the stainless hardware already, what would you recommend to be the path forward? Hire an archetect? Maybe a barn kit you know of that you must supply the bolts?

What I am wanting to do with the barn is I have a new Tractor large with shredder. I want a place to store that and a possible RV Trailer. Then have an area for attachments and Farm Stuff. I only have a 20acre ranch, but would like a nice barn/shop for projects.
I was thinking maybe a pole barn with 24' beams in the middle section. and making it 2 story and using the plywood for the flooring in the second story. Then maybe have 2 lean to's on each side 14' post buried 4' then connected to the main structure leaving 10' height which would be good for tractor, and maybe a trailer(that i currently do not own).

Thanks agian and anything that I left out I would be happy to inform.
Chad

 

[tjdux]

Sounds interesting but yeah definitely overkill to have the water resistant stuff. Honestly that stuff may be better suited for special projects as compared to sheathing on a building. OSB is relatively cheap compared to that marine stuff. But free is free and there's no reason it won't work.

Sounds like you want to build a pretty big buiding. Tractor and RV take up a good amount of space.

I would get as much of that 2x6 as possible and use it to start getting concrete forms ready then save the rest as actual building materials.

Finally start learning about framing and deciding exactly what you want/ need for a shop. Its usually easier and sort of cheaper to do it all at once than to build a building and add additions later.

Try downloading sketchup 3d design software. Its free and easy and allows any regular joe to be able to make great detailed 3d drawings that are super useful for designing a building. You can see how everything inside fits and get detailed enough to find out how much lumber and materials you need.

Nows the time to decide stick frame or pole built? Exterior finishes? Concrete pad or dirt floor? How many doors and where

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

 

[chadgra]

Thanks man,
I didn't even consider the framing for concrete. I have a lot of them that have ss nails just cut off inside and wasn't sure what to do with some of them. But that's an excellent idea! And as far as the 1 1/8 plywood I was thinking just for the floor for second level. I have experimented with sketchup, and I have been tinkering with it. But whats throwing me for a loop is the 1/2 in SS hardware. I am used to just framing nails etc. So utilizing the ss hardware seems odd to me. I will look at possibly countersinking them. But I have a lot of Fiberglass panels I was considering using. I hear they don't hold up well to sunlight, but I am not sure how true of a statement that is.
I was thinking dirt floor, utilizing lime then tilling it up to remove moisture and harden floor. I was considering pole built. If I get a sketch drawn up I will post image. I have been busy with this turnaround at work so not much free time yet, but right after I have about a month of vacation taken so I should be able to get moving forward. This is just a quick reply, but when I can better respond I will, but thank you for the information so far it is very much appreciated.
God Bless,
Chad

 

[matt_i]

Personally I'd sell the ss bolts and use the profits to buy nails and screws. Since its all treated (at least that's what I think when I think marine grade) I'd go with true hot dipped galvanized nails and a coated screw rated for treated like GRK.

The plywood is fine but you will need to design the roof for the additional loads. Assuming you'd go with trusses the designer would need to know.

As mentioned above, get as many 2x6s as you can.

 

[sberry]

I agree, don't get stuck on these bolts. I had a bud use some free stuff, it was good but the design cost a fortune, would have been so much cheaper to scrap it,

 

[cowboy73]

Sell the plywood for workbench tops.

 

[545_days]

Are you positive that they never used chromium based water treatment chemicals in the old wooden cooling tower? If they did, I wouldn't touch the stuff.

I do know that when we demolished an old cooling tower, it all had to go to a "special" landfill.

Edit: I am not an expert in this subject, and have no idea if the risk of contamination is real. I also work for a very conservative company, that will spend serious dollars to avoid some pretty unlikely liabilities.

 

[Hornman]

I hate to be a wet blanket, but companies do not tear down perfectly good cooling towers just to change materials. If that wooden cooling tower has a number of years of service on it, the water and chemicals will have washed a lot of the lignin out of the wood. There is a good chance that the wood from that cooling tower has little structural strength left. The SS hardware you have salvaged may well be the most valuable thing left in that cooling tower.

 

[koditten]

I run cooling towers and am responsible for the water chemistry. I know what chemicals are used in the water. I would want nothing to do with that lumber.

Scrap out the SS and use the money for a conventional build.

I am surprised that the company will let you recycle the lumber. Around here, the liability issues compels destruction and disposal.