Need advice on saving building

[Benweins]

Hi,
First off I have been lurking around the site for some time. Learning and dreaming about what I want for a shop. I am located in NW Iowa. I purchased a 5 acre place about 4 years ago with some old out buildings and want to try and salvage the corn crib and convert it to a shop if possible. The foundation is solid, with about 4 cracks around the edge (I am posting a picture of the worst one). The center slab of concrete is separate from the pads in the bunks, so it would be easy to break it out and pour a new on level with the outside slabs. The building is square and solid, only needs cosmetic work on the exterior. My main concern is how do I re-enforce the structure inside so I can remove the two interior walls? Is it really even an option? I have no real use for the loft so I am thinking I could just insulate and seal it. If I can remove the center walls great, I think it would make a great 2 car shop, if not I am thinking I could open them up considerably and just create a center work bay with shop space all around it. I will need to attach a garage for storage anyway (7 vehicles and growing) but I would really like to save this building. It is original to the property and aprox 100 years old. Please feel free to give any advice, it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

 

[Benweins]

The 2nd, 3rd, and 4th pics should be rotated 90 degrees counter clockwise, not sure why they uploaded this way. The 2nd pic is of the center bay. The 3rd and 4th pics show the supports inside the side bunks. I know I can eliminate most of them with proper re-enforcement, but those 2 center walls are my major challenge. The last pic shows the worst foundation crack, and the concrete next to the building can easily be removed without damaging the corn crib.

 

[upndown]

Looks like a pretty ambitious project! Good luck to you. Sure would love to have some of that Barn Wood.

Welcome to GJ

 

[Moss]

The two walls in picture two don't look to be supporting the joists above but it's a bit hard to tell for sure.

I think it would be very cool to save that building. It would be a lot of work but it's solid and if its not raked, not too bad. The loft could be the best part! Funny the dog poking his head in the picture looks he's saying "i'm not coming in there"

 

[Benweins]

I have a cattle shed and a hog building that I plan on tearing down and salvaging the barn wood from. The cattle shed has a dirt floor, but the hog building has a solid concrete foundation I plan to build a greenhouse on.

 

[Benweins]

No advice for removing the center walls? Anyone?

 

[slip knot]

Center walls are probably whats holding it up. You really need to get a good set of trained eyes on it. not a bunch of interweb jacklegs. Just MHO.

 

[hoho98925]

Anything is possible. Even if those walls are structural, and from the looks I think they are, some beams and shear wall panels could replace them. If I were you, I would have a structural engineer take a look at it and design a way to open it up.barn looks structurally sound. Love the building. Good luck on this project. Hope you can update us on your progress.

 

[bczygan]

First thing.........Get a good roof on there.

Water will destroy your structure in short order.

 

[zmaxmotorsports]

Center walls are probably whats holding it up. You really need to get a good set of trained eyes on it. not a bunch of interweb jacklegs. Just MHO.

What town are you in?

 

[p_mori7]

Welcome to GJ !

Fixed the photos for you (and the benefit of other readers).

 

[p_mori7]

Nice building !

Agree that you will need to run some HEFTY beams in place of any of those studs that you want to remove to open the place up. You will probably end up having to use several posts if you want to remove all those studs.

 

[theoldwizard1]

Any restoration has to start with a careful and thorough inspect of the foundation. If that is not 100% sound, everything else is likely to fail.

 

[bobemmerich]

Nice building! save it! First thing I would do is roof it. Looks like it could be that the walls are load bearing. Would need to see more pics to be sure.

 

[Neighbor]

I've done it and it is a lot of work. It is possible to remove the crib walls if done correctly.

When I removed my crib walls I installed two posts dividing the wall into three sections. Doubled up 14" LVL. I live on the second floor and we don't notice any flex.

Other farmers in my area have converted corn cribs to shops and removed the crib walls. They supported the second floor by anchoring cables. Kind of like a suspension bridge.

The most challenge I faced was it's not built like a house. The "dimensional" lumber doesn't always work out on 16" dimensions.

I wouldn't try to break out the concrete of the center section. My experience is they poured the edges very, very thick. You might consider simply pouring new cement on top of the existing. Put some fill in there if you need to. I can tell you that step from center drive up to the cribs is a killer on the old knees. Build some temporary steps.

I get up in NW Iowa occasionally. Sioux Center, Boyden rock Valley etc. If you want me to drop by and give it a look see, I'd be happy to. You get what ya pay for.

 

[Bib Overalls]

Is this something you will be doing yourself? The reason I ask is because having a pro do it will cost more than building from scratch with new materials. You will have selective demolition, cut to fit carpentry, and unique challenges. Obtaining a good result will require a lot of time

Check to ensure that the foundation cracks are not caused by frost heaving (footing to shallow) or a corner/end settling (soft fill). As noted above, if the foundation is not serviceable, it will need to be fixed before you do anything else.