The swedish barn

[rixtrix1]

Looking good. I praise your ambitious nature in saving this structure, but I can understand you saying you're sick of the roof. So much hand labor involved. I wish I could remember when I last had that much energy and strength, but it has to be pretty fulfilling to see it come around.

 

[Brunow]

Love you work!

 

[Kevin54]

You sir, are someone looking for punishment with all of those bags of concrete. But there are a lot of us that were in the same position at sometime in out life. I hope that when you get the upstairs loft to the point that you finish it off, sand those floorboards and put some clear poly on them. I bet the wood is beautiful under all those years of dirt.

I don't know if this is an optical illusion or not, but it looks like your beam is bowed. Instead of laying it on it's side, flip it up the other way and you will have your strength of the beam.

ANd someone needs to get Reiferman and turn him on to this thread, and he may have some pointers also, as his project was just about a mirror image of this project.

Here's the pic I was talking about

 

[Kevin54]

I sent Rieferman a PM as I know he would love to see this build. Then again, it may stir up bad memories As I said, his project was practically a mirror image of this build, and if there are any questions you may have....Rieferman can probably help you out with the concerns. Here is the thread of his barn restoration http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=36316

 

[rixtrix1]

Yes the beam is deflected using it this way, but it provides security for the post positioning, as it would be very hard for the post to move against the flanges. It also offers some height advantage over edgewise. Just IMO.

 

[ScurvyPete]

Subscribed!

 

[plexxarn]

Yes the beam is deflected using it this way, but it provides security for the post positioning, as it would be very hard for the post to move against the flanges. It also offers some height advantage over edgewise. Just IMO.

Exactly. It think it would be hard to balance it on top of the jacks if it was turned the other way around. It flexes a bit but it worked very well.

This pic shows how I also notched out the wood so it cannot slip.

Riefermans "west of Philly - barn saving" was the reason I found Garagejournal in the first place, and one of the big inspirations for this builds.

Not many barn saving threads on internet to be found

 

[spoonsports86]

wow every time i check your thread it amazes me what you have done to save this barn

 

[rieferman]

WOW, this is going to be fun! Thanks Kev for passing me the link! Starting to read from the beginning now, more soon.

 

[PatStroud]

Very impressive job - you are to be applauded!!!

 

[rieferman]

OK, just finished reading up to date. You are amazing. The difference between our builds is that you seem to know what the heck you're doing (whereas I was a building novice when I started) and you apparently don't have my bad back.

I am so impressed I can't even explain it. Someday, we should somehow swap barn visits. Given our locations, not an easy task, but maybe!!!

Thanks so much for documenting and sharing (and of course, for barn saving)

 

[Jacko]

This is fast becoming one of my fav GJ builds (renovation?). Impressive stuff.

 

[Frosthy]

Did you paint the barn the traditional red and white when it was all done?

Very cool build.

 

[Kustas]

Man I get so much positive energy out of these kinds of build threads on GJ. Will be waiting for another update. Greetings from the other side of the Baltic puddle.

 

[magnusk750]

How many m2 could you pour alone per day? I have 16 m2 to pour this summer and haven't decided yet if I make it by hand, or order the concrete.

 

[plexxarn]

Thank for all your kind words. Really inspiring!

Did you paint the barn the traditional red and white when it was all done?

Very cool build.

Yes, it will be the traditional barn red wich is on most swedish buildings in the countryside. It is called "Falu red paint" since it is made from left-over iron oxide from the copper mine in the town Falun. (Since 1764...)

How many m2 could you pour alone per day? I have 16 m2 to pour this summer and haven't decided yet if I make it by hand, or order the concrete.

Each of my sections is 6x3m and took 2 days. I think I poured about 4x3m in one day working alone. Two guys and a second mixer shoud easily do 16 m2. The mixer/mixing time is the limiting factor.

Someday, we should somehow swap barn visits. Given our locations, not an easy task, but maybe!!!

Thanks so much for documenting and sharing (and of course, for barn saving)

If I'm ever in Collegeville I'll let you know! You are always welcome here

 

[jb3]

this is definitely an inspirational thread. I have a small building in way better initial condition than your barn was, and ive been thinking about taking it down because I don't want to dig out the old rail road ties the building is using for a foundation. However, your method with the I beam is great, im going to steal that notion eventually and properly fix the foundation.

After reading this, im definitely going to keep my building and just fix it.

Thanks for the good work!

 

[mechcsu]

Any chance your near Stockholm? I'll be in town for the next two weeks and I would be more than happy to come help instead of sit in my hotel room

 

[plexxarn]

Time for another update. Not had much garage time or inspiration latley, but today I started browsing the old pictures again, so here comes the next step in the project. Preparations for the third part of the floor:

The first thing I had to do was to reorganize the old firewood shed / lean-to that covers this side wall.
There was a lot of stuff and firewood that needed to be moved so I could have access to make new concrete bases for the poles:

The beach buggy that had lived in the shed had to move in to the garage for some maintenance:

Then it was time to start digging again.

A lot of material needed to be removed in this end of the building. About a foot or so..

Here the rebar and drain from the second part of the floor can be seen:

Then some good stuff finally arrived after a lot of hassle with the transport company.
A scissor lift !
They would only deliver it if I could guarantee a forklift for unloading. Sure, everyone has forklifts at home..
Ended up taking my trailer to their reloading central, and have them load it with their forklift, drove it home and got it unloaded with some muscle power. It weighs 450 kg.. phew..

The scissor lift will be recessed in a small "pit" so that it is completley below the floor level when lowered. That way I can lift cars with super low ground clearance, and drive in and out for parking without any parts of the lift disturbing.

The pit for the lift will have a steel edge wich I welded together by hot-galvanized angle iron 40x40x4mm. Grinding off the zinc to be able to weld was actually really difficult. That stuff is thick, and clogs up your grinding disc in minutes..

Here it will sit. (The pillar will be moved..) You can see the start of the digging for the pit.

 

[sean Buick 76]

Very cool project and HUGE amount of work done by hand!!!! I love it!

 

[crille_hallden]

Vi har gjort exakt samma lösning med exaktsamma lyft, 140 modellen från verktygsboden?
Har du settmin tråd eller ren tillfällighet?

Inte uppdaterat min tråd på länge, börjar bli dags...

 

[Nolift911]

Great work - great thread - subscribed!

 

[plexxarn]

Vi har gjort exakt samma lösning med exaktsamma lyft, 140 modellen från verktygsboden?
Har du settmin tråd eller ren tillfällighet?

Inte uppdaterat min tråd på länge, börjar bli dags...

Some swedish

Ja det är 140cm modellen från verktygsboden.
Detta gjorde jag 2012 så det är ett tag sen, men jag hittade nåt amerikanskt audi-forum för länge sen där jag snodde iden med lyften

 

[RG500NOR]

Respect!

 

[theoldwizard1]

Amazing ! I don't know how I missed this thread before !

 

[xtremek]

Very cool and very jealous.

 

[jwhcars]

Very nice work, you can be proud of your work!!

 

[spoonsports86]

haven't been on here i a few months

any updates on this ?

 

[Bib Overalls]

Yes, I second the motion for more frequent updates.

 

[Arnee]

Snyggt bygge!
Dags att uppdatera!!

//AA

 

[hoho98925]

Absolutely incredible in this day and age to see you tackle a project like this by yourself, doing it the old fashioned way-with your back. I applaud you saving this barn in that manner. I have done many projects like you are doing this one, in my younger years, mostly due to lack of money. As I have gotten older, and wiser, it's a lot easier asking for help, or weighing the pros or cons of hiring stuff out. Once again amazing work, you should be proud of it all! Well done!!!! Thanks for sharing with us.

 

[firecracker]

^^^^^^^ DITTO^^^^^^^
A great job, and pictures. I wish I had taken pictures of my tasks in the 70s and 80s some very similar to yours.

 

[plexxarn]

Thanks everyone !
It's been a while but here comes an update !

Next step was to make the floor for the pit.
I could make a frame out of relativeley thin planks, since they are supported by the surrounding material.

Some insulation where the floor drain will be. I left the sides without insulation as I wanted the edges of this pit floor to be really solid and resting on the ground since the whole lift and the weight of the car will rest on it once lifted. Middle part of the floor will have limited load due to the lift not being in contact with it.
A floor drain felt necessary since the pit is the lowest point of the garage floor.

I did not want the steel rollers of the scissor lift rolling directly on concrete since it looked like there might be a lot of wear on the concrete where the rollers roll.
Therefore I constructed some track for the rollers out of a piece of galvanized I-beam cut in half. I welded it together with some sturdy pipes so it would be really anchored to the concrete once poured.

This is how they will roll. The tracks will be flush with the concrete.

Rebar and tracks are in place. Ready for concrete !

Then the rest of the floor was leveled to the same height as the pit floor.

Forms for the rest of the floor:

One corner at the back of the garage had a huge rock poking up. But since it would be below the level of the finished floor, I decided It could stay another million years where it was.

Making the form around the rocks was fun..

Here I have started the form for the pit itself. The angle Iron edge was attached, and some pieces of rebar nets welded to the angle Irons to make it really attached to the rest of the floor.

 

[Sunbimmer]

Very interesting what you are doing there, great job

Keep posting the pics as you progress please!

 

[sean Buick 76]

Great progress and work from start till now!!! I really like seeing all the progress pics!!!

 

[rixtrix1]

Very interesting what you are doing there, great job

Keep posting the pics as you progress please!

Ditto!!!

 

[Alexbn921]

Subscribed. Damn you have put a lot of work into your barn. I love that you are saving an old barn and doing it right. It is going to be amazing to have a nice big space and a lift too. Are you going to insulate the space and put in a pot belly stove? I bet that the loft has some great wood in the floor that will pop with some work. You could have a great place to hang out and entertain. I wish I had the space that you have. Good luck with the rest of you projects.

 

[locul]

Great job.

Envy from Denmark

Godt arbejde.

 

[Bib Overalls]

Appreciate the update. I like where this is going.

 

[stewbacca3]

Greetings from Scotland,

I have been watching your work with great interest. You have done a fantastic job so far and I look forward to seeing your progress. Keep up the good work.

Stewart