Fixing a dirt floor old barn...

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I have a 24x48 barn with a dirt floor to fix. The barn is not a pole barn and it has no concrete footings. After checking all the corners it looks like the barn was constructed with 12x12x24 pressure treated wood laying directly on gravel and the walls were built up from there.

The problem I have is that one of the 12x12x48 has seen better days... the wood practically falls apart by touching it and has to be replaced. Anyone have an idea on how to do this? Do I create a wall support and disconnect the bottom 12x12x48 and try and put a new one? or insert concrete blocks? Heck...how the heck did these old timers get away with this type of construction...I was under the impression you needed a foundation or poles to hold up a barn...okay...I wont critized them...since the darn thing is still standing after 30+ years...

Heck....is the barn savagable???

-- David (CNY) (sundance@midtel.net), December 04, 2001

Answers

Oh, sure! The sills go on old barns all the time. You just need to jack the side where the sill's rotten up an inch (not much more), tear old the old wood and replace it with new.

We did it by lag screwing a chunk of 4X4 onto the main beam coming up the sill, putting a hydraulic jack under it, raising it and then pouring a concrete sill, so we'd never have to do it again. But you can use wood. It's not really hard.

-- Julia (charmer24@juno.com), December 04, 2001.


I have a 40' x 60' timber-framed horse barn built around the turn of the century with a 100-ton upper hay loft. Since buying our farm several years ago, I've been restoring and repairing the various outbuildings. We're trying to preserve the look and feel of a 19th Century farm. My barn had a sill problem similar to yours. Also, had to redo a 20' X 60' lean-to equipment shed wall on one side of the barn that was sliding down the hill.

I chose to use concrete blocks under the section of the barn with bad sill timbers because the blocks wouldn't be visible when the job was completed, it was cheaper, and I did the job over several weeks. I did the job using a procedure similar to the one described in the previous answer.

I used hydraulic jacks and lifted directly under the vertical wall timbers. Make darn sure the jacks are plumb to the verical timber. I used a 4' level on every lift. Make sure that the chunk you're lifting against is solid. Also, make sure that the base plate of your jack(s) is sitting on solid ground. If the ground is too soft under the jack, it will likely move on you. A nice wide solid piece of timber under the jack will help spread the load on the ground.

I couldn't use lag screws because my wall was too heavy. I had to lift directly under the vertical timbers. The walls of your building may not be too large and you might be able to get by using lag bolts and a piece of 4 X 4 as was suggested. I found that when I tried to lift other than directly under the vertical timber, things wanted to slip and slide a little and I didn't want any accidents.

I lifted one section at a time between two vertical timbers and raised the section a very small amount. Then, I put temporary support blocks close to the jacks in case the jacks slipped. Then, I carefully cut out and removed the old sill and slid the concrete blocks into place. Because my sills were 12" wide I used two blocks side by side under the sills. I dug the dirt out and tamped it a little where the blocks were going to be placed, then put the blocks in place, and put a new sill on top of the block. Then I slowly lowered the wall onto the new sill keeping the correct alignment along the length of the wall. At the corners, I layed a timber at an angle and was able to lift both adjoining walls enough to get the corner blocks and sill in place.

I toenailed a few 20d spikes where the vertical timbers sit on the sill to keep the wall from moving in the wind, but I think the wall weight, bracing and siding really keep the wall in place. It is important to keep the blocks level and true to the line of the original sill as much as possible. Also, keep the wall plumb.

I'm a chicken, so I did use a few heavy duty support poles "just in case" the wall started moving around in the wind while I had it raised. The wall in question is about 40' high with lots of big heavy timbers. Your walls are probably not that high, but the basic principles may still apply. Also, a couple of times where I thought the wall looked weak, I put an extra block or two crossways under the area where I was working in the event one of the timbers broke. Having my hand pinned under a sill plate isn't my idea of a fun time. It only takes a few seconds to be safe.

Always lift and lower slowly. Listen to the sounds coming from your building as you lift and lower. The stresses and strains will creak and moan which are normal. Of course what you don't want to hear are loud cracks and snaps.

If your barn is only about thirty years old, then it's probably not timber framed, and most likely modern construction techniques were used. The secret to longer sill life is to not let the sill timber touch the ground when it is finally in place. My barn is over 100 years old and except for the rotten section on the North side that was replaced, the original sills are all solid.

The real old timers seriously overbuilt many of their buildings and had wonderful material available to work with. I recently tried to nail some boards onto a timber of old growth oak and it was so hard that I had to drill pilot holes first. Old timers frequently used flat stacked rocks to keep the timbers off the ground. They also kept the outside of the sill covered with siding to prevent weathering.

On the lean-to equipment shed, the outer wall was originally constructed on a granite rock foundation. So, I restored that section using replacement sills cut to the same dimensions as the original sills, 12" X 12" X 18' (the originals were 24' long). I also had to sister splice the tails of the roof rafters along the side for a distance of about 20'. A tree had grown up next to the wall and through the roof. It had pulled the lean-to wall down and I was afraid if not repaired, it would pull the entire side of the main barn off. A friend of mine has a bandsaw mill, but he couldn't cut any timbers longer than 18', so I spliced the timbers using a chainsaw to make lap cuts and then drilled through, inserted 1" threaded rod, put some nuts and washers on each end and tightened. The new wall has been in place three years and hasn't moved an inch.

Hope this helps. Good Luck.

-- Ed (ecpubs@lynchburg.net), December 05, 2001.


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