OLD farm barn walls

[mrcaptainbob]

Purchasing a place with a very old barn. It's set in a notch in a side of a hill. From the east side you enter the 'ground' level. From the west (uphill side) you enter the 'main' level. The three walls that are against the ground are not in very good shape. The west wall is starting to buckle. The east wall is setting on MAYBE 6 or 8 2x4's at one end, while at the other, it's actually setting on the stacked block. Most of the walls are field stone. There's a steel I-beam down the center that the joists are on. Parallel to that and on the outer edges are hand-hewn 12x12's. The entire barn is in pretty fair shape except for the foundation. Is there a way to save this? I'm not so concerned about the looks of the filed stone as much as I am about the whole structure coming loose. The ground load is starting to show on the west-most wall. I'm concerned about trenching too much right beside the field stone to set down a footing for a new wall. Any suggestions on how I might proceed?

 

[Anonymous Poster]

Your first step is to prevent any further settling by installing a temporary beam under the floor joyst about 3 or 4 feet back from the wall that is corbling. The temporary must be strong enough to hold the weight, and supported sufficiently to carry the weight of the barn. Usually, this will involve cribhouse pilings under the temporary.
An alternative would be to install new pier foundations inside the wall, piers and an I beam to take over weight carrying for the failing wall.
Then, you'll need to determine why the wall is corbling, if it's due to frost pushing agianst it, or due to insufficient foundation, and there is a void on the dirt side of the wall. If there is a void, you may be able to plate the wall and jack it back into place. You may be able to make this determination by probing outside the wall if your soil conditions permit.
If there is no void, it will be necessary to remove the corbling wall from the inside, and eliminate the cause, then rebuild the foundation wall.
If you don't have experience in this type of work, be forewarned, you can get in trouble real quick, and end up wearing a barn for a hat.

 

[MossRoad]

I would consult an engineer. It would be money well spent if you decide to rescue the barn.

 

[markie61]

A similar issue was dealt with about a month ago at this link
I saw some pretty good ideas here.
Good luck,
Mark

 

[jmattox1]

The link that markie61 posted is from my posting.

Lots of good info there. Same scenerio as yours from your description.

This is what I have been looking into.

1Meet with a company rep that jacks up houses
2 Deal with another company to repair/replace walls and install perimeter drain around the 3 walls, waterproof them that are in the hill
3 Allow company to settle the building back down on the new walls.

There is still alot of questions in my mind that I haven't worked out yet.

And most definetly anyone working on your property get a certificate of insurance from them before any work commences. Make sure they show workmans comp on the certificate.

If you would like more information please feel free to contact me.

 

[mrcaptainbob]

Thanks to all for the quick response. I will get some inside photo's of the lower section showing the foundation. Sure sounds like the same problem other's have had. The structure above the foundation is in pretty good shape, I'd hate to loose it. All good suggestions. Thanks again...