1800 farmhouse Restore?

[Paul_farmhouse]

Hi,
I have a 1800's farmhouse 2 storey clay brick, steep roof.
The roof has sagged and south and east walls are leaning out.
There is a post on clay basement holding up the center.
The roof holds up the house in this style of construction.

Is it worthwhile to restore such a house? like cabling the roof truses and pulling the roof back straight and pushing walls back up?

If not is there anyone who may want to buy the house parts complete?

Main house is 32 by 22 feet, 12 inch brick walls , exterior and interior courses. It has a kitchen extension on north wall.
Built in rock foundation style.


This house is unbelievably strong.

Thanks.

 

[bgott]

It all depends on where you're at and how much you want to spend. I subscribe to This Old House magazine and also sometimes watch the show. They feature houses that might be in a lot worse shape than yours that people spend ungodly amounts of money to restore. Are you in a part of the country where you can at least get your money back if not make a few bucks after restoration? How much do you want to spend? Some parts of the country have historical preservation laws that can limit any changes that you can make, if your house falls under those laws you might not be able to tear it down. It might be a good idea to spend the money to hire a structural engineer to inspect your house before you make a decision. It might cost you a wad to be told that it isn't worth saving but it would be cheaper than being half way into the job before figuring that out on your own.

 

[EddieWalker]

Since your asking the question, I'm assuming you have no experience or knowledge on home construction and repair.

Based on this assumption, you are looking at a money pit.

To do it right, you'll have to start at the foundation and work your way up from there. A leaning wall indicates a poor foundation. I have no experience with clay brick walls, so it could be a shift in them as well. Just pulling them together is a bandaid fix, and wont address the real problem. Why did the walls move? Will they stay together if you pull them together, or will they lose there structual integrity?

If you keep it, are you prepaired for the liability of part of it failing and causing injury?

If there was no regulation against it, and if you're not attached to the building for some sentimental reason, I'd get rid of it.

I had an old barn with similar problems. While weighing my options on rebuilding it or knocking it down, a branch fell on the roof and caved part of it in. Decision made. I knocked the whole thing down and life is better for doing so.

 

[Cliff_Johns]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( . . . It might be a good idea to spend the money to hire a structural engineer to inspect your house before you make a decision.)</font>

I think this is key. It sounds like you want to restore it, but really this is only viable if the basic structure is sound. A structural engineer can tell you what extra costs might be associated with pulling the house together.

It's not unusual for these house walls to lean a bit. That is why you see those little metal stars at the ends of a lot of brick buildings, they are attached to steel rods which run the whole length of the building, basically holding the ends together.

As far as getting you money back from an extensive renovation, you probably won't. It just doesn't work that way. If you're not planning on living there, renovation isn't usually worth the effort unless you own a construction company. You have to do it for the love, that is, because you want to live there.

Just my opinion.

Good luck,
Cliff

 

[MarkLeininger]

You don't say how much the roof sags or the walls have bowed out. I assume the problem is due to lack or removal of the eave ties. You also say that the roof holds up the house; I can't say I've ever seen a roof that holds up the house. Nothing you said indicates any problem with the foundation; I assume that only the tops of the walls have bowed out. I've seen several homes fail under snow load like this, so I wouldn't live in the house until you understand the extent of the problem.

I've fixed several old barns with this kind of problem and it may cost very little but take a lot of your time. I use a combination of a couple of hydraulic jacks to lift the ridge beam at the same time I use come alongs to pull the top plates of the walls together. If the wall is solid brick and not brick veneer you will need to make an attachment to the rafters (you said you have trusses, but I assume you didn't mean that). You may be able to use joist hangers connected to a 2xwhatever to do that. You have to do this slowly; it took decades to sag so you should move it back very slowly. I would typically move an eighth inch per day on a barn, I'd go a lot slower on a house so you don't damage the plaster, etc. If it's really cold out you probably want to go slower. You may never get it back to perfectly plumb and level, but you can improve the situation and stabilize the building. You will have to install or repair the eave ties, and possibly the supports under the ridge beam that end up bearing on the foundation.

The suggestion to have a structural engineer look at it is a good one. I have a guy who comes out on his lunch hour for $50/hour to give me verbal opinions on things. Find someone like that to give you an idea what size things need to be.

 

[MMM]

I've got one built circa 1873 and had similar symptoms. I did the comealong method as Mark L suggests and installed the eve ties or collar ties as we call them. They basically hold 2 rafters opposite ridge board together to keep them from spreading and pushing out on walls. a couple spots one wall would be plumb, but other didn't completely straighten. It still is much better than before. Insulation is another factor with old, old houses. I've had to remove every interior wall and insulate because the walls have horizontal 2X4s between studs. If you live in the house, It is also hard to get things like doors and windows to fit dimensional lumber(2"X4", not 1.5X3.5). There's a lot of custom fit involved. )I'd advise against remodeling DIY. It really takes it's toll on you and family. I guess it depends on how much you have to do to it. Good luck.

 

[Currmudgeon]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( It is also hard to get things like doors and windows to fit dimensional lumber(2"X4", not 1.5X3.5). There's a lot of custom fit involved. ) )</font>

You'll be on your Millwork supplier's Christmas bottle list for ever. Dang near everything will need to be custom milled. I bid on restoring a historical colonial home once; the millwork alone was a six digit number. Absolutely nothing comes out of a box.

You'd better really want to do this job, or it's a loser.

 

[JimR]

Don't give up on the project if you love the old place. Unless of course it is too far gone. I rebuilt this barn at a cost of about 1/8th of what it would have cost to replace it. Here are a before and after shot. the barn was built in the 1820-1840 era. Inside the walls you see is all missing. The cneter section collapsed. There is a big void missing that is 36' long by 24' wide. This includes the center section of the barn being gone.

 

[JimR]

This picture was after we replaced all the beams including rafters.

 

[JimR]

The final project picture. You can do miracles if you have the time and patience to tackle a job like this.