Any ideas on how to refurb this old barn?

[jcwells]

My wife and I bought 11 3/4 acres with a nice house and a 40' x 40' barn outside of Gunter, Texas in May. The house was built in 2004, but the barn was there long, long before that.


IMG_5187 by jcwellsq8, on Flickr


IMG_5231 by jcwellsq8, on Flickr

I'd like to get some input from all of you as to how best to rehabilitate this old barn, so that I can use it partly as equipment/hay storage, and partly as warm/dry/critter secure shop and storage.


IMG_5232 by jcwellsq8, on Flickr

The building is pole barn construction, and the "bones" of the building seem to be solid. The opening on the left is 8' wide, and extends the length of the building as shown.


IMG_5233 by jcwellsq8, on Flickr

There is a similar entry, 10' wide, from the back of the building, extending in about 30' that was once used for hay storage.


IMG_5253 by jcwellsq8, on Flickr


IMG_5252 by jcwellsq8, on Flickr

The rest of the building was set up as some kind of rough living quarters, likely for migrant workers. There is water and power to the building, but I have to figure out if there is a functioning septic system. It is a probably a +300' run to the aerobic septic system that handles the house.


IMG_5235 by jcwellsq8, on Flickr


IMG_5237 by jcwellsq8, on Flickr


IMG_5241 by jcwellsq8, on Flickr


IMG_5243 by jcwellsq8, on Flickr


IMG_5244 by jcwellsq8, on Flickr

The roof is mostly weather tight, other than a couple minor leaks. The floors are currently plywood that is pretty punky, laid across 2x6 floor "joists" that appear to be in contact with the ground. Whatever drywall was in place before has mostly been stripped out.

I'd like to go with a concrete floor in this part of the building, and stick with gravel pads in the equipment/hay storage areas.

I guess that I'm looking for advice on how to get this done, and on how to do the little things like fixing the outside skin to make it weather/critter tight. I've done a little bit of drywalling and 110V household electrical stuff, but really don't have any other useful construction skills.

Any ideas/suggestions/recommendations are fair game for this thread. You could probably say that I've got more money than brains, but I'm actually limited in both. A more-than-fulltime job means that I'm even more limited in time. I'd like to have most of the major stuff taken care of by next summer, but I can putter around on the finishings a lot longer than that.

Cheers...

John

 

[jcwells]

I thought that you all liked pictures! :laughing:

 

[GGB]

My compliments-nice place!

The first decision is to know exactly what you want to do with the barn. Just simple storage/workshop, or will it be a place you can also use for entertaining? Seems like most folks really enjoy barn parties! Either way, the bathroom wll always be a very nice feature.

It's hard to tell from the pictures if the walls are straight or starting to lean, but in any case you'll want to know for certain if the foundation is sound. Is there any evidence of termite or water damage? Both should be checked thoroughly before making any decisions. You mentioned a couple of roof leaks-have you been able to trace the source and determine if it is a simple or major fix?

The plywood floor you said was not in good shape-here again you'll want to be sure there is no termite/water damage. If the floor joists have been on the ground, I'd be surprised if there weren't issues. This also makes me wonder if you can take them out to put in a concrete floor without affecting the structural integrity of the whole barn. I'd be talking to a good structural engineer to know for sure on all of this.

Again, it's hard to tell for sure just from pictures, but don't be surprised if you find that it's less expensive to put up another strucure than to do major renovations. If so, you should be able to get exactly what you want. But from what I'm seeing, chances are that won't be necessary.

We recently renovated an old barn that was built before my wife's family bought the family farm in 1903. It would have been smarter to put the cost for fixing it up into a new building, but a new one would never have had the charm of the old one. In our case we fixed it up as best we could, warts and all. At least you don't have a long history to cloud your decision!

Good luck, and keep us posted.

 

[Western]

John, Welcome to TBN!

Looks like a good project you have there.

If it where me, I would deal with all the leaks 1st and in the mean time have a few concrete guys out to give you quotes. You may have to remove the remaining flooring , that also will make it cheaper.

There are so many things on a barn like this, I think you will be better served by addressing each part of this project in the order you want/need it done, then post related photos and questions specifically. There are allot of talented folks on here that specialize in various building industries that will chime in.

My best advice is try and see if you can find a local construction guy that can see the shed first hand and make recommendations.

If it where me, I would fix the leaks 1st, then remove anything I didn't want/like or need that isn't load bearing, like the remaining dry wall and flooring, then re- evaluate.

 

[Western]

I guess I posted at the same time as GGB and he makes some excellent points.

Also agree, nice place ,but without the mountains in Golden I lived on the Western slope for a bit.

 

[RoMad]

When we bought our rental property 10 years ago the shed didn't look as good as yours. The first think I did was put 1x4 non pressure treated pine on the roof on 2' centers on top of the existing roof. I screwed them down to the rafters and then ran a string line down each one from end to end. The barn is 60' long and the the roof was real wavy. I shimmed the 1x4's in all of the low places and made them straight from end to end. Then, I put a complete new 26 guage galvalume roof on it.
Next I stripped off all of the exterior tin siding / plywood and other junk that had been nailed and screwed to it. It is a pole building with the poles on 10' centers so we put new 2x6 purlins on where needed and then resided the entire barn with aluminum box rib siding. I got the siding from work after it was replaced due to hurricane damage.
Next, we changed around the partitions / stalls and put in a small bathroom.
Now we have a nice shed.

 

[RobertBrown]

Along with the rest...this is good advice.

This also makes me wonder if you can take them out to put in a concrete floor without affecting the structural integrity of the whole barn. I'd be talking to a good structural engineer to know for sure on all of this.

I wouldn't do anything until you are able to eliminate/answer the big questions regarding structural integrity, termite damage and just how well constructed this building is. You don't want to throw good money after bad.
From what I can tell it's questionable but doesn't look to bad at all for the use you are describing.
Get a good feel for how it is put together before you start anything but mainly demolition.
Getting the structure as plumb and level as possible makes any remodeling a lot easier.
Nice place you have there. You can do a lot with 11 acres

 

[Pete Judd]

I think that I would start with the Sawsall, and take out as much as the interior that you can. Then you can assess the condition, and have a clear view of what you have to work with. Save what lumber that you might be able to reuse. The plywood floors with joists on the ground bother me as well, as where I am at, would rot out in a couple of years.

If the posts are sound, then pouring a cement floor, and gravel for other areas I think this would be a great place. You would have plenty of room for your equipt, hay storage, and critters.

However, no matter how big, in time it will be to small.

 

[jcwells]

The first decision is to know exactly what you want to do with the barn. Just simple storage/workshop, or will it be a place you can also use for entertaining? Seems like most folks really enjoy barn parties! Either way, the bathroom wll always be a very nice feature.

Good points, GGB. Right now, the plan for the closed-in interior space is for a multipurpose shop and supplemental storage (Christmas stuff, boxed-up books, etc.). So, the must-haves I see are water-tightness, keeping out the bugs, mice, snakes, skunks, etc., and insulation so that I can add a little supplemental heating and cooling. And yes, I'm thinking that keeping a bathroom out there would be a good move. I'm leaning towards concrete flooring for versatility and strength, but should I be considering a new sub-floor? Since my wife and I are soon to be empty-nesters, I'm guessing that we'll have plenty of entertaining space in the house.

Along with the rest...this is good advice.

I wouldn't do anything until you are able to eliminate/answer the big questions regarding structural integrity, termite damage and just how well constructed this building is. You don't want to throw good money after bad.
From what I can tell it's questionable but doesn't look to bad at all for the use you are describing.
Get a good feel for how it is put together before you start anything but mainly demolition.

I think that I would start with the Sawsall, and take out as much as the interior that you can. Then you can assess the condition, and have a clear view of what you have to work with. Save what lumber that you might be able to reuse. The plywood floors with joists on the ground bother me as well, as where I am at, would rot out in a couple of years.

There are so many things on a barn like this, I think you will be better served by addressing each part of this project in the order you want/need it done, then post related photos and questions specifically. There are allot of talented folks on here that specialize in various building industries that will chime in.

My best advice is try and see if you can find a local construction guy that can see the shed first hand and make recommendations.

If it where me, I would fix the leaks 1st, then remove anything I didn't want/like or need that isn't load bearing, like the remaining dry wall and flooring, then re- evaluate.

Western, Pete and Robert, sounds like you all are offering good advice. I need to first get someone to confirm that the building structure itself is sound, then start my work a piece at a time. Who's the best guy I could ask to objectively evaluate my building? I don't think that would be an out-building vendor (Morgan, Rhino or others), since they would have an incentive to tell me to scrape it off and start over.

Anybody have any advice on how to make a tin building tight against bugs and mice?