Barn Tear Down

[johnsjum]

I am new to this site but have found a wealth of information, awesome!

Long story short i have acquired some land with an old barn on it that needs to come down. Approx. sq. footage is around 3000 feet. most of the roof has collapsed and there is a lean to pole barn attached to the side. I am looking for any and all ideas on how to take down. can i just hook up my old JD tractor with a strap? Most of the wood is no good as it has a lot of the powder post beetle issues.

take a look at the pics

and thanks in advance for any advice

 

[JRobyn]

Hi Johnsjum,

Welcome to TBN! I took down a neighbor's old tobacco barn a few years ago - just pry bars and sledge hammers. We salvaged most of the roof tin and siding wood. It was beginning to lean due to rotten posts, so we started with some long heavy nylon straps and come-a-longs to brace and prop it up. It was a JOB! Three or 4 of worked on it for two weekends plus.

- Jay

 

[ToadHill]

A number of years ago a friend told me I could have the old barn he was going to tear down for the wood if I wanted it.

I took off all the side boards and we tried to pull the frame down with his 145 hp tractor. I still had to use the chain saw on about 1/2 the old pegged joints before it would come down.

If you don't want the wood, maybe the local fire department would like to use it for a practice burn.

 

[turnkey4099]

There should be a lot of good framing lumber in that. It will probably be all 'rough cut' though. Also may be some "artist" interest in teh siding. If so it can go for some surprisingly high prices.

I hae torn down a couple houses and a falling down schoolhouse. It is dangerous work. Best if you can't pull or push it down is "from the top down" at last that way the building won't fall on you while you work .

Rules:

1. Keep the site clean, all stuff piled as it comes off. Do not leave boards laying around. Nails in your feet are not a laughing matter.

2. Wear gloves...wear more gloves...and still more. They will wear out fast.

3. Wear eye protection. Ask me how I wound up with 50% vision in one eye when my goggles were laying withing arms reach.

4. Wear foott protection. Best is a pair of boots with steel toes and a steel plate under the sole. See 1.

5. Safest and most fun is to call your local fire department. They love those things for training. You may even be able to work a tax deduction.

Harry K

 

[tcartwri]

Have someone with a high hoe and a grapple come in and pull it apart. It would take them very little time, and they can sort it as they go into piles.

Way too dangerous to do it by hand.

 

[JDgreen227]

I am new to this site but have found a wealth of information, awesome!

Long story short i have acquired some land with an old barn on it that needs to come down. Approx. sq. footage is around 3000 feet. most of the roof has collapsed and there is a lean to pole barn attached to the side. I am looking for any and all ideas on how to take down. can i just hook up my old JD tractor with a strap? Most of the wood is no good as it has a lot of the powder post beetle issues.

take a look at the pics

and thanks in advance for any advice

If any wood isn't worth saving, I strongly second the suggestion made about using it for a practice burn for the local fire department. Odds are you will be burning much of it anyhow, so why not let someone else do it, and have them there just in case the fire spreads?

Also, be VERY, VERY careful during any tear apart work you do, wear safety gear and be sure not to work alone. Those videos you see on TV where someone gets hurt or falling are probably funny to watch, but you don't want to get hurt yourself. If you can, identify the weakest areas of the barn, and demolish those first, save the stronger sections for last as you gain experience.

And don't take this wrong, I see you are new to TBN, and don't know how much experience you have with "your old JD tractor"....for those who are inexperienced and know little about safely pulling with a tractor, few things can injure or kill someone as fast as a backflip while pulling the wrong way. But welcome to TBN !!!!

 

[dusty3030]

View attachment 226714

This is the only fun way.

 

[JDgreen227]

View attachment 226714

This is the only fun way.

You got a legal burn permit (or weapons permit) for that gadget....:laughing:

 

[johnsjum]

All great advice. And the first thing i did a few weeks ago was inquire about letting the fire department do some practice, but in the township that it is in they no longer do that sort of thing.

I also inquired about letting someone take it down for the wood, but i really just don't want to mess with some random person doing that even if there is liability insurance.

I do think some of the wood is reuseable, but am more concerned with just getting it down.

I have some friends who are very anxious to help, which is a good thing, but i also want to be extra safe. The last thing i want is to have a friend or myself get injuried.

Also seeing that the pole barn is tied into the old barn i really don't want to mess with trying to save it, as i feel that much of the reason the old barn is standing yet is that it is tied in structurally with this metal pole barn.

Any advice or tricks on taking the pole barn down? Should i just go at it with the tractor bucket or forks?

Thanks again for all the suggestions!

 

[dusty3030]

Is the metal side a wood frame with metal siding / roofing?
Is it nailed in or screwed in?

I tore down our old barn about this time last year. It was a chore.
It was rotten wood framed with metal roof and siding, cobbled on to and added on to many times over the years. I did salvage all the good lumber from it I could.

I used prybars, hammers, and most valuable a couple of receprocating saws (as well as a tractor and 5 gallons of diesel and a match)

We first removed all the roofing and sheeting from the sides. Luckily mostly nailed on. We used small plastic buckets that a hoof supplement I buy came in (looks like mini 5 gallon pails) with a quarter sized hole cut out of the center of the lid. We all carried on around and that is what we dumped nails in. All the sheeting and roofing as well as anything else metal we came accross got stacked onto a trailer and when it got full it was hauled to the scrap yard. Got around $400 or so out of the metal we hauled off.

Once all the sheeting was off we started taking out any good wood. Recip saw was used to just cut through nails, it got too hard pulling them as we were going, slowed us down.

Made a few cuts to weaken it in some areas, and then pushed it in to its center and lit her up.

I had a dumpster brought in and scraped up the remnants with my FEL and had it hauled off.

 

[The Haymaker]

View attachment 226714

This is the only fun way.

Well that took the fire out of my idea.

 

[bearcreek paul]

I took this in a couple of days by myself just start from the top and work your way down.This old garage had a bad lean toward the house,but there was a bunch of good lumber.My neighbor wanted to pull it down but I was afraid of Murphy's law.

 

[dex3361]

I went through this issue this spring. I chose to burn the barn for safety reasons. Nothing worth getting hurt over. Besides I have been involved in destructing old rough sawn lumber buildings and it is a real task. Here is a link to the burn and clean up job. Barn Burning