How to straighten my boathouse?

[ch1ch2]

OK thanks
I guess I started reading too fast.

 

[check]

Hey, guys, great suggestions! Keep them coming. Remember, the cribs themselves are these massive 2014 deep beasties that are between 10 and 12 feet across at the top and who knows how wide at the bottom. They are not the problem, although I do need to do a little bit more attaching of my new 6 x 6 members for the last 3 feet or so of height that I used to replace the rotten old cedar crib members. And I can move the walls where if I want, just by hitting them with a sledgehammer. They slide easily on top of the crib. The problem is that the top of each wall does not want to move when the bottom does!

Anyway, I have to go home right now, and will be back at it next weekend. I will be thinking about this during the week as well.

 

[MossRoad]

...The problem is that the top of each wall does not want to move when the bottom does!....

The rear wall of the building must be anchored to something pretty stoutly, then. And the whole thing may be warped to the point of not wanting to go back. But most things can be coaxed with cables and turnbuckles over time.

Do as others have mentioned: Put a plum bob on each corner of the roof and see what has to go where to get the walls as centered under the roof edges as possible first.

 

[Dutch445]

you can see how much you have moved the structure,
as others mentioned, 100+ years is a long time.
the structure has conformed to it's foundation over
the years. i think you will be fine getting the walls as plumb to the
overhead structure as you can for now and trying pressure over time
to bring them more square. the wood has taken a long time to
move, and will most likely move back with time if given a little
pressure, slowly
i don't think you are going to easily move the upper portion much more,
as there is so much support up there. you might want to think of
it as being built from the top down at this point.
nice to see a save like this!
(totally a novice opinion here take it for what it's worth)

 

[PILOON]

You say you can't pull it over.
Perhaps you can push it.
With the bottoms parallel and affixed, use a jack (screw or hydraulic) and place the base at the correct wall with the top end to push the lean or tilt to when it is plumb.
Next some diagonal bracing to lock the newly plumbed wall in place.
Nothing is stronger than triangulation.
Since there will be some built up energy I would consider going past plumb as that wall will want to somewhat spring back.\
I know U can't brace across the front as that is a doorway but you sure can up at the rafter level from side to side.
Also in the 2 wall spaces each side of the door you could panel from the inside, the short side walls with plywood and that would 'lock' them parallel and plumb.

 

[Jaylegger]

That's a beautiful piece of history you own. All I can offer is the foundation structure closest to the shore is having a greater stronghold on the roof than the structure as you move further out into the water. If your intent is to move the entire building counter clockwise you might have to start closer to shore and live with the bow.

Have you tried to connect the bottom of the two side walls at the door area with cable or a beam so the two side move together??

After a little more thought I think I'd buy a shyte load of bottle jacks and set them horizontally to push from the left side and pull from the right starting half way to shore (perhaps 4-6 per side). Diagonally brace the interior from side to side and cross your finger that the building moves counterclockwise instead of the cribbing moving clockwise.

 

[quicksandfarmer]

Chances are the roof will leak as result of all the re-positioning so stripping it and re-nailing after squared might be a good thing.

I would strip the roof, then square the building, the re-roof it. Taking the weight of the roof off will make the squaring easier. Same thing with the siding, if you think you have to take it off, take it off now.

 

[fxrupr]

Hey James.

Your going to need some new support piers place at the end of the pier then build from that solid baase. Either pillars made of cement of phone poles deep in the lake ttill they hit solid granite.


I'm out here in Ca. where we have earthquakes weekly. Also do a search on Earthquake retrofit / repair/ some but not ALL items will apply, but I think enough to bring you back in shape.

Here's links:
Earthquake Retrofitting, Foundation Bolting & Cripple Wall Bracing | Earthquake Safety

The Post to Beam Connection - Bay Area Retrofit

A Step-by-Step Guide to Retrofit Your Home for Earthquakes

Seismic Retrofit Guide 212 | Simpson Strong-Tie

I second what Cat_Driver has mentioned above. From past experience my 2 cents worth.
I mean no disrespect but have you considered hiring an experienced contractor who specializes in this sort of thing? Without knowing what your repair budget is, it would be difficult to try to estimate how best to proceed. You are working with a top heavy old balloon framed structure with no connection between the two outer walls at the water line. You are also dealing with a dynamic system in partial collapse. The first thing that should be done is stabilize the boathouse framing as it is with cross bracing horizontally and vertically so it will not collapse any further. The advice of all the others above is good and well intentioned but without being able to be sure of what has already been done and to what extent it has actually mitigated the collapsing cribs that advice is based on assumptions which may not be supportable.
If your cribbing has settled as much as you described, you are wasting your time trying to manipulate the framing above the water line until you permanently stabilize and reinforce the foundation on which it is sitting. That should be your first objective. It would be a shame to have the boathouse collapse not to mention someone getting hurt because the cribbing gave way after you had gotten the structure partway repaired.

 

[MinnesotaEric]

Hey James.

Your going to need some new support piers place at the end of the pier then build from that solid baase. Either pillars made of cement of phone poles deep in the lake ttill they hit solid granite.


I'm out here in Ca. where we have earthquakes weekly. Also do a search on Earthquake retrofit / repair/ some but not ALL items will apply, but I think enough to bring you back in shape.

Here's links:
Earthquake Retrofitting, Foundation Bolting & Cripple Wall Bracing | Earthquake Safety

The Post to Beam Connection - Bay Area Retrofit

A Step-by-Step Guide to Retrofit Your Home for Earthquakes

Seismic Retrofit Guide 212 | Simpson Strong-Tie

I have no idea of the bottom but like yourself was thinking of sand screws to create hard points in the lake bottom from which to lever against and then hold in place.

 

[check]

I second what Cat_Driver has mentioned above. From past experience my 2 cents worth.
I mean no disrespect but have you considered hiring an experienced contractor who specializes in this sort of thing? Without knowing what your repair budget is, it would be difficult to try to estimate how best to proceed. You are working with a top heavy old balloon framed structure with no connection between the two outer walls at the water line. You are also dealing with a dynamic system in partial collapse. The first thing that should be done is stabilize the boathouse framing as it is with cross bracing horizontally and vertically so it will not collapse any further. The advice of all the others above is good and well intentioned but without being able to be sure of what has already been done and to what extent it has actually mitigated the collapsing cribs that advice is based on assumptions which may not be supportable.
If your cribbing has settled as much as you described, you are wasting your time trying to manipulate the framing above the water line until you permanently stabilize and reinforce the foundation on which it is sitting. That should be your first objective. It would be a shame to have the boathouse collapse not to mention someone getting hurt because the cribbing gave way after you had gotten the structure partway repaired.

The cribbing is fine and stable, and we are using a de-icer in the winter to prevent ice damage, which is probably what caused the problem in the first place. So there is no further work to be done there. We just need to put the decking back on either side after we get the walls situated horizontally.

And I don’t think the problem is due to age-old warping. In fact, as you can see from one of the pictures, I USED to have them in the right place - you can see the clean spot where the bottom of the wall used to be, about a foot to the left of where it is now. It just doesn’t want to go back there again now.

This coming weekend I will be putting up some scaffolding inside to have a better look at the roof boards, because the plan is to completely reshingle the roof once I get everything in the exact position that I want it.

And thanks for the good suggestions out the plumbob. Actually, I can eyeball it pretty close, and the lien is quite obvious. In the end I can put up with some lean as long as it doesn’t look obvious.

Here are some more photos.







That last photo was taken in the fall, when I rebuilt the floor outside the boat house with new concrete. It is now a good boat ramp. And you can also get an idea of the lien on the right hand side, where I have bolted a couple of 6 x 6’s.

And thanks for the nice compliments as well, guys. I agree that this boat house is magnificent, and a landmark on the lake!

 

[jmc]

^What anchored it from blowing away for 100 years? I'd start there.

If you stare at the bottom pic long enough, you can see an old Chris Craft floating in there.

 

[Streetcar]

What is supporting the roof if you can easily move the walls.determining supporting structure will lead you how to straighten the building

 

[fried1765]

OK, guys, here is a tough one for you. My 50' long, 100 year-old boathouse was sinking in to the lake at the end, but I have been able to replace enough of the (20' deep!) cribs on both sides so that the building is now up out of the water. BUT, it is crooked, and leaning. You can see in the photo where we tried hammering the walls to the right, hoping that the whole thing would move over, causing the whole boathouse to rotate a bit counterclockwise. And they did move (quite easily, actually). But only the bottom. (You can see where the side wall actually pulled away from the front wall.) Note that we have raised the wall a bit more since that photo, and in the Fall the water goes down quite a bit so we can walk on the crib joists. The second picture with yours truly shows this.

And because the end of the boathouse is 50' out into the water, we cannot simply attach a cable to the top corner and pull it sideways - there are no big trees growing out of the water LOL. This would be easy if the building was on land so I could just pull the top of the building over with a winch or what-not tied to a big tree.

It is so weird. I can hammer the bottom of both sides over, but the top does not want to come.

Any ideas, guys? Creative suggestions would be MUCH appreciated!

James



View attachment 604348
View attachment 604350

Post #10 by Moss Road essentially details the method I would use.

 

[Jstpssng]

Of course as you say,there are no trees in the lake to anchor to. Does it freeze in the winter time though?
Also, as you and so many others have pointed out it took 100 years for it to get that way, so you will want to take time putting it back. I know that when jacking up old houses they sometimes move them a little at a time over a period of months, to keep from popping things that they don’t want popped.
That is quite a project, and a nice building to be restoring.

 

[TimberHole]

The knee braces between the wall and the truss create a rigid moment connection. I would make some temporary braces for the walls with long enough screw jacks which allow enough adjustment and then remove the knee braces. Looks to me like the connection at the top of the wall would be considered a hinge. Looks like it would go right back in place. Maybe I’m missing something.

Fantastic building by the way!!!

 

[airbiscuit]

The knee braces between the wall and the truss create a rigid moment connection. I would make some temporary braces for the walls with long enough screw jacks which allow enough adjustment and then remove the knee braces. Looks to me like the connection at the top of the wall would be considered a hinge. Looks like it would go right back in place. Maybe I’m missing something.

Fantastic building by the way!!!

So the Knee Braces are holding it in the crooked state? Disconnect them, straighten the building and then reconnect them in the plumb and square state? I wondered the same thing.

 

[crashz]

Love the boat house! I had some good input, but this is beyond my building skills. But I want to commend you on your efforts to save such a cool, historical structure.

 

[TimberHole]

So the Knee Braces are holding it in the crooked state? Disconnect them, straighten the building and then reconnect them in the plumb and square state? I wondered the same thing.

That’s what I’m seeing. I would not remove the knee braces without temporary braces on the walls. With one end of the structure open it appears they have pinned the connection at the top of the wall creating a moment frame. At least that’s what it looks like to me in the photos.

 

[fxrupr]

A quick thought. With that new concrete pad you could attach ring bolts for tie downs and use cable or chain and turn buckles to start pulling things around. You say the cribbling is stable. Why not pour concrete caps on the corner cribbling and use those solid points fro pulling as well?

 

[Streetcar]

So the Knee Braces are holding it in the crooked state? Disconnect them, straighten the building and then reconnect them in the plumb and square state? I wondered the same thing.

If the knee brace was holding roof, the roof would move with wall. Op said roof stays in place when wall moved