Renovation of an old Bank Barn

[Dave5264]

Right on Guys. Thanks for the comments and Input.

the wall is currently poured concrete with large field stones mixed in.

there is little to no heave of the footing per say, just the areas where the earth is banked up had pushed the walls and cracked them. Once it starts to go in one area, everything else follows. Good Idea withthe styrafoam though, just did that in my garage floor.

There is simply no way I will spend that amount of $ on a foundation wall ($5- - 70k) so my only hope is a "do-it-yourself" fix.

I like the "no windows" Idea, and I picked cinder block (core filled & rebar) because I figure its an easier do-it-yourself than setting forms and pouring that much concrete. In addition withthe cinderblock, i can pick away at it and do it over time...but...im only guessing.

 

[studor]

One potential way to shore it up would be to dig pier holes one at a time under the existing foundation, pour and let harden and continue along until the whole structure has new footings. They use a similar technique to deepen basements or put new footings in problem basements. Any way you slice it it will be a lot of work and it will be an old barn. The one at my place has a solid foundation but there was an addon pole piece that I had to take down before it fell down

 

[Dave5264]

Any one wanna' buy a Bank Barn ?.

Buyer responsible for disassemby and shipping

:thumbsup:

 

[buckeyefarmer]

Just outside of my shipping range

 

[ElDorado]

This may seem nuts, but....

What about grant money? Up here in New York State, remember we are going broke, there are "people" that want to preserve old barns as a tribute to American History and are offering big bucks to people who do this exact kind of project. You may want to google barn grants and see what happens. Good Luck.

 

[jimmyj]

I love old barns. Our family had 4 on the farm when I was a kid and there are only 2 left. Some of my fondest memories are of those barns.

I don't have a lot of experience to help you but the quotes you got would be deal breakers for me. I would, due to budget do my best to protect against frost and make sure the roof is good and live with what I got. A compromise I guess but without animals inside to keep it warm the foundation will be a real problem. Could you pour a new foundation around the outside of the block walls somehow and tie them in? (My ignorance of this topic is showing!). I have seen walls shored up with big thick wedge shaped supports against them. Almost like a triangle against the wall with the fat part at the bottom and the point at the top of the wall. I assume the triangles have deep foundations and they stop the walls spreading outward.

Good luck!

 

[toy]

If I finally got what the problem is figured out right, it's the bank that is pushing in the wall with the freeze and thaw cycles of the seasons. If pouring a concrete support wall on the inside is out of the question, and you are considering using blocks and doing it a little at a time [expense being one of the reasons for doing it this way ] then maybe this might work for you.

When you lay the blocks stand short pieces of rebar in each of the holes in the blocks and mix up cement to fill the holes as you go up and that would tie the blocks together. The short rebar pieces being long enough to reach up through three or four rows of blocks and as you keep adding rows put in more short pieces of rebar keeping it all tied together. Doing it that way you could do it a little at a time as your expenses allowed. A long time ago we did a wall like that and we would lay about four rows and then fill the holes with cement all the way up to about the first half of the last row and then we would lay more rows and then fill in with cement. In our area we stagger the block joints and that helps with the strength. I saw a man once laying blocks without staggering the joints and he said that was the way they did it from where he came from, and then he plastered the walls. Seems like doing it that way would give you a weak wall.

 

[buckeyefarmer]

Our county is having a tour of old barns this weekend.

Welcome to the Frederick County Landmarks Foundation Website!

My grandfather's farm has a log barn on it. My cousin owns it now, and is letting it go in disrepair. It's a shame

 

[6011Artist]

Eldorado may be on to something there. If you could get your local historical society involved they may know of someone that is filthy rich that will help out. I know that grants are given every day for all kinds of foolish ideas but preserving history to me is not foolish. I too love those old barns and hate to see one torn down. And an old barn has a lot of history in it, shows the way of life from days of old. These old barns are getting scarce so securing a grant is very possible.

The main problem in people that give grants is having someone really take interest and doing what the agreement designates. You have the interest to carry out what they require to get the grant, I say do some research and see if it can be repaired/restored. They will possibly provide the money to restore your old barn into a piece of history that has all the details and cut no cost to keep it original and attractive. In return, you may have to host an open house on occasion or show in some way you are willing to give back to the community or organization.

 

[Dave5264]

If I finally got what the problem is figured out right, it's the bank that is pushing in the wall with the freeze and thaw cycles of the seasons. If pouring a concrete support wall on the inside is out of the question, and you are considering using blocks and doing it a little at a time [expense being one of the reasons for doing it this way ] then maybe this might work for you.

When you lay the blocks stand short pieces of rebar in each of the holes in the blocks and mix up cement to fill the holes as you go up and that would tie the blocks together. The short rebar pieces being long enough to reach up through three or four rows of blocks and as you keep adding rows put in more short pieces of rebar keeping it all tied together. Doing it that way you could do it a little at a time as your expenses allowed. A long time ago we did a wall like that and we would lay about four rows and then fill the holes with cement all the way up to about the first half of the last row and then we would lay more rows and then fill in with cement. In our area we stagger the block joints and that helps with the strength. I saw a man once laying blocks without staggering the joints and he said that was the way they did it from where he came from, and then he plastered the walls. Seems like doing it that way would give you a weak wall.

Yes, this is exactly what my plan is. Bit at a time, core filled and rebar, with Mesh along the horizontal run every 2nd course.

Ill also look into the Bran Grants up here in Canada

Good Ideas guys, thanks