So I have this old pole barn...

[TwinWillows]

While looks can be decieving from just a photo, it appears that with a little work you have something worth saving/repairing. Our place came w/an old barn that'd been used for cows & horses & apparently NEVER mucked out. We got after it with crow bars, hammers & shovels to do a lot of demo & when we had it finally opened up we worked all weekend in it with a skid steer loader mucking. We had a huge burn pile w/all the trash & bad hay! We're using it temporarly until we get our new barn finished & then the whole thing is coming down.

 

[Big_Charlie]

So I went out and checked out the poles and roof supports. With one or two exceptions, the poles seem to be in good shape. The ones in the lean-to are all old telephone poles that look like they were treated with creosote or some other dark brown substance. A couple of posts on the other side of the barn have been replaced in the past, one not too far in the past as it is a 6x6 pressure treated piece with asphalt shingles wrapped around the bottom.

The roof supports are another story. While most of them are sound, there are probably a dozen or so that have obvious insect damage, some of it severe. What's really interesting to me is that most of the scrap lumber sitting on or near the ground is untouched by bugs. The good news though is that I could probably salvage a lot of the scrap lumber to repair the bug eaten pieces. Is there some kind of paint that I could spray or brush over the exposed wood to protect it from insects in the future?

 

[Big_Charlie]

While old churches may have bats in their belfries, I have bugs in my rafters...

 

[Big_Charlie]

Some sizeable critter has dug a home for itself...

 

[slowzuki]

Looks like with a bit of work you could have a nice barn. The insect damage, you should call a local treatment company, barns have more options than houses for insecticides.

The outside corner looks like rot to me, common for untreated lumber near the ground.

 

[KentT]

Looks like bugs in the rafters that then got eaten by woodpeckers...

 

[Big_Charlie]

So what should I do with the floor? Obviously I'll empty the place of all of the junk, dig out the old manure, straw, and level it. What I'm not sure about doing is whether I should pour concrete around the whole inside, spread crushed stone, or just leave it dirt.

The more I look at it, the more I'm starting to realize that this could become a really nice multi-purpose building. /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

 

[ByronBob]

Like any project. Water is the first killer. If water is not leaking then anything can be fixed. This looks more solid then you let on to begin with. Cleaning it up might lead you to discover more about it's condition.

Do the posts go into the ground or is there concrete bases poured?

 

[Big_Charlie]

It's definitely solid, no doubt about it, and it certainly doesn't appear to leak. The dirt inside is so dry that it puffs up in little dust whisps when you walk around. When I referred to the junkpile, I was talking about the accumulation of garbage left by those who owned the property before me, not about the barn itself.

I guess what I started this post for was to get ideas from people about what to do with it once it's cleaned out, painted, and has working doors again. If you had this blank canvas to work with, what would you do with it?

 

[dooleysm]

I've never known anyone that regretted putting a concrete floor in their barn. It's not cheap, but it sure is nice.