Old Barn - Restore or Demolish Replace?

[strum456]

I am sad to say that we are at a crossroads with the condition of our century old barn. It is 2 floors, with a barn bridge and a drive in floor and a loft above. It measures 40x50.

The bad:

1. The sills are rotted on 3 sides of 4 sides. This is causing the posts to drop slowly
2. The roof is spreading the walls in the middle
3. All the siding needs replaced
4. The ends are rotted on a lot of the floor joist where the go into the sill on the exterior walls.
5. The foundation is pushed in at one corner due to heaving from the back fill against it.

The good:

1. The majority of the timbers are white oak, and are in good condition
2. The roof is corrugated heavy gauge stainless steel. My grandfather put it on in the 60s. I have no idea where he got it.
3. My dad replaced the sill on 1 side of the barn in the 90s. It is good.
4. The foundation is ok, except for the one corner


I am sure many on this site have been in this situation. I am trying to decide if we should fix it or build something to replace it.

How do we use the barn?

1/3 of the lower section is used as shelter and a feeding area for our beef cattle. We never have more than 20 head at a time. 2/3 of the lower floor is not used for much of anything because it is not accessible for equipment storage and it is too damp to store hay. The upper floor and the loft are used for hay storage (square bales).

One option: Pole Building
Together, my dad and I have built two pole buildings 30x50 ish for our equipment and work areas. Building another pole building would probably be a lot easier for us because we have done it. If we go this route, we would need a shelter for the cows and adequate hay storage space. I think we would be best served to design the building to store round bales and purchase a round baler. Does anyone have suggestions on design or size requirements for this?

Option two: Fix the barn, DIY style.
I have engineering training and plenty of carpentry and mechanical experience. I constructed a 1/2" = 1 foot scale balsa wood model of the barn and I've also done some stress analysis using Inventor (a 3d modeling program). I believe I understand what is happening and I have a plan to correct a lot of the issues. Honestly, the barn scares me a bit. We could literally end up dead if we make a mistake. I think we could fix the barn, but I'm not sure if I want to bet anyone's life on it.

Option three: Hire Amish or other barn restoration specialist:
I don't even know where to start here. I don't suppose the Amish advertise on the internet:confused2:

Sorry for the long post. The barn has been in the family for three generations. I don't want to be the generation that screwed it up for future generations.

 

[valley]

Save the barn! You'll be sorry if you don't. I've seen many barns, and thought, I would fix that old beauty, poor things sagging in the center. Jack that baby up, beef up the Ridge Beam if it's drooping. I'd like to see a picture of it.
There was a great old barn at our ranch, it's gone now, replaced by an apartment building. Fix it up, your ancestors will smile.

Richard

 

[plowindeeper]

It has been in the family for 3 generations you will regret it if you don't fix it, your last line says it all. Your have the skill and know how to do it.

 

[LJH]

Save & restore! Our old barns are priceless bits of American history and need to be preserved.

 

[chad22]

I agree. I would restore it if possible. I love old barns and hate to see them go.

Chad

 

[Pete Judd]

Restore! In my county, it would cost you 7 to 10 grand to get the permits to build one that size. A restore would save the permit cost and you will still have the family history.

 

[JD 4520]

Restore it. From a cost perspective it will likely cost more but you will appreciate the history. Priceless.

 

[hslogger]

If you really want to, save the barn. In the end when you look back you will be rewarded and I doubt seriously that you will regret it. Usually the issue is money money money. All these things you mention can be addressed. Time and money, sweat.My photo is by no means an example of what you are up against. Maybe just in small inspiration. It will take some cables and come alongs to straighten it up, shore it and brace it, stuff you do over a period of DAYS, bit by bit.

Presumably your material list can be filled by locals with small or large sawmills to supply you with the true dimensional timbers and siding you will want. I hope you go for it.

 

[dave1949]

Stainless steel roofing!

Here in New England, people used to regularly move entire buildings and reuse building parts in construction of something in a new location. Timber frames made that reasonably easy to do. As a practical matter, when a building was in the "wrong" place or had out-lived its usefulness, they moved or recycled it. Preserving buildings such as barns is a fairly modern concept in that regard.

For example, the classic New England house, ell, carriage house-barn layout was often built by moving existing buildings into that configuration after it became popular. That is one reason why the roof lines on some of those don't make a lot of sense.

An old bank barn is a beautiful thing if it is in good shape or well preserved. But it's likely not to be as useful or productive as a modern built-to-purpose building no matter how well preserved. A new building, re-using the useful parts in a style that they are compatible with, would also be true to the history of how people actually lived, not just preserving an artifact of those past times.

There is a middle ground solution in recycling and re-purposing. It's not an all or nothing situation. Just food for thought.

 

[HiddenHollow]

Call Woodford Bros. Inc. 1-800-653-2276 They did a great job repairing and straightening our barn.

 

[farmer2009]

Repair or salvage (take down and reuse what you can). Is my vote. Doesn't sound to be beyond repair. Like you said be careful although it sounds like you have the experience and ability to do this. Start at ground level and go slow it will take days if not weeks to fix a and don't try it alone. That extra set of eyes are invaluable.

I had to lift my barn last winter and it took a lot longer than I thought it would.

Good luck. Be safe.

 

[Lloyd_E]

All good advice. I hate to see old barns demolished. If you think or others think it is salvageable please do so. There is a lot of cultural history there. I would assess the cost of materials and or your time. Deal with the worse stuff first - sills - main beams. There is a barn being restored down the road from me. It is 200+ years old. They replaced the sills first, then posts and any connecting beams. They replaced rotted sheathing before apply cedar shakes. They have one wall(ocean side - worst side) completed - now starting the gable end. Once all the sills are replaced and it is structurally sound they plan on raising the ban and putting a slab underneath. Worst case I would look at restoring part of the structure to your needs even if it means taking down a section or bent and reusing the material. Would be a great project to do and document - WITH pictures to post on TBN!!! !!!

 

[EddieWalker]

If you are emotionally attached to it, then time and money are not an option. How much time and money do you have? In most cases, the money isn't nearly as bad as all the time it will take out of your life to do this.

Since I'm not attached to it, I would either nock it down and pick through what is salvageable, or sell it and make what you can off of the old timbers. Then I would build brand new something that is exactly what you want.

Eddie

 

[Marveltone]

This thread hits close to home for me, as we are in a similar situation. My wife is the 3rd generation to live on the farm since it was homesteaded 103 years ago. The barn was built in the low-to-the-ground, single-story log Swedish tradition. The years have taken their toll, as the walls are sagging from the rotted logs making up the lower three rows. The roof is also all but gone. My dad and I have deemed next summer as the make it or break it year. We will jack it up, block up the walls and see if they can be straightened. If we can get them straight and level, we'll replace the roof to halt any further water damage. We'll then decide how to attack the rest of the building. When we get ready to start, I'll start a new thread for you all to see. Meanwhile, I'll pay close attention to this thread.

Good luck!

Joe

 

[TomSeller]

Mine is 100 years old and 100' x 200' and 45' high. It was last roofed in the 70s but in need of a lot of repair

 

[JD 4520]

Mine is 100 years old and 100' x 200' and 45' high. It was last roofed in the 70s but in need of a lot of repair

Now that sounds cool. A picture would be great. I can only wish to have something like this in the family.

 

[yanmars]

You might check your farm service agency or county extension agent. One of those groups had a training session on old barn repair/conversions in my county several years ago and a barn restorer was available and explained what was involved. Names and numbers of experienced restorers were given. That might give you a starting point.

 

[Bill 55]

If the Amish are an option they do great work usually at reasonable prices. If anyone knows barns it is the Amish.

 

[Fidler4]

Call Woodford Bros. Inc. 1-800-653-2276 They did a great job repairing and straightening our barn.

I looked at their web site and they have a ballpark estimator you can complete and send back to them for a free ballpark estimate. http://www.woodfordbros.com/index.php

I have an old barn that I would like to restore but lack construction experience so hopefully within the next several years I can have my barn restored depending on the cost.

 

[GGB]

I don't envy your decision. My Bride's folk's farm had a medium sized barn with a loft that needed a lot of repair to even make it somewhat serviceable. We opted to repair but we could have built a new larger, more efficient pole barn for not much more money.

But when the barn was already built when the great grandparents bought the place in 1903, and my MIL still lives there, it was obvious what we should do. Yes, it's not as perfect as we'd like, but the farm just wouldn't be the same without it.

We hope to build a new machine shed in a few years to get what we need for everything else. Just need Mother Nature and the grain markets to cooperate.....

Good luck with your decision!