Need Help on Barn

[jmattox1]

I have a friend that gives me a little material here & there from construction sites, everything is new just an overpurchase for the new home. Love the cost but slow when acquiring.

 

[Anonymous Poster]

Jon,
We had a similar situation on a 100 yr. old farm house we did a rehab on 4 or five years ago. It had a limestone foundation that over the years had begun to bow.(8 to 10 inches as I recall)We did a single form pour (Inside of the existing wall)
Lots of rebar,bracing and a concrete pump,Viola! Good as new.If you would like more details on what we did E-mail me
and I'll give you as much info as I can on how it was done.
and what materials were used.I don't Know how cost effective it would be ,but it's definetly an alternative.Around here concrete is $65/yd. the pump is about $400 with an operator.
Rebar is cheap.Scrounge as much material as you can,
4x4's, 6x6's etc. for bracing/shoring.Find some guys that are in the trades and see if you can do some labor trading.
It might not be as bad as you think.If you have any pics
attach them maybe I can help further.

Fuz1

 

[micromike]

I did something similar to my house a few years ago. It sits on a hill but only had a partial basement. We bought 6"x8" crib blocks 36" long from a saw mill. They are cut for the coal mines and made of oak. I don't remember how much they cost but I was on a budget so it couldn't have been much. I had no problem selling them after my project was done. We used 12 foot 6"x6's between the crib block towers .

We used a bobcat with a hoe on the front and started digging from the end that had an open access. Dug out the dirt and shored up as we went. We dug about 20' x 38' and I can't begin to tell you how much dirt came out of there. About twice as much as I expected! Anyway, we hit springs! Boy did we hit springs. What a muddy mess. We diverted the water, poured a footer.

We put of 12" blocks with rebar and concrete filled in every third core. Metal mesh between courses every third or fourth course. We tarred the outside wall and covered it with plastic. Then extruded foam insulationboard on top of that. Used the perforated pipe at the bottom as a french drain around the whole house, backfilled with clean gravel and have not had a drop of water get through to the basement in almost seven years. I know I overbuilt but I sleep better because of it.

My point of telling you all this is...I'm not a builder and have very little construction experience beyond basic remodeling. But, my son and I and a friend did this ourselves with rented equipment in about 10 days of very long evenings and weekends. I did have a friend who was a builder guiding me.

I believe we saved somewhere around 8 to 10 thousand dollars doing this ourselves.

I have no idea if you have the mindset to do this kind of work yourself. But I believe a reasonably intelligent and safely conscious guy can with the proper guidance from an experienced builder. Afterall, proper prior planning prevents pxss poor performance.

Mike

 

[jmattox1]

Haven't heard the word "cribbing material" used before. I assume you are talking about Bracing, shoring material?

Maybe a different layman term for different part of country?

 

[Darren]

From a house moving/jacking point of view cribbing is the 6"x6"x4' sized timbers stacked horizontally in alternate directions to form cribs to hold the weight of the building. Looks something like an primitive corn crib when finished.

 

[Anonymous Poster]

Here is a solution for bowed walls that you may want to look into. The process involves installing rods through the wall in the area where the block has seperated (see WEB site for details http://www.wallanchor.com/wallanch.htm).

I have talked to people that have had this done and they have been very satisfied with the results. In western PA a lot of people have problems with bowed basement walls. The company pointed to by the WEB address maintains a thriving business straightening walls. From what I've heard, they have a very good reputation. The process works.

John

 

[jmattox1]

Cribbing materials are used for bracing/blocking....ok......so......,this would span the weight on the concrete floor to create a column effect to spread the weight out over the 4' cribbing surface. Would this work without damaging the floor, assuming you have a 4" concrete floor?

 

[Darren]

I know a house mover who routinely jacks up house with that setup on sand. On the bottom layer, use cribs to form a full mat under the cribs that are stacked on top. That gives you a four foot square area (16 sq ft) or converted to square inches 2,304 sq inches.

If your barn weighs 40,000 lbs (about what a smallish house would), that weight spread out over 2,304 sq inches would be a bit more than 17 pounds per square inch. Your concrete shouldn't have a problem with that.

Of course a house mover uses several stacks of cribs to support the steel that holds the house.

 

[MarkV]

Jmattox,

Looks like you have a big project any way you go at it. From what I read, you understand the importance of a properly built perimeter drain and the site will allow you to install one. It sounds to me like the lack of proper draining is the only reason the block wall is failing. You are going to have to support the building and excavate the entire perimeter, so I would relay the block. Barns are pretty light structures and there is nothing wrong with properly built block walls. The wall may require some rebar and filling some cores if it was not done the first time. That has to be the most cost-effective way to redo the wall. Poured walls are my first choice on new construction but it would cost thousands more than reusing your existing materials. The water is what caused the wall to fail not the block wall.

MarkV

 

[jmattox1]

Darren & MarkV,

Thanks for all the info.

Darren,

Sounds like you really know what you are doing in this area.
Wanna come over and help? Lol.....

If anything else comes to mind I will post.