Has anyone taken down part of a post and beam barn ?

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We have a very big and old post and beam barn. One end is rotted due to a bad roof (this was damage done before we bought it )We dont need a barn this large and would like to taaaaaaake down the bad section .I thought we should first remove the siding , then the roofing , then with an ariel lift cut the roof beams , then work are way down .Does this sound right ?We can use the taken down wood and roofing to repair the rest . Help if you can Thanks

-- Patty Gamble (fodfarms@slic.com), January 31, 2000

Answers

Hello Patty, you are thinking right as far as the order of demolition. You should take a building down the reverse of the way it was constructed. It is very important to do an extensive inspection of the entire structure before removing any materials to determine where there is any load bearing stress on the frame you are tring to remove.You say that you will use the salvaged material to repair the rest of the barn but you may need some shoring material back at the frame that will become the new end wall.If the barn is already starting to lean a little towards the end wall you are removing ... BE CAREFUL! You can be unleashing a tremendous amount of force that is bound up but difused through the end wall structure. Where I live there are companies that specialize in barn straightening and shoring. You may get some one with experience to come and consult with you for a small fee.I commend you for wanting to preserve what you can. It always saddens me when the old hand crafted barns are pushed over and burned around here so the mega farms can over produce three more bushels of subsidized corn. Be blessed and be CAREFUL.

-- mike (mstydale@aeroinc.net), February 01, 2000.

My wife and I took down a 40x60 foot barn some years ago, and I would recommend taking the roof off before the siding, so that the siding acts as bracing and ladder support as you work on the roof. We drove all the wooden pins out of the joints of the posts and beams so that we could take it down piece by piece, but still broke a few pieces. If you only take down one end, you can cut the beams where needed and have a much easier job than we did. Those 60 foot long one piece beams were quite a challange for us.

-- Jim (jiminwis@yahoo.com), February 01, 2000.

Something to consider would be deciding how much you are planning to remove/take down first. Then build a support frame under any and all framing materials that will or may be affected by demolition. Safety First! This includes walls, joists(floor or ceiling), rafters, etc. You may want to build an entirly new gable end first, then proceed with the take down. Again, be very careful,and have fun. In that order.

-- John Mengel (jsmengel@hotmail.com), February 08, 2000.

Thanks everyone .The barn is 40x70 , we plan on taking down about 25 feet.We plan on taking it down on the other side of a main beam. We will now put more bracing under that beam .The barn is leaning towards the front not the end .We were thinking of runing a couple of cables to steady it from leaning any more until after we take the bad section down.

-- Patty Gamble (fodfarms@slic.com), February 08, 2000.

Patty, I would be glad to come over and advise you, as I am a builder, but I doubt we live that close to each other. So can you find a friend, or a friend of a friend, who knows building? It is beginning to sound like you might get into a situation which could be dangerous. I don't want to sound like I'm patronizing you; I'm just recommending "better safe than sorry".

There's gotta be a good heardted builder around there somewhere who would come over to have a look. Give him some cookies, and a cup of coffee, and he'll be happy.

-- jumpoff joe (jumpoff@echoweb.net), February 08, 2000.



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