Hello all,
My wife and I are wondering how best to repair the leaning, disjointed, concrete capped stone foundation under the 60’ long load bearing wall of our 100 year old hand hewn timber framed barn. I’m guessing the 10 x 10 beech sill (which is one piece by the way) will need to be supported with angled braces leading to the ground outside of the foundation. We’re considering either pouring five individual concrete piers using sonotubes, or tearing the whole wall out and pouring a monolithic one with footer. Piers might be easier for my wife and I to do, since we can take our time, to a degree, by doing them one at a time. If we do piers, how far above grade can they extend? The existing wall is about 30” tall, and we’d like the piers to be no shorter.
Thanks for any advice.
Replies
Hi Kyle, we shared your question in a post on the Fine Homebuilding Instagram account to try to get you some advice. A bunch of people offered suggestions. You can read them all here:
https://www.instagram.com/p/CNbKRftrJTk/
Happy building!
Rob
Rob Wotzak, Fine Homebuilding web editor
tried to read the instagram responses and saw posts about "investment returns"(?) so that's a problem
Additionally, reading narrow columns of text rather than the wider paragraphs here isn't the best either (at least for me)
Clearly I'm not "on" instagram and I'd really not have to sign up for another site to be in on these discussions/postings.
sorry about being negative but I figure it's better to put out some constructive criticism than let the problems continue.
thanks
firedudec56,
I totally understand and appreciate the constructive criticism. We were just trying to get some responses to help and hadn't had the chance to post the replies here yet. Also, those "investment platform" spam posts were unfortunate. I deleted them.
Here's a collection of the best replies in Instagram:
pioneerbuildersinc
Footing on inside. Footing on outside. Rebar stubbed up and/or monopour. Concrete walls on each footing vertical, then turn 90 degrees to meet in the middle. Rebar grid throughout. Sort of a structural cap. Wood frame on top. Also, I'm just a builder, hire a structural engineer. ?
jnicholson15
Have you considered screw piles spaced along the wall and hidden in the stone with beam on the saddles?
chrisbuilders
Licensed builder and engineer would be a great place to start?
scratch_builders
You can use the timber framers guild company search tool to find somebody in your area who can help you plan this project. Like everyone else said, you need a structural engineer, preferably one who works in timber frame preservation often. Good luck!
thoh27
Have you considered a wood framed wall since are above grade? You could use vintage timber’s to match ;)
bryanmeyerarch
Screw piles under the existing wall with poured pads and posts or stud wall above
johnm9317
What I don’t see here are aesthetic goals, like maybe they like the wall, and while we are doing all this work are we going to put a proper water mitigation system?
garydschmidt
My advice would be look up an engineer and contractor who specializes in this work. Not the type work for DIY.
peejdunigan
Jack a steel beam up under the wood beam, get it braced in properly then remove and repour the section of footing/wall under the temp beam, make sure rebar is sticking out past the forms, then move the temp support on to the new foundation and do the next section. Find a house mover, they typically know how to do these repairs.
iamdeathh
Shore it up with scaffold, excavate and pour footings and a proper wall. Sonotubes are missiles unless there is a proper footing
kurtmitenbuler
I would temporarily support the beam with transverse cribbing, tear it all out, and pour a new footing and foundation. I’ll play advocate here and say flat out that every structural engineer I’ve ever worked with on this sort of gig idiotically over engineered the fix. It’s a barn. Normal people built them, altered them, pushed them around, and did pretty much whatever they wanted with them and, and normal people can still repair them and not get too freaked out about it. Those temp posts are definitely pieces of crap, but truth be told, temp posts are holding up huge chunks of American buildings. Just get some transverse support in there and it’ll be ok TEMPORARILY. Forgive my seeming casual nature, but I’ve rebuilt old stuff my entire life, and it just isn’t that complicated. The folks that built it did ok and you can too. Get an engineers advice if you must, but it really is not at all complicated. It’s just a mountain of hard labor.
brian.hollenbeck.39
Please get more temp support under the beam as soon as possible. Those temp posts are over extended . The structure past the brick pier in pix#3 needs help now . Please enlist the help of a structural engineer. First to stabilize and second to ensure long term survival of the barn. Good luck
mcdonough_christopher
Structural engineer can give you advice for you to do work, please done take those supports for granted , they seem under size for the span of opening, if it was to give way, you wouldn't have the time to move, i like that your willing/ wanting to to the work!!! Just seek out a professional.
Thanks, what an informative post!