Yeah, I know the title of this forum is fine homebuilding, but we’ve done that, (And I thank members of this forum who so generously provided opinions while we were planning & building)… .. Seriously.. I took what you guys said into account. Just don’t ask for pictures, I still use film….
But now, we see a problem with the barn. It’s a bank barn, likely 130 years old. 3 stories, used to be cows on bottom, we have 8 chickens on 2nd floor, and there is hay and straw on top. Stone foundation, North, west and east walls buried, only south flank exposed. Main entrance door is on the south, at the east corner. The east wall used to be partially exposed, but my Father regraded the landscape when I was a mere child (eons ago) to bury the east wall. It made the backyard more useful like that.
The other day when I was down in the barn, I noticed to my horror that about 3 feet in, on the east wall, there is a crack. Running from top to bottom. Running between the large stones that form the foundation. Can see daylight in the exposed portion
DH wants to pour a concrete ‘flying buttress’ as an extension of the east wall, running to the south (Did I make myself perfectly clear on that idea????? probably not. ) I think we should excavate around the area, put in jacks, pull out the old stonework and pour a whole new concrete corner. DH is worried that the whole barn may come tumbling down while we’re attempting to do that. I worried that a flying buttress doesn’t really address the issue, and the wall may just buckle.
My question … anyone here ever faced such a conundrm? what did you do. I’ve heard of houses come tumbling down when people were excavating underneath.
Do I figure cause it went 130 years, it’s good for another 70, at which time I won’t know what has happened to it? (Only problem there, it’s been in our family for those 130 yrs, and my daughters have every intention of keeping it that way.)
Thanks guys.
Replies
Is the location of the crack in the part of the east wall that was covered by the re-grading?
In other words, no, don't assume that it's good for another 70 years. Assume that piling dirt against the wall is what made it crack, and there's a good chance of getting other cracks in the filled area if you don't fix it.
" I noticed to my horror"
Doesn't take much to get you horrorfied, does it?
;)
Any of your proposed solutions can work. Most likely, the extra backfill added weight while compromising whatever drainage there was in that location. Digging and adding new perimeter drain should prevent it going farther.
While it is dug, I would tend towards pushing it out to original location instead of pulling it out. Can't be sure about that from here though.
The cheaper, quicker, easire fix is probably the buttress. In keeping with your horror show here, be sure to design it in Gothic fashion and add a few Gargoyles to scare away the evil spirits that caused this disaster.
;)
And it is also probably true that it won't fall down in your lifetime, but if it does, be sure to film it for a screeplay I'm thinking of writing called "The Fall of the House of Ussher"
Horror will be freely dispersed through the film.
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not an expert here, just a farmer - - my experience is that you could remove the corner and the barn would stand just fine - - the timber framing combined with structural rigidity distributes the load - witness the numbers of non bank barns that are set on a few big rocks - -
as far as what to do - you need to figure what exactly has happened - - most times you can find water as the culprit - - drainage problems undermining the rock or frost heaving moving things - where does the water off the roof run? what about surface water? - tho I can't see it from here, I'm guessing if you solve the water problem, you could butter up the crack and make it for the next 70 years - -