Need ideas for barn beam replacement
Unfortunately, only one photo turned out. The lights in the press house are bright to the human eye, but not to the camera. Anyways, the attached image works well enough to give you the idea.
The barn has kind of a mezzanine against the wall. The joists extend from the exterior wall to a series of beams supported by posts. The roof works much the same, being supported by posts aligned with the 1st floor posts. The posts are 14′ apart on center, and the beams and posts are all 8 1/2″ in diameter. Every post has a joint where two beams meet, without exception, each beam being 14′ long.
This is a repeating element; the barn is about 180′ long.
The idea is to remove one set of posts and beams, as well as joists/floor. So we’d need a beam to span 28′, and a way of attaching it. Also, the roof would need to be supported during this process. That’s easier said than done, seeing as the ceiling is about 20′ off the slab.
Interestingly enough, the roof does seem to support itself, something we’ve learned from accidentally knocking posts off their footings from time to time. But I wouldn’t want to count on that.
The roof is comprised of trusses that span the middle of the barn, and rest on the uppermost beams. Rafters run from the beam to the exterior wall, following the same roof pitch.
How would you go about this? What kind of beam would you use? Would you run new posts up from the slab (on footings, of course), maybe steel? How would you support the roof while removing the old beams?
Edited 1/27/2008 5:05 pm ET by Biff_Loman
Replies
Hey, how about I attach the image I'm talking about.
Biff-
Go ahead and postthe other pics as being digital they can be lightened up for better viewing.
View Image
Peaceful,easy feelin'.
My god man, you are a wizard.At least I resized them for ya.
Not the brightest pics in the neighborhood but hopefully get the job done.
Peaceful,easy feelin'.
Edited 1/27/2008 5:23 pm ET by rez
Well, they definitely invoke the idea, with a lot less work than drawing it in Sketchup. The forklift adds a nice sense of scale.Thanks!You can see why I might have questions about supporting the roof. I fell off the mezzanine once, which is a mere 9', and it was not good times.
Edited 1/27/2008 5:41 pm ET by Biff_Loman
I'd think a steel beam would be a good choice if headroom was important. Offhand I'd guess you could get one to work that's in the 16" deep range. (Depends on your loading)Some kind of laminated wood beam would also work. But it wuold be thick, and probably in the 24 to 28" deep range. It would depend on the loading and what was available in your area. It would probably be a special order, and would be ongodly expensive.You might want to think about setting a new posts next to the existing posts for the new beam. That would shorten the span a hair, and probably make the installation easier..When you take pictures in dark places, turn off the flash. That forces the camera to keep the "shutter" open longer and you get a much better picture. (less grainy)If you don't have a tripod, hold the camera against a post or something solid while you click the shutter. That keeps the picture in focus. Take several just in case the camera moves a bit, and you're likely to get at least one good picture.
A team effort is a lot of people doing what I say
Good advice on the photo-taking. Thanks!Headroom is really not too much of a problem. It's about 20' to the ceiling at that point. We only need a few more feet so we can park taller equipment. I was even thinking that a parallel-chord truss might work. 3' deep would not be a problem.
" was even thinking that a parallel-chord truss might work. 3' deep would not be a problem."
It probably would. But the top chord would have to be braced at frequent intervals.
The depth and number of plies would depend on the loading. Sicne you're way up there I wouldn't even want to take a guess at it.
All work and no play makes you a manager
bump
Peaceful,
easy feelin'.
I had a similar problem with my barn, only it partially collapsed under heavy snow. I found a reasonable engineer in my area that had some ideas and who for $175 gave me several size options. I have a friend with a saw mill and we ended up cutting (2) 17"X7" X 28' beams from a tree that blew down in the storm. Now I just have to figure out how to lift them on top of the posts!
Another resource you might have are house lifters. We have several in our area due to flooding. They typically have the steel beams and jacks and know how to lift and support anything.
Good luck
You could use Weyerhauser (sp) PSL beams and columns. You can get them upto 48' or maybe even 60' long with all sorts of sizes. Definitely not a one man job though.
Bruce
How about two men and a forklift? ;-) It's rated for six thousand pounds.
That might work, I think a third hand might be even better. A thought I had looking at the pictures was to set up the new beam on the outside edge of the joists, get them cut to the same length and then attach the existing joist to the sides of the new beam/girder using joist hangers. Thereby you can use the existing beams and columns as "temporary bracing and then move the load to the new beam one joist at a time. You could possible raise the beam so it is flush with the bottoms of the joist to increase headroom if that is an issue.
After you do this repeat with the roof.
Bruce