Awesome replies, thanks. Very interesting. I love these old barns and it's even more fun poking around in them.

I like the idea of splitting the threshing floor into 3 spans. I thought that the 18 foot span that it had was under designed. I won't be using it for threshing but instead for square bale storage so I want the floor strong. This means extra posts in the basement which will also support the main cross beams that the gable bay joists are let into. I thought it could use some extra support as well. I did some load calculations and they were all under sized based on the weight and size of a single square bale.

For the foundation I agree that pouring a solid wall below grade to 4 feet down is the best way to go but I want to try and keep the expense down and try to use stones for a footing and frost wall. What are your thoughts on digging down 4 feet below grade(basement floor) and throwing in huge stones on the bottom for a footing and filling in the gaps with concrete, then using forms or slip forming, build the frost wall up to grade by just throwing in smaller stones and concrete. Then start laying the stone wall from grade up to my finished height. I would also use re-enforced bond beams half way up the above grade wall and also at the top and also build 2 buttress wall to the inside of the basement at 20 foot intervals. The corners would count as a buttress as well. Do you think that using this method with all stones to cut down on the concrete costs and trucking would have the durability of a modern poured wall and footing. Lots of stones around and they are all free. I just have to collect them.

Thanks again,
Steve.

I forgot one question.

How do you raise the bents in the order of #1,#2,#6,#5,#3,#4? How do you get the last #4 bent up. Wouldn't it hit the other raised bents. I wouldn't think there would be enough room to tip it up. Maybe there is, I have to look at my drawings to see how long the main posts were compared to the bent spacing. Where is the jin pole located to tip up the gable bents? Where is the gable bent lying when it's tipped up. Is it on the floor with it's post bottoms beside where they will go and the jin pole located on the ground at the end of the barn, or is the jin pole on the floor with the bent turned around and once it's tipped up the posts are pushed a bit at a time to the end of the barn where they will go?

I assume that the secondary posts (the ones that sit on the main tie beam and are capped with the main perlin at the rafters) are lifted up after all the bents are up and the wall plates are on to hold them up. I can't imagine this all going up together as one huge bent. You would have to brace it like crazy. Doesn't sound right to me.

Steve.

Steve,

The sequence of bents was caused by the short bent spacing, (10-14ft centers) and the tall bent height (18ft). Bent numbers 2 and 5 where actually just prick posts in the original frame from 1888. I attached each pair of exterior prick posts with a 34ft tie beam (with two interior posts to support the tie beam), and made them into two new bents, in order to use the space above the tie beam for an upper floor system.

Bent #1 was raised (end-wall) with the gin pole on the outside of the foundation.
Bent #2 was raised and set 2 ft away from the first bent, and temperarily braced.

The gin pole was move to the other end of the building, outside of the foundation.

Bent #6 was raised (end wall)
Bent #5 was raised and also set 2 ft away from Bent #6, and temporarily braced.

The gin pole was then moved to the center of the buiding.
Bent #3 was raised and set in it's correct position.
Bent #2 was then slid horizontally into place while it was balanced vertically with ropes.
Bay #1 girts were installed.
Bay #2 girts were instaled.

Bent #4 was raised and set in it's correct position.
Bay #3 girts and door headers were installed.

Bent #5 was slid into position.
Bay #4 girts were installed.
Bay #5 girts were inatalled.

Each top-plate was made up of two joined beams, and lifted as one top-plate onto the tops of the outer posts.

The purlins and their posts/diags were assembled as two complete structures on top of the tie beams, and tilted up with the post tenons lining up with the mortises on the top side of the tie beams. An 8ft 8x8 was rachet-strapped over the splice joints to keep them rigid.

Here are some links for photos of the project, and some videos.

I hope this helps.

Rooster

http://s453.photobucket.com/albums/qq254/crwtimberframe/Spangler%20Bussey%20barn/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YeHHbYWIHXY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2yCiDw3_KmY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TpmV-ndYtt4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UucmZrk7EbY

http://...www.youtube.com/watch?v=u5XIk7Jp-fo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rdd9PiYqshc

Steve,

With regards to your footing and foundation, it depends on your time vs. money equation.

If you have more time than money, then I would say slip trench a concrete footing and build your stone wall from scratch.

Or you could spend more money and put up a block wall and face it with stone.

Or spend more money and pour a concrete frost wall and build your stone wall on top.

I'm not a big fan or using stones as filler in concrete footings or walls. Concrete doesn't bond with stones like mortar does, and stone weaken it structurally.

Concrete with lots of stones...bad.
Stones with a lot of mortar...bad.
Concrete with small stones (aggregate)...good.
Stones with joints of mortar...good.

Using large stones as a footing below frost line is how many barns were built. But that is a lot of work and is difficult to build off of especially if the stones don't have a relatively flat surface to begin your wall.

Back-filling the foundation with 2-3in stone will help with the water and frost issues, by allowing any rain or moisture to drain straight down instead of being trapped up against your stone wall causing damage when it freezes. Also, gutters at the eaves with drain spouts will help the water vs. stone foundation conflict.

Rooster

Thanks to everyone for the advice. The youtube videos and pictures were very interesting.

Steve.