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Old Barn #8028 05/11/99 04:02 AM
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Greg Stephens Offline OP
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I have just recently acquired a German built barn in northern indiana. The owner told me it was built shortly after the civil war.
It is 45 by 65 feet long. With a slate roof. It appears to be constructed of poplar with some oak braces. The basic shap is a rectangular box with "flying braces" holding two 65 feet long handhewn six by six beams.
Their are four bents spaced fifteen feet 9 inches apart. The sill plates and all long beams are hand hewn. The third support post settled a bit causing a fracture in the long roof beam the top part of the beam has sprung freeing the mortise. The other one is cracked there in the same place.
I intend to disasemble the barn and rebuild it as a house in Kentucky. I am an experienced wood worker but I have never disasembeled so massive a structure. Are their any references or support available? How do I put a salvage value on it?
Greg Stephens

Re: Old Barn #8029 06/01/99 02:46 PM
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Rudy R Christian Offline
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Greg,

Relocating a barn can be very rewarding and very dangerous. Timber frame carpentry is a specialty trade which requires an understanding of ancient building methods and common sense. A single timber from an old barn can way over 1000 pounds, and the concentrated loads transferred into a single joint can be many times that.

The first step in relocating your barn, in my opinion, is to find someone with experience (the more the better) and hire them at least as a consultant, if not as your timber frame contractor. The next step is to do a complete set of drawings of your frame with bent and postlines indentified in order to be able to tag each piece and key it to the drawing. Determining if the barn was cut with square rule or scribe rule layout is very important to knowing how, where and what information to record.

Once the survey drawings are complete take lots of pictures. LOTS of pictures. Continue taking pictures as the siding and roofing are removed, and while the frame is disassembled. Plan on shooting at least ten rolls and have doubles made of the prints. Put an album (or two or three) together in the order the pictures were taken. It will be invaluable during the repair and re-erection phase.

Make sure you brace carefully and repeatedly as you remove the siding. It often is helping stabilize the frame, particularly if the sills are rotted. I use long 2x6's and duplex nails.

Make sure you hire a crane when it's time to disassemble the frame. It is the best investment you will make.

The Guild membership directory can help you locate people in the Indiana area. You should also talk to the locals. There are often carpenters in the area who have a lot of experience in taking down and repairing barns.

Have fun, and don't be afraid to ask for help.


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