[AT] new duties

[Grant Brians]

Having saved several barns and also torn several down, I have a thought 
to share with the list. We experience "only" wind, rain and earthquake 
damage here because our barns are on high ground so the other causes 
(floods, snow/blizzards and vehicles crashing into them have not been 
issues here in coastal California.
      My preferred activity to do to any old barn or shed is to brace 
using one or more of four methods. Where a part of the building is 
slumping due to either a drainage or other water issue, I lift the 
affected posts and put them on piers.
      Where the building is just getting rickety, X braces with strong 
wood on the inside is my preferred course of action - this is useful for 
wind damage, earthquake damage or risk and also limited levels of 
spreading forces to larger areas.
      Where there are larger areas on a side and or when a building has 
started to list in a direction, I like using come-alongs and cables 
attached to metal or wood plates that have lots of nails or bolts 
holding them on. The cable method can also pull a building literally 
back together and then have the cables attached permanently with 
turnbuckles to allow later adjustments as needed. I did this with our 
ranch house when the 1989 earthquake literally opened up an 18" gap 
where one 1934 addition was connected. It worked like a charm and then I 
was able to reinforce and "seamlessly" complete attachments and a new 
foundation. I left the cable in place as insurance....
      The last easy method is to use plywood or metal plates near 
corners to deflect stresses and strains and to vigorously strengthen 
those areas. This is a technique that developed in earthquake areas like 
ours, but it is also useful for all sorts of stress deflection uses.
      In the case of your shed that the tree fell on, I would seriously 
look at using the cable method to bring it back together and back 
upright. I cannot know if your building can have this done, but you 
might like to look at it. It is amazing what some nails, wood, metal, 
cable can do amazing things. Good luck!
                  Grant Brians - Hollister,California farmer
      On 7/12/2017 4:08 AM, Indiana Robinson wrote:
> I am desperately trying to save an about 38' x 60' timber frame barn down
> the road that sits on ground we used to rent in the 1950's but own that
> part of it now. I have been unable to do much with it until now mostly due
> to health issues etc. I think I can have it in "safe and holding condition"
> in a couple of weeks if it will stop the damn storming... Son Scott is
> going to help on it.
> Yesterday, July 11, 2017, we went to town (we sit just outside of the line
> and it is getting closer) for lunch and the sky fell open and leaked a lot
> of water, wind and uncontrollable electricity... When we got home the first
> thing I wanted to check was if that barn was still intact and remarkably it
> was.
> We did lose another building (and a pair of tractor fenders ) though. We
> had a huge old maple tree about 20' east of the house that blew down.
> Luckily it blew to the south- east away from the house. It is going to make
> a lot of firewood. It did however fall on a building that we had used as a
> farm shop when we moved here in 1951. It was a fairly new chicken house
> then about 18' x 18'. The tools were inside and the big bench but most work
> was done outside and it only had a walk door. It was the only decent
> building other then the 3 barns and they were in full use for livestock. It
> was also the only building with a good concrete floor. My father had moved
> a small chicken house building with us along with a 10' x 20' cottage from
> a pay lake / private park at the old farm. That cottage became known as the
> seed house. It has since been built onto on both sides and is now about 20'
> x 34'. I do sometimes refer to it as "the little barn". My father never
> really finished the little chicken house much so the chickens were mostly
> "free range" but we didn't know they were back then, we thought that they
> "just ran around loose"...  :-)  We didn't know what free  range was.
> That old shop building is toast... We had taken over the timber frame
> former dairy barn / 1,500 bu. corn crib / 300 bu. oats bin / 12' wide
> driveway area as the farm shop many years ago. The old shop had become odd
> stuff storage.
> The tree also fell across the back of my little Ferguson TO-20 and mashed
> both rear fenders down hard against the rear tires. I will have to remove
> the fenders to move the tractor. So far I don't see any other damage to it.
> The fenders will go to a loft to await later repair, maybe this winter. In
> the meantime I have a pair of Ford 8N fenders I won't be needing before
> maybe next spring and I will stick those on the Ferguson. I just hope it
> doesn't give it a rash or something.
> At the barn lot (has anyone ever used the term "shed lot"?) down the road
> to the west I have an open faced 28' x 64' "tool shed" or "implement shed".
> If I close it in with walls and doors can I call it a "barn".  :-)
> If I call the tool shed and the seed house "barns" I can claim 5 barns
> here. All 5 of them were built smaller but tall and they all have been
> built onto to make them bigger. The open faced tool shed had an 18' x 18'
> "shop room" added to the back. The "at risk" barn down there was maybe
> originally (1800's) 30' x 30' but added to at least 3 times. The one that
> is now shop was added to at least twice and the east barn where our 6
> horses live was added to at least once. It is really interesting to me to
> study them all closely and try to figure out the stories they contain if
> you just look for them.
>
>
>
> ​
>
>
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