[AT] new duties

Fri Jul 14 18:44:19 PDT 2017

Grant:

The ability to adapt, overcome, and survive against all odds is a 
necessity for us older country folks.   When I was working in a state 
bureaucracy, If I could possibly find another country boy in a sister 
agency , we could get things done and problems solved even when we had 
no budget.

Cecil

On 7/14/2017 3:45 PM, Grant Brians wrote:
> I am unsurprised that you have used "all of the above" techniques for
> building preservation, but thought the list would be interested in my
> list and maybe it could be helpful. Your description of the wind
> situation you experienced there is quite impressive and more than a bit
> scary. We experience high winds here and have seen microbursts occur not
> too far away, but the winds tend to be mostly from the prevailing
> directions and even with gusts the variance is apparently not as bad!
>        One year we lost an 85 foot Eucalyptus branch that fortunately
> fell away from the two houses the tree was near. It came down in the
> same storm that knocked down trees, barns, even radio towers in a
> corridor about 220 miles long and about 30 miles wide. The wind speeds
> were clocked at sustained speeds exceeding 100mph at several points in
> this storm corridor. I was welding in my three sided shed and then
> stopped when the rain was horizontal and going across the shed just
> under the roof through the gap between the roof and wall. I thought it
> unwise to continue welding at that point! On our farm the winds were
> only in the 70mph range. The number of barns, trees and orchards that
> came down were incredible, including 600 year old Oaks.
>        As you can tell I sympathize vigorously with your dilemma and that
> is incredible on that wall movement!!!! Also, I knew from years back
> that I liked your capacity to ahem, adapt to conditions to get things
> protected and your email highlights this yet again.
>                  Grant Brians
> On 7/14/2017 8:23 AM, Indiana Robinson wrote:
>> I have used "all of the above" methods you mentioned Grant. The timber
>> frame barn I'm trying to save currently has 2 diagonal cables with
>> come-a-longs in place. Now and then I "test" the tension and if I can I
>> tighten them up a click or two. I just sprayed them down with lube last
>> week. I don't have turn buckles yet because I'm not ready. I did price
>> turnbuckles and about had a Fred Sanford attack... I got to looking around
>> and decided that I will buy category one 3 pt top-links instead for a much
>> lower price. I have managed to get one post back up on its rock base over
>> the last year just checking it when I am there.
>> Much of its problem is that we have had horrible winds over the last
>> several years. A few years ago the east end of the entire barn was blown
>> over a foot to the north by what I must assume was a "micro-burst" in a
>> storm. It was not sustained wind nor nay kind of twister but was strong
>> enough to move that end of the barn. It also rolled 2 flat bed wagons
>> parked a few feet apart about 80' each backward across the lot. Only stuff
>> in that lot showed wind hit.
>> My farm shop barn has three diagonal cables holding it against the
>> prevailing wind (from the west) that my father installed about 1952. The
>> cables were from the old abandoned interurban trolley line that had crossed
>> a corner of the farm many years ago.
>> The bigger barn that I am trying to save I'm not trying to restore, I am
>> just trying to keep it upright and under roof until a later time. Maybe son
>> Scott will someday want to fix it up... He has a lot of interest in such
>> things and I want to leave him that option.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> On Thu, Jul 13, 2017 at 1:19 PM, Grant Brians <sales at heirloom-organic.com>
>> wrote:
>>
>>> 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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