As you may know from our recent posts, we’re beginning the process of saving our barn. From what, how, and why? Read on, my friends…
When we first looked at this property, we fell in love with the barn. It was full of massive, hand-hewn timbers, old worn boards where countless animals had walked, chewed, leaned, and well, did other things that farm animals do… Oral history of the property stated that the barn was built in 1840, and was dismantled and moved from across the road to its current location behind the house in 1916. After experiencing some rain here, we observed the way water naturally wants to run down the hill between the house and the barn, right where the ell was built when the barn was moved over. When the ell was rebuilt back in the mid-2000’s (after nearly collapsing from, you guessed it, water running under it), it received a new foundation, which then redirected the water down under the barn, first through cracks and between boulders/stones that make up the perimeter foundation, then over time, washing out larger and larger crevices through which it can run down the hill. There were also freeze/thaw cycles that would create heaves of more than 20 inches each season, caused by water in the soil behind the boulders freezing and expanding. This heaving has been getting worse and worse, causing gaps to expand to a point where the boulders fall in, onto the dirt floor. Plus each time the barn would ride up and down with the frost, it did not necessarily fall back into the same place from which it heaved. There were also issues with the foundation under the back barn heaving even further due to two centuries of animals doing their thing, and it piling up under the barn. We just had about 25-30 cubic yards of “organic matter” dug out from under the back barn, just so crushed stone could be laid down to provide a solid footing for the jacking process. When the muck was being dug out, it became apparent how the structure was wonky when one of the posts fell out because it was bearing no weight, but it’s adjoining post was actually “crushed” into the beam due to so much weight. Photos below show the damage of water and heaving:
We knew the footings under the barn proper were failing when we bought the property, so one of the first things we did was to have 12 new footings installed under the center part of the barn. Here are 6 of them:
We had drain tile installed around the perimeter under the barn, draining out down the hill behind the barn:
We also had gutters installed everywhere they could be hung. I’m sure this got us to where we are today, because without them (and the new roof), we would likely be looking at a salvage operation rather than a renovation. People have been saying, “oh, that barn will stand another 100 years!” But the 100 years have passed now, with the chronic issues still unaddressed, and now it’s truly urgent. Keep in mind that if it does fall down, we still have to spend $30 – $40K just to have somebody dismantle what’s left and haul it away. That work would be far more unstable and dangerous, as well. There’s literally no backing out now.
There was also water damage from a roof that leaked for decades. This caused some rot in the gunstock joints at which all the principle structural members meet. All of the parts that make up this joint (up to seven!) are hand-scribed and cut by hand to fit perfectly, and must fit together so tightly so that when the weight of the structure and the load placed on it carries to the joint, it actually tightens up and makes it even stronger. This is a gunstock post:
There were many repairs made to the frame over the years, a lot of sistering (adding a board alongside a failing board to provide structure without removing the weakened board), braces and steel rod-and-turnbuckles were added, plus other structural supports, but the main cause of all the damage was never fully addressed- water. Due to this movement and structural weakening, we’re seeing more and more issues, such as studs snapping in the back barn (a twelve foot deep by full width addition built onto the back of the barn in the early-20th century). There are also rotted and broken joists in the loft of the barn- the photo in the lower right below shows a broken loft joist above the tack room. But, it’s being “held up” by a scrap of lumber, lol.
One of the other issues concerns the bumps in the roof, caused by the timber frame itself sliding off the top plate.
If you look at the photo below, you can see the main rafter section, which is called a “bent”. A bent is made up of posts on the outside, left and right, that start at the sill plate on the ground, and end at the gunstock, or outward flare, on top. Then with the inside posts, left and right, are joined together by a horizontal beam, or “tie beam” that runs side-to-side. Above the tie beam are two braces that run up from just inside the inner posts to the rafters (the beams that the roof is attached to)- these braces are “queen posts”. All these parts, along with a few minor braces and posts, make up a bent. Once the bents are assembled and lifted into place, they’re tied together by horizontal beams called “girts”, and at the gunstock by a “top plate”, which delineates the top of the wall, and is the main front-to-back horizontal beam that the rafters are attached to. Our top plates are full length beams that are 46 feet long! Those trees likely began growing over 400 years ago!
Due to rot from water leaks, and the heaving and sagging of the foundation, has caused a couple of the rafters to have slid off the tie beams, causing the bumps in the roof. One being the second bent in on the photo above- the cable is holding the tie beam, but nothing is holding the rafter back from outward movement. The last bay at the back of the barn has also settled a full foot, so as you walk from the third bay to the fourth to go to the back barn, you’ve dropped about a foot in roughly 10 feet. The photo below is from the back barn looking towards the front. Not sure if you can see the “drop”:
Now that you understand the issues, why don’t we just pull it down and build a new one, or rebuild this one you ask? Good question! Having three independent representatives from the Timber Framer’s Guild here to look at our barn, we’ve been told just how special it is. Because of the construction methods used, the barn is no later than 1803, and likely predates the house by a year or two (1780-1781). It is technically a scribe-ruled English barn with gunstock posts and Dutch-style tie beams (they taper outwardly from the center). Outside of the issues described above, it is in “good” shape, and should be saved. We feel we have a responsibility to make sure we do what we can to preserve it for the next stewards of this property, just as we are for the house.
Starting in a few days, the barn will be lifted from its foundation and placed on stacks of beams called “cribs”, then the old boulder foundation will be taken out, drainage will be dug around the front of the ell, continuing down the side of the barn down the hill, then a new foundation stacked using the existing boulders, along with other boulders laying around our property as needed. Then the barn will get lowered onto its new foundation, leveling each bay as it goes down, so that the barn will be level, the foundation secure and dry, and the barn ready to stand another 236+ years. Once level and secure, we’ll focus on cleaning out the loft space, repairing what we can structurally, and making it weather-tight. Then in a couple of years, we can have some of the structure repaired and strengthened, install a new floor and siding, then enjoy it!
This place really speaks to us, and we feel very fortunate to be able to experience this place everyday for as long as we are able. We truly love this place. We feel like Daniel and Abigail are watching over our shoulders, hopefully approving of what we’re doing, likely awed at the power tools we have at our disposal, and are likely amused by our trying so hard to understand something that was so elementary to them.
Thanks for coming along on our adventure! We hope that this explains what we’re doing with the barn, and why it’s so important to get wrapped up before winter, and another freeze/thaw cycle.
Stay tuned!
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