Farm timber barn

[Owain]

If the woodworm jump in unison won't they all land in unison too?

Owain

[Tim Lamb]

I suppose a structural engineer would know how to go about calculating the various loadings for new timber but how do you estimate the carrying capacity of something with 100 years worth of insect damage?

I think new walls designed to safely carry the full weight of the second floor plus roof plus snow? is the way to go.

regards

[Tim Lamb]

In message , Mary Fisher writes

Andrew??

I was sober enough to drive home:-)

About one to infinity squared but it was meant to indicate the unsoundness of the existing structure.

Moving the bees did not work or at least, not beyond feeding one of our foxes:-(

regards

[Howard Neil]

Don't you just add known weights until the structure collapses? :-)

[Mike]

Probably taste better than supermarket eggs though !

(especially ones from Morrisons :-)

[AJH]

So you don't like the scheme then :-)

No I had prior engagement with some puffins, I suspect an Andrew H from Norfolk must have seen it though ;-).

I do not have much skilled experience with building but have been involved in some barn conversions and preservation, including working with a timber framer who was determined to maximise retention of existing timber, so there were lots of replacement posts with full lap joints.

Whilst my proposal is a bit off the wall it does satisfy some points, the skeleton and footing meaning the present structure is only a veneer and carries no load. In effect it becomes hung from the skeleton.

This would still mean that the new wall would have to be built to full building regs and you still need to fit all the insulation in. I think you stand more chance of having the present ag use converted to dry storage associated with the dwelling. If this upgrade is then done to current standards for insulation then it is a shorter step for it to become accommodation. I spend holidays near Crediton where a stone barn has been converted for use this way and it sleeps 4 or 5.

The steel frame skeleton preserves the existing structure and then allows the various other upgrades to take place piecemeal. OK it loses a bit of internal space but you'll have the same problem reaching modern insulation standards anyway. Any pieces of the timber frame can then be replaced without affecting the whole.

I know steel and concrete are considered high embedded energy materials but in the life of a building this is spread over a long period, compared with say a car and its life and fuel use.

Having erected a steel framed barn (and roofed it) in 3 days and subsequently seen the universal columns infilled with concrete block walls , I know it makes a cheap strong structure. It also has the advantage that all the steel can be craned in as individual pieces.

As I recently posted I have recently worked in a new build that is essentially a concrete block walled structure with a steel framed roof storey clad in 300mm of insulation and a brick veneer

AJH

[Mary Fisher]

Yes. And cleared up.

Never mind, I made up for you ... among others.

I did realise that :-)

Oh, that's sad. I didn't give any guarantees though :-(

Still, your workers will be happy ...

Mary

>

[Mary Fisher]

Doesn't that depend on their individual masses? Infinitessimal differences perhaps but ...

Mary

[Tim Lamb]

In message , AJH writes

Yes. Mary was enjoying the luxury of a free cellar and may be confused:-)

Yes. Slightly chicken and egg situation. If I involve Building Control at the outset, they are going to want structural calculations. If I do the work and then involve them they will want evidence of what has been done.

Umm.. Apart from erecting and using several, I don't know anything about the design criteria for BS5502. I am sure they are suitable for wind, cladding and roof loading but don't know if they are intended to carry other (particularly point) loads.

I am just about to do this in converting a steel frame barn to stabling. Fortunately livestock do not require space heating or insulation.

Crikey!

regards

[Tim Lamb]

In message , Mary Fisher writes

That's the other one. AJH is the forestry dept.

I suppose Foxes have to eat something. Apart from a severe buzzing, this lot seemed particularly docile.

regards

[Mary Fisher]

Yes, while picking the gooseberries this morning I realised that I was probably confused, I intended to apologise.

I apologise, sincerely.

Mary

[Mary Fisher]

It wasn't alcohol, it's the similarity of the name and initials: AJH and AMH. And it was hardly free with that journey!

The man who never made a mistake never made anything.

Mary