Barn Conversion

Michaelpaul570 · May 15, 2021, 07:55:50 AM

I recently purchased a 3 bay Bank barn to convert into a home. The sill beams that sit on the stone foundation are rotted. I was wondering if I could stack 2x10s to replace the sill. I would stack them flat and build up to the posts.

Tom King · May 15, 2021, 08:13:05 AM

That would probably work. When I replace rotted sills with treated boards, I put them vertically, and sew them together with Many screws.

In this case, the original inside part will be the only part seen, after the new foundation walls are built, but it's the only picture I can think of that applies.

btulloh · May 15, 2021, 08:21:43 AM

Nice find. Love those bank barns. Good luck with the project. Keep us posted. Pix?

Tom King · May 15, 2021, 08:26:27 AM

In that picture, the wedges on the shoulder of the vertically slanted 4x6's are to hold the house up, temporarily, until the weight can be transferred to a new stone foundation. You can see the treated replacement for the rotted away parts down the line. That house was collapsing on that wall.

Don P · May 15, 2021, 08:45:14 AM

I'm using treated 8x8's to replace the rotted sills on the house I'm working on. I lagged 2x12's to the frame above the sill and supported the floor joists underneath, leaving a gap to drop out the old and insert the new. Working our way around 14-16' at a time.

Old sill out, new section of sill getting ready to be raised into place

Then build a wall under it.

samandothers · May 15, 2021, 09:33:25 AM

I am not familiar with Bank barn so my question may not be valid, does it have PPB holes? If so how would you treat? spray with solution? Just curious how such a large structure might be treated.

Michaelpaul570 · May 16, 2021, 06:33:06 PM

<b This is a VERY small section of sill I need to replace. The previous owners packed the rotted wood with mortar. I will be chiseling that down to the foundation and doing a skim coat of mortar and putting dimensional lumber on top. I'm understanding that vertical will be better than laying flat? Also, here's a glimpse of the barn. A lot of work to do but it's going to be a humble abode.

Tom King · May 16, 2021, 07:08:05 PM

I can't tell exactly by the pictures, but I don't think I've ever repaired different ones the same way.

I have repaired sills with termite eaten cores with reinforced concrete. In an 1828 house, the windows had been out for over 50 years, and not only was flooring, and other parts rotten, but termites had eaten the centers out of the 12x12 sills, without ever coming all the way to the surface.

We dug out all the rotten stuff. Flooded the interior with insecticide, and then Boracare, and filled the remaining shells with concrete, using rebar over the basement windows. You couldn't see any of it when it was finished, including inside the basement, where the sills are exposed.

There is no one way to do this stuff.

My website no longer has the software supported that it was made with, so there are all sorts of things that have been dropped, and jumbled up on it, but I can't make any changes to it. I haven't had time to work on it for several years, to move it anywhere else, but if you go to the Sill Repair page, there are a few pictures left of that job.

I went to see what shape that page is in now. The first picture is the sill in the entry doorway. After cleaning that out, and treating it, that space was formed up, and poured with concrete. You can't see any of it since the porch has been rebuilt. That house is the tall one on my home page.