Barn Foundation Problems?
Invest in a lasting repair for your architectural treasure
By David Aman
Dairy barn in Waterloo NY originally build around 1881
Are you the owner of an old empty dairy barn? Have you noticed some deterioration on the hill side of the foundation? It turns out that the heat from the long-time bovine residents prevented the water from freezing between the ramp and the foundation for the previous 100 years. With the cows gone, freeze-thaw cycles started working magic on your once sturdy building. It probably started with the rot in the sill beam that goes across the entrance to the upper floor which made the roof droop a little over where the doors used to be. This caused the gutter to drain in the same spot. The water worked its way between the foundation and your ramp and now you have a problem.
Don’t Panic! Don’t be tempted into making a form and pouring a concrete face against the crumbling part of the foundation. This would look good for a while until the concrete gets pushed also. This will either end up with your repair crumbling apart or the entire slab of heavy concrete falling inwards breaking pipes and posts and maybe your toes.
Don’t be tempted into making a form and pouring a concrete face against the crumbling part of the foundation
First, you should solve the problem. Stop the water from destroying your barn. You can fix the sill and raise the barn in this area to try to get the gutter to drain properly or you could take the gutter right off. Usually the gutter is no longer functioning anyway. Taking it off or having it replaced by a professional gutter company will take away the problem of the old gutter dumping all of the water from the roof right onto the area where your foundation is crumbling.
Looking to Restore Your Historic Barn?
The Barn Restoration program was created in 2000 to help preserve historic barns and protect agricultural landscapes throughout New York. In order to qualify for an income tax credit equal to 25% of the cost of rehabilitating historic barns the following rules apply:
- It must be a barn (defined as being built to house farm equipment, livestock or agricultural products). Buildings built for or converted to residential use are not eligible.
- The barn must meet the tax definition of income-producing (farming, rental, office, commercial).
- Tt must have been built or placed in agricultural service before 1936. Please note that Register-listed barns built after 1936 do not qualify for the New York State Historic Barns Tax Credit, even though they are officially designated as historic.
- The rehabilitation cannot “materially alter the historic appearance” of the barn. That is it cannot change or destroy the important characteristics that make the building identifiable as a historic barn.
- Only costs incurred after January 1, 1997 are eligible.
Learn more at: http://nysparks.com/shpo/technical-assistance/historic-
barns/default.aspx#sthash.g5NlWmkT.dpuf
Since all three methods usually cost the same, rebuilding the damaged area with the same rocks makes a better looking repair. Remove the old, loose rocks until only the good and strong part of the foundation remains. Then, rebuild the wall in the same style and strength as the original. The original foundations were usually about two feet thick and very rugged. Often the wall was built upon giant boulders which can be used to build off of. The object is to have a stable, strong repair that will last another 100 years.
There are people out there that see barns in this condition every day and are experts at fixing this exact problem. There are also people who build brand new house foundations daily and are not used to this type of repair. Don’t allow a mason to talk you into just having a block wall put in to solve the problem. A block wall that has not been filled with rebar and concrete has a lot of vertical strength but almost no strength to hold back the pressure from the dirt ramp. The repair will look great to begin with but it almost certainly will buckle if there is any pressure against it.
You may also be tempted to just place lumber under the floor joists and against the crumbling wall. This, you think, will have the double effect of holding up the floor joists so you can continue to drive in upstairs and it would hold the crumbling wall in place. This would be a temporary fix at best and will not hold back the pressure from the dirt ramp.
If you end up having a good repair done and stop the water from doing any more damage then you should be able to get another 100 years out of your barn.
Boy, they sure don’t make barns like they used to! You may not know it but you are the owner of an architectural treasure. Do you think a brand new pole barn will still be around 100 years from now?
David Aman owns Stone Works and has been repairing foundations and framing in old barns for 30 years. He works in western New York and can be reached at 585-905-0998 or stoneworks14@yahoo.com.
Good article. We have a small family farm in Indiana where the barn block foundation is falling down. We are not sure how to get started in repair. As usual, money is the problem, there will be a lot of sweat equity in this project , any suggestions on how to start and save this barn.
Hi Dixie,
You’ll need to contact the author of the article directly with your question! Thanks!
Carli Fraccarolli – Cornell Small Farms Intern
Our company repairs barn walls throughout the country. Please visit our web site at http://www.premiergunitellc.com or give us a call
I am looking for someone to repair a barn foundation in Holstein, Missouri or Warren County, Missouri. The barn is over 100 years old. Can anyone advise or help?
My name is Dwayne James owner operator of Dwayne James General Contracting in structural lifting we do foundation repair in home and Barnes in Upstate New York any questions you can call me or text me 607 316 1896
We have a large barn in need of foundation repair and not sure where to turn to, we live outside Rushville, New York, any help is appreciated.
Hi Sue,
If it’s not a historic barn, you may want to refer to a local contracting service for an evaluation of the state of the foundation. This resource may be of use: http://www.barncoalition.org/contractors.html
I hope this Helps!
I have a dairy barn that could use this exact repair. I live in Dexter, Michigan. The barn was built in the 1860’s and is beautiful and we really want to make sure it stays around for a long time! Any suggestions for a company in our area? Thank you so much for any help.
Hi Bonnie,
One barn restoration company I found close to you is called the Barn Doctor, and is located in Brooklyn, MI. A larger company would be something like Michigan Barn Restoration, but they are a little farther from you, located in Grand Junction. Make sure you take a look at the explanation of tax credits for restoring a historic barn, found on the National Barn Alliance website. I hope this helps!
Do you know if there are any local experts in phoenixville, pa? We have a historic mill foundation that could use repair and improvement. Thanks for your assistance!!
Hi Chuck,
One option would be Stable Hollow Construction; they do barn building/repairs across PA and could be a good resource. Otherwise, I would just suggest contact local contractors to see if they have any experience with barns or mills. Hope this helps!
I have a huge old vine that is growing into the side of my barn. I had no idea this was happening. I need help eliminating the vine’s trunk and pulling all the growth off the side of the barn. I also need help clearing the sumac trees away from my barn. I live in Upstate NY, outside of Syracuse.
Hi Patty,
I would suggest contacting a local landscaping company; most likely, barn construction and repair companies would not help to clear vine and other vegetative growth, but a landscaping company would. Hope this helps!
I am needing a 150 year old barn foundation repair. My grandfather ran a mechanic business from the barn for 40 years and now I am needing to restore it to open up my own business. The foundation needs repaired on 2 sides, and it needs roofing and siding. Any recommendations on contractors would be much appreciated! The barn is in Canonsburg PA, just South of Pittsburgh.
Hi Shawn,
I did some research and came across Stable Hollow Construction, which is a barn restoration and construction company that does work across PA. I also found Kistler Builders, which is a construction company that has experience with historic barn restoration services. It might also be worth contacting a few local contractors and seeing if they have any barn restoration experience. Hope this helps, and good luck!
I live in Central Pa. I have a barn that is at least 125 years old. It needs repairs badly! The barn is mostly of sentimental value. I want to repair it, but don”t know who to contact, also is there any financial help? Quick background, My grandchildren’s 8th grandfather owned the land, there 7th grand uncle build the house and Barn, my grand parents moved here in 1905, so we have 5 generations here. the Grandchildren have connections on both sides. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thank You Caroline Peters
I have inherited the family farm in central Iowa and am looking to repair the concrete foundation of our barn that is beginning to crumble. Recommendations for a contractor would be appreciated. thank you
Hi Holly,
Unfortunately, I can’t recommend any contractors, but good luck in repairing the foundation!
-Kelsie
Hello, we have and old barn in Chautauqua County that is leaning . We try calling David Aman owns Stone Works 585-905-0998 but the number doesn’t work . Who can we contact to get information on how to save the barn.
Penny
All the methods of foundation repair sound really interesting. It makes me wonder if these are the same methods used for home foundation repair. Our house apparently has a cracked foundation and we need to find a contractor to fix it.
Looking for someone in Oregon/Washington/Idaho area. Our barn is in Oregon, but we are close to both states wa & id. The foundation is crumbling.. lucedelsole00@yahoo.com
Hi Kelly,
I’d recommend reaching out to your local cooperative extension! I’ve found the links for Oregon Ask-the-Expert (https://extension.oregonstate.edu/ask-expert), Washington (https://extension.wsu.edu/), and Idaho Ask-the-Expert (https://ask.extension.org/).
I have a five bent tobacco barn roof damage and has been shifted some on foundation from small tornado. Looking to get it repaired in Bracken County KY.
Whew! Same problem here! Any barn foundation experts in the Southern Wisconsin area?
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Old Dairy barn in The Plains, VA. Need any suggestions on contracts for foundation and rood repair.
Another barn builder that also specializes in saving and restoring historic barns would be Quarry View Building Group- https://quarryviewbuildinggroup.com/
One of their projects entailed deconstructing a barn built in the 1820’s, moving, restoring, and reconstructing it at the Schwenkfelder Library and Heritage Center after the barn was donated to the center. The project was done so well that it won an award from the Montgomery County Planning Commission Awards program for the preservation of community heritage, context-sensitive design, and a successful long-term planning process.
My name is Dwayne James the owner of Dwayne James general contracting we specialize in structural lifting and foundation repair. My phone number is 607-316-1896 . We service the state of New York and sometimes beyond we have AAA rating with a better Business bureau .
You can Google my legit business and see some of the password we have done
I have a 90 year old barn in Virginia, with a dirt floor that sits on a 2-3 cinder block foundation. Some of the blocks on the South side (about a 15 feet section) have become loose and shifted, probably from soil erosion. What would be the best way to make this repair? I’m thinking, put in wall support on each end opf the effected side to prevent sagging, then dig beneath the loose blocks, maybe 2 at a time, reposition and reenforce or pour footing and attach new blocks and level before securing the barn framing to the new blocks.
We grew up in Munnsville, NY. Our Dad always called the dirt ramp leading to the haymow on the barn’s second floor the barn horffen or horphen. (m.s.) The foundation of the barn was left exposed so there were wooden planks from the dirt to the barn floor. Has anyone else heard this name? What is the correct spelling? Thank you.