[TheForge] barn repairs which relate to blacksmithing

Wed Dec 12 21:39:00 2001

Terry,

What kind of span are these joists?  With splice plates like these, it could
be they are really just rafter ties.  (They don't have to be connected to
the rafters - can be placed part way down the side walls and still do the
same job.)

My barn has a "second floor".  True 2x8's, one piece, spanning over 30'
clear.  Some of these were at the top of the side walls where rafter ties
would be but one area has them about 4' below the rafters.  This is where
somebody thought it was meant to be a floor and put barn siding on it.  They
used it for storage.  It's sagging about 6" and bounces a lot.

The problem with the existing condition is there isn't much of a "running
factor".  If a joist breaks, the whole thing might come down in a rush.
I've decided to use it so I've put a support under it to cut the span in
half.

Walt

> -----Original Message-----
> From: [email protected]
> [mailto:[email protected]]On Behalf Of
> [email protected]
> Sent: Wednesday, December 12, 2001 1:17 AM
> To: [email protected]
> Subject: [TheForge] barn repairs which relate to blacksmithing
>
>
> hello;
>
> i spent a little time today inspecting the barn
> and found a few places that need to be repaired.
>
> several of the loft floor joists are cracked and
> sagging. in finding places where the loft joist
> were spliced there are roughly 2ft long by 4 inches wide
> by 13 inches tall black steel/iron upside-down "saddles".
>
> these show hammer marks so they were definitely forged.
>
> poor ascii art below ( definitely not to scale ):
>
>     ++   ++    +-------------------------------+
>     ||   ||    | cb   cb               cb   cb |
>     ||   ||    |                               |
>     ||   ||    |   cb                    cb    |
>     ||   ||    |                               |
>     ||___||    | cb   cb               cb   cb |
>     \_____/    \_______________________________/
>
> cb = carriage bolt, which passes through the steel/iron
> upside-down "saddle" and the loft floor joist. bolts look
> to be 3/4 inch in diameter.
>
> the loft joists look to be actual 2x12s and not 1.5x11.25s.
>
> would anyone have any suggestions as to what grade of
> steel/iron these "saddles" could be made of?
>
> btw, the loft is huge. i have no ideas at the moment what
> i would do with the area. my son said he would play basketball
> up there. you could play basketball easily in the loft area.
>
> there is old rigging for handling hay and straw bales which
> looks to be in need to repair also.
>
> lord willing, i may have a shop and storage space in the future.
>
> --
> Terry L. Ridder
> Blue Danube Artistic Forge (Blaue Donau Kunstschmiede)
> "We do not bend metal, we sculpt it."
>
> digging deep, i feel my conscience burn
> i need to know who and what i am
> this hunger jolts me from complacency
> rocks me, makes me meet myself
> ----kendall payne--closer to myself---
>
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