Erection problem

Farmer Willy · #1 07/14/06, 08:27 PM

Get your minds out of the gutter. We're talking barn frame raising here. I should have the siding pulled off my "new" barn this weekend, will then drop the bents and start moving the timbers to my place. This is a 5 bent barn going up on block piers. What I'd like is some suggestions on raising the bents back up at my place. I've a tractor available but not much in the way of help. My plan was to stake and tie the bottoms of the first bent so the post will stay on the pier, muscle and grunt to get it about 15 degrees off the ground (jacks and braces), run a line from the tractor over a pole and tie it off on the cross beam to pull it up verticle, use a second rope on my pick up truck to keep it from going all the way over, then braces to hold it verticle while I raise the next one. Any problems I'm overlooking or suggestions to help? Pole buildings I've done, not a problem raising a single post and dropping it into a hole, a different story trying to get an assembled bent to stay up on a set of piers.

southerngurl · #2 07/14/06, 09:06 PM

Quote:

Get your minds out of the gutter. We're talking barn frame raising here.

Well what did you expect with a name like "Farmer Willie"? :baby04:

Farmer Willy · #3 07/14/06, 09:33 PM

Imagine the resentment I felt when I saw my thread posted just before a redneck weenie roast. Indeed.

Jim-mi · #4 07/14/06, 10:04 PM

A couple hours of crane time would let you get the first couple up and braced so you could block and tackle the rest.

I know you think the crane is pricy.
But look at the work it could safely do for you.

If you wern't so far away..............................

tallpines · #5 07/14/06, 10:21 PM

While you are getting it up, just be careful.
Be safe.
Use Protection.

silverbackMP · #6 07/14/06, 10:46 PM

block and tackel with a Gin Pole perhaps?

CatsPaw · #7 07/15/06, 07:17 AM

Crane for half a day runs around $250-300 ('round here) depending on how big it is. Those guys with sign companies have smaller/intermediate cranes that are cheaper. Like $50 an hour. Probably wouldn't be a bad idea. Or if you have any amish around, that's right up their alley.

depending on how big the bents are and how they're constructed, sounds like you have everything covered. Maybe brace them laterally with some long corner braces from the pier to the center of the horizontal so they don't collapse edge-ways.

Also make sure the gin pole is a triangle so it doesn't plop over on you.

I have also imagined using a large triangle with a block and tackle at the peak, locked down at the bottom. Lay it on top of the bent with the cross beam towards the bottom of the hoist. Tie off to the center of the cross beam. Start hoisting (hoist pulls crossbeam up and out from underneath.) The triangle would sort of be the hypoteneuse of another triangle (right triangle from bottom of hoist to peak/cross beam down vertically to bottom of bent.) Would allow some stability, wouldn't allow the bent to go anywhere. (i'm figuring when you say not much help you mean gotta do it by yourself.) Sounded like a pretty safe way to do it. I think I saw that in a barn raising book.

wy_white_wolf · #8 07/15/06, 10:10 AM

To make it so you don't have to manhandle them up that first 15 degrees or so, Stand a pole up from the bottom of where the bent it to be holding your rope or cable up high off the ground. Then when you pull on the rope or cable it acts like a lever and will pull the bent up from ground level.

Dubai Vol · #9 07/15/06, 01:12 PM

I'm dying to see what a bent looks like. Can somebody post a sketch?

It's a personal problem, but not the one you think....

Farmer Willy · #10 07/15/06, 03:07 PM

Catspaw and White Wolf, you both are on the same track as I was thinking. Cat, your triangle and Wolf your pole is the type of setup I envisioned. My problem with a gin pole is trying to raise it AND tie off the ropes at the same time. With a crew of folks not an issue, with me and the Mrs. alone----not gonna happen. A crane would be great, the best of all options, once again not gonna happen (this is a recycle, do it with what is on hand operation). Looks like it is still the tractor pulling it up, the truck acting as a 'break' to prevent it from going all the way over and a pole as a fulcrum. I will take and post pictures to show what, and, what not to do. Oh, and Vol, in barn parlance a bent is two posts with a beam connecting them, picture a modified "H" made of heavy wooden timbers.

Dubai Vol · #11 07/15/06, 03:19 PM

Thanks! the only bent I'm familiar with is this one:
Erection problem - Homesteading Questions

It's the symbol of Tau Beta Pi, the national engineering honor society....

suitcase_sally · #12 07/15/06, 04:07 PM

has anyone else noticed the number of people who have view this thread???? LOL!!

CatsPaw · #13 07/15/06, 05:34 PM

Well, I was figuring you'd put a cleat on the crane(triangle.) As you raise the bent to it's erect position there would hardly be any pressure on the crane. The bent would try to stand upright more or less by itself with the apex/block of the crane right over the center of the cross beam. Tie it off with the cleat. The beauty of it is the crane being a triangle would give it lateral support while the rope would have nothing left hardly to swing around at the block (you've hoisted up all the slack and the block should be practically setting on the cross beam.) The tricky part is place the crane where the bent will be vertical when the block touches the cross beam.

Oh, and btw, did a straw bale, 24' 10 x 10 poplar beams, three of us got them 12' in the air. No, not uncle martin with a levitating finger. We worked like egyptians. Built step jacks out of 2 x 10's. Lift one end, put it on the first step. Lift the other end, put it on the second step, go back, lift, put on third step. Last step for both ends was the top of the post. Was actually pretty easy. Thot that might be useful somewhere in your process.