Small building repair advice

[Justin Edmonds]

We have an old chicken coop my great-grandparents built when they were forced off their land by TVA in the early 40's. It started leaning, and I noticed termite damage. I'm looking at getting some boron treatment for it, as well as 2 replacemejt corner posts and, I'm guessing a joist between those two posts. I'm thinking I can use the bucket on the front of the tractor to straighten up the shed so I can make the repairs. However, I don't want to just trust 70 year old wood. I'm wondering what a good wood hardener would be to strengthen the wood would be so I won't have to worry so much about the thing falling on me. Does such a thing even exist?

[lowell holmes]

You might consider sister framing wood that looks unstable since it is a shed.

[Lloyd McKinlay]

Check out the Abatron line of products. Liquid Wood will basically restore structural integrity and goes a lot farther than you think it will.

[Jerry Olexa]

I would sister in new, stronger framing and joists.. No risk to that,,,

[Justin Edmonds]

Only problem with that, it's the backside of the shed that's leaning and has the damage. In order to do the sister bracing, I need to get it straightened up. I'm wanting to strengthen the structure before I start trying to straighten it out. I think I'll be fine but want to tive myself a little extra assurance.

[Lee Schierer]

If you can straighten the building with no one inside using come a longs or the tractor and bucket and have it held their for a period of time before you enter it to do the work, then it is likely to be safe to proceed. Once the building is straight you can start replacing framing, but remember any structure you remove before you take the load off it can cause the building to shift. You may need to build temporary walls and supports to hold the weight while you take care of framing issues. You also have to decide if the investment of time and materials in an old building is going to be worth it in the long run.

When in doubt get a qualified contractor or structural engineer to advise you how to proceed.

[Myk Rian]

I'm wanting to strengthen the structure before I start trying to straighten it out.

That sounds bass ackwards to me. Straighten, then strengthen.

[Bob Michaels]

Myk is right on the money. Straighten first, hold it there, then strengthen, preferably by replacing structural members or sistering. Done it many times on historic buildings I own. Think it through and just use common sense. I hope everything goes well.

[Justin Edmonds]

Ok. I tried to straighten her up. Got on the tractor and realized the tire was flat. Given the fact the air compressor had been moved, I'm guessing the guy we let use it ran over something, damaged the tube, aired it back up, and didn't tell anybody about it. Again, that's why I don't let peoe use my equipment.

Anyways, the tin roof on it, like all the other barns and sheds, is rusty. I'm wondering if there's something I can put on it to stabilize the rust so I can paint it. I'm using this as a practice run for the other buildings.

[Jason White]

Ditto!

Straighten and then temporarily brace everything with 2x4's or 2x6's. Then, sister new pressure-treated material (glued and nailed) onto the existing framing. You should still spray the thing to kill all the termites, though.

Or -- why not just build a new chicken coop to match the existing one and use the old one to make a nice bonfire?

That sounds bass ackwards to me. Straighten, then strengthen.

[Justin Edmonds]

I got her, mostly, straightened up. It was leaning enough that, to straighten the back end, would cause the front, which is straight, to lean. I figured I'd work it back straight over a few straightening sessions, leaving a few days to settle down between. I'm still looking for a good product to neutralize the rust on the metal roof. This will come in handy when I go to do roof work on some of the other buildings. I'm also looking for products to take care of small holes, probably from kids trespassing and shooting it with bb guns. I would like to save it since my great-grandparents built it after they had been run off their homes by the government. It's one of the last remaining buildings they built.

[Jerry Olexa]

Myk and Bob are correct as to the approach: Straighten then add strength IMHO