Building on an old foundation

[Knäppisarna i Knäppa]

Have had this thread on watch for several years, because I have long known that we have a similar project ahead of us with the farm's barn. This year we will start planning the work and tear down the last of the long-collapsed upper floor. How has your project gone?

 

[Arne999]

The foundation remains and nothing has been done yet... but we are probably considering doing something about it after the summer. Still oscillating between tearing down or just building on

 

[Knäppisarna i Knäppa]

Still a very relevant project that's nagging at the mind... We've also been a little concerned about the durability since moisture has gotten into the concrete hollow blocks in some places. We're planning to add an upper floor on half of it and leave the other half open for a car lift, etc. Not as much was demolished as planned last year, so this year it's definitely time. Unfortunately, all the wood material is beyond saving, so it must be demolished. But apart from the concrete hollow blocks in the outer walls, there are brick walls in the barn. When the snow disappears in a few weeks, we'll get a new assessment of the situation and plan accordingly. What kind of construction has your foundation been?

 

[Arne999]

An old barn. A big empty shell type. Haven't done anything yet

 

[Knäppisarna i Knäppa]

Has the cast slab been exposed to the open sky for an extended period and several seasons?

Things are starting to move here now, and we're going to start tearing away all the bad wood material. We still have faith in the masonry foundation, and the slab is quite nice. We believe reinforcement with new plaster, among other things, might work. When we remove the wood material, the slab will have no roof at all anymore. We don't want it to frost-crack in the cracks that have already formed. Considering trying to build some protection/cover in some way for the winter. Would be interesting to hear your thoughts!

 

[Arne999]

Has the cast slab been exposed to the elements for a long time and several seasons?

Things are starting to move here now, and we're going to start tearing down all the bad wood materials. We still believe in the masonry foundation, and the slab is quite nice. We think reinforcing with new plaster and so on might work. When we remove the wood material, the slab will no longer have any roof at all. We don't want it to crack from frost in the cracks that have already formed. We're considering trying to build some kind of protection/cover it somehow for the winter. It would be interesting to hear your thoughts!

Our slab/foundation stood for many years with a leaking barn, and after that, it has been completely open, so I've kind of given up on the idea of trying to protect it. I also notice no difference, so it will be a matter of inspecting and making a decision when it's time to do something.

 

[Knäppisarna i Knäppa]

Our slab/foundation stood for many years with a leaking barn, and after that, it has been completely open, so I've kind of given up on the idea of trying to protect it. I don't notice any difference, so it will have to be about inspecting and making a decision when it's time to do something.

Thank you so much for your response! It sounds like an exciting, moderately risky, and easygoing approach to the whole thing! I will try to adopt it, as we are also prepared to take the risk compared to the project's "potential." For us, there is hope in the potential, while others might have demolished it. Well, things are happening anyway. Thanks for your update!