Repairs to an old forge

[jph]

I start work this week on repairing this timber frame.
An 18th century old forge, not a lot left that is original and some pretty poor repairs to it in the past.   I don't know about business card tight joints, my aim is to stabilise it using a combination  of metal tie rods, straps and possibly , can I use a four letter word here, nails. It is owned by a widow  and is listed grade 2 , so she is obliged to maintain it as it is deemed regionally important.
It will make a nice change from my normal work making kitchens, windows etc. A 6 metre length of sill has rotted away, I will replace this in European oak and try to preserve as much of  the original studs as possible.
John

[ARKANSAWYER]

  More photos that is a cool place!   Look for a black locust or walnut sill plate so it will not have to be replaced again.

   I have lifted buildings like that in sections using 6x6's with 3/4 all thread run through the walls.  Wished I had a photo of doing it.  But you just put a pair of 6x6's together and bore 1 inch holes through them so that they will be between the posts/studs.  Then you put one on the inside and one outside and bolt them together with 3/4 all thread and nuts and washers.  We put 50 ton jacks under the inside and outside 6x6's and jacked up the side of the building.   Make repairs and lower down.  Since that looks like lab siding it should be easy to remove a strip or two so that you will not damage it.

Neat job, keep us posted.

[Ernie_Edwards]

John,

What a nice old building.

Going to build a brick forge next summer in my wifes blacksmith shop. Pretty well know what we want but the forge in your picture is very interesting, never saw one like that before. If you could post anymore of the forge from differint angles we would appreciate it. Looks like it was setup for two smiths to work at the same time. Is there any frame work evident for where the bellows was?

Thanks,

Ernie Edwards

[Stony Jim]

Wow!!! That looks like a really interesting place! ;D Would love too see more closeups of everything! ;D


  Stony Jim

[Don P]

Cool, in case you missed the hint from others, More pics as you progress please!

We had some forges here but I have yet to find one, the furnaces and lime kilns survived after a fashion, but the forges must have been pretty lightly built.

listed grade 2 , so she is obliged to maintain it as it is deemed regionally important.

Can you explain more about that?

I've also been curious about the half timbered buildings and stucco finishes over there with regards to decay, your oak must be a white and quite rot resistant?

[jph]

Here is a picture of the back of the building showing the forges chimney.


No frame work for bellows only the brick hearth is left.
I learnt today that on jobs likes this the old phrase  "Think how long the job should take and double it and you won"t be far out" is definetly true. I did manage to make up and fit the two metal tie rods and resisted the urge to tighten them up too much to try to pull the walls back in. Tomorrow I get the Woodmizer out to cut the oak for the sill. We do not have red and white oak over here in the UK, we have mainly Common Oak (quercus robur) and Sessile oak (quercus petraea).They are both pretty durable.
More on our listed building  regulations later when my wife has explained it fully to me.
John

[jph]

One can only speculate how tight this joint was when it was cut some 250 years ago, the gaps are now around 3/4 in. There is still plenty of life left in this part of the sill.
John

[jph]

My wife Trudi has typed this in for me:"In England, buildings of significant historic or architectural merit (generally important historic buildings) are graded I, II* or II. Grade I buildings are of national importance and this category generally includes anything that is largely medieval (most parish churches in the UK) and later buildings by well known Architects or of national significance (e.g., Blenheim Palace). Grade II* buildings are of regional importance (rough US equivalent: state) . Grade I and II* buildings account for 5% of the historic building stock in the UK. The reminder are of local significance (Grade II) and this includes anything which was built up to the early eighteenth century; important buildings up to 1820s: 'younger buildings are only listed if they are by well known Architects or with important historical associations. English Heritage advise on Grade II* and Grade I buildings but all applications are handled by the Local Authority (US equivalent: city) "
We have to get listed building consent to make repairs and alterations to any building that is listed.

[hayton1960]

Hello jph from "Northern England"
How will you get round using nails to satisfy the council inspector or whoever passes the work your doing? Are they them "hand made" wrought iron ones? (I've neber worked on a listed building; have you much experience? Its always struck me as ironic that graded listed ruins can stand till they dissolve into the ground, but as soon as someone owns it, a whole bunch of posh building preservation trust jobsworths descend on them telling them what they can and cannot do!
Interstingly I came across an old (about 300+ years) framed bilding (domestic house) in Suffolk that was NOT listed. The inglenook and the internal wall studs  had been boarded over some time during the last 50 years. The whole thing could be doomed for all I know. Curious as to how it slipped through the net.
Just spent a week in Suffolk "frame studying". I never planned very carefully as Coggeshall Barn was SHUT for the winter smiley_British_jack
Interesting looking shed your working on mate. Whats the sill resting on? Are you just doing the timber framework repair, or the pointing on the plinth wall, windows and the roof tiles as well? Hope it works out well
Cheers, Jonathan
Forgot to ask-will the flue need rebuilding so it can be used as a forge again?

[jph]

Hello Heyton1960
Using nails is no problem, many were used in it's original construction . All the rafters were nailed to the ridge board and sole plate,the wall  wind braces were also nailed on the mitre cuts. I will just be using modern nails from my Paslode. The sills rest on a small brick plinth which about 3 courses above ground level  and probably 3 below,  this sits on the clay subsoil.  I am doing the minimum repairs to make the structure stable, the owner not wishing to spend more than is absolutley neccessary. The flue looks in good condition and I am sure  would draw well if ever used as a forge again.
Sorry to here you missed the barn at Coggeshall well worth a visit, also the barns at Cressing Temple are not to  missed.

John

[jph]

I finished the job today and got paid . 8) 8) 8)
The job went really well although  some of my joints were not as tight as I would of liked and I ended up replacing more timber than I had hoped.
The position of the windows and the wind braces meant that the problem of how to get the new studs in position with a tenon on either end only occured on two studs. On these two I enlarged the mortice in the sill to the edge of the timber, slid the tenon  in from the side and then put a filler piece in to make good.  I made 3 new oak windows to replace the rotten softwood ones.


.

John

[Don P]

Wow, what an improvement. Looks like you got the roof straightened back out nicely too. Good job  8).

[hayton1960]

Nice work JPH
How much of the sill did you have to replace in the end?
Those window frames are NICE; Look at joiners now 1st fix, 2nd fix, AIRFIX!! ha ha too much UPVC in buildings nowadays. Will ye have to have dgu's or toughened glass or what? What were the cladding boards, look like tanilised.
Any surprises (stuff left inside mortises by the original builders etc)?
Cheers, Jonathan

[UNCLEBUCK]

Wow is all I can say !  How many people do you have helping you ? That is a huge improvement and looks great. You made it seem so easy !

[jph]

Hayton 1960
I ended up replacing just over 9 metres of the sill, about 3/4 of the length of the building. The rest although it looked rotten was in fact as hard as a rock inside. 
I don't get  many jobs now making replacment windows, as you say too much plastic about. Building regulations now insist on very thick double glazed units so timber windows have to be made out of thick and chunky sections so narrow glazing bars are not possible.

Unclebuck
I choose to work on my own, occasionally calling on a member of the family to help if I can not manage. It is surprising what one can manage by taking things slowly, moving one end at a time. I fixed all the cladding by putting a nail in at the right height to rest one end of the board on, while I fixed the other. The only help I had on this job was when my wife helped  me position the jacks for supporting the roof.  I know I would make more money by employing helpers but I don't want to get involved with all the regulations that intails. I like to  be able to start and stop work when I like, I like to be able  to choose the jobs and the clients I work for. Sometimes I will have no work on but there is always plenty of jobs around the house and worshop that need doing and if I don't do it I will only have to pay someone else to do them.

John