South of Moline, 67 to NN, West to 56th | The original building was a cattle shed, a Lester 56 x 80 I believe. You could barely get a tractor with a cab in on the open, low side, there were 16' double sliding doors on each end and a solid fourth side to the North. The 6x6's were rotting out at ground level, something had to happen regardless.
I reinforced the inside with lots of lumber stiffening up the structure. I then dug out around all the posts down to the precast slabs, a hole big enough to work in. I borrowed bin jacks and 3pt fork lifts along with a couple of loader tractors. One very still Sunday morning I raised the whole thing almost 5' at about 3" at a time.
After making sure everything was still level with a laser, I cut off the rotten posts and stuck in a new piece of the, 5' extended, length and lowered (not all the posts were rotten, about half). Then I sistered in two more 6x6's (cut from donated power poles, some new, total cost $500 for the portable sawmill, retail value $5,000) on each side, bolting all three together with long power pole bolts supplied to be by a line crew friend. By Sunday sundown it was done, the holes were backfilled with gravel and dirt. I was very tired, having only the help of a neighbor to "make the rounds" on the jacks and fork lifts when the building was being raised.
Before Fall I filled in the tin and lengthened the doors, adding some new t&g around the bottom.
I have a Wicks building that is now in the same condition, rotting posts. I plan on raising it in a similar manner, maybe just 4', and make it my shop since a new 80x120 steel building went up this Fall for equipment storage. I had some bids submitted by a couple of contractors and they were very high, I can do it myself for much less. This time I will be making my own "concrete perma posts" so that there will be no possibility of any more rotten posts.
The cost of what it takes to make this or any good existing building into a shop would be pretty much the same, that is the floor, heat system, insulation, lighting, electrical, various amenities. My using my own labor and doing some thinking, I think I will wind up with a very nice shop at less than half or third the cost of everything if it was done turnkey.
Let me know if you want more details, pics here if I could take the time, Brian
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Take a old pole barn and turn into a heated shop?
