what size tractor is needed

i"m going to try to move this barn whole it is 20X24 with three rooms in inside with a hay loft in the peak of the roof
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Up Hill, Down Hill How Much do you think it weighs. Lots of stuff to figure out. How many wheels are you putting under it. Or just Skids and drag it.. Pic would be Great when you move it.
 
150hp or more very carefully could fall down by the way the picture looks and make sure it doesnt have post into the ground.Tractor could turn over.might be safer to tear it down
 
Your main concern is going to be what size and where to place the beams under the barn. That structure will have to be handled very gentle. Good luck.
 
Not enough information to give you much of an answer.
What kind of floor or slab is under it?
How are you moving it? On wheels? Skids?
What do you have for timbers to set it on when you move it?
Also, how far?
Looks like it is stick framed so I wouldn't be very heavy - just guessing - maybe 5 tons.
Old building looks pretty straight yet so is probably worth saving.
Would be a fun project.
 
My dad moved a bldg similar to this. He put some 4x8 beams under it every 8 ft. Then the neighbor showed up with his T9 dozer with a winch. Moved the bldg about 40 ft using the winch. If your going to use skids you can put down pipe cross ways to keep thins level and to reduce the friction some
 
I tried skidding a building a little smaller than that to move it to a better site for demolition. I wrapped a cable around the building at the lowest beams. A 100 hp, 10,000 pound tractor really struggled in low gear to move it on hard level ground. It had traction, but the rear of the tractor would bounce at times. When the slope changed up hill it took another 50 HP loader tractor pushing on the rear to move it up hill.

The cable pulled one or two of the building's corners in a little.
 
I moved one with a stackmover. It was strong enough not to need extra support beams underneath. Tractor size, shouldn"t take a big one.
 
One about that size here I thought I would move by picking it up on I beams attached to my container mover. No problem picking it up, I had my 23,000 Cat 944 ready to take it away. Unfortunately, my client's wife decided they shouldn't pay the small bill. Move was cancelled, structure's still sitting there waiting for someone to take it away for free.

Get it on wheels and it won't take a lot of tractor.

A container mover resembles a bedless trailer, but axles on extreme ends. Turn it into a trailer by adding steel between the halves according to your load. Rear half steers, necessary for a long load.

US military paid a lot for mine, real cheap after that. Self-contained axle brakes are designed to work with military trucks with air over hydraulics.
 
Hi back in late 1960s, Dad and I moved a building about that size with 2 x 40HP tractors. We went to the wood lot and cut 3 straight trees a little longer than building, squared up the but ends with chain saw, jacked up building enough to push the 3 trees under the building as skids, 1 on each side and 1 in the center, then chained another log across the buts of the logs to hook the tractor to then we had several 8 ft cedar fence posts that we put under the trees as rollers. The hardest pull was the first pull to get building rolling, then stopped every in 10 ft or so to move the the fence post that came out the back to the front again.

Wasn't pretty but it worked. Moved the build about 500 ft.

JimB
 
Neighbor tried skidding an old granary across the road that was about that size. He could not move it with his AC 190 so Pa hooked his JD 4230 and together they were able to move it.
 
a friend has a homemade mover on wheels that he has used in the past it has 8X8X20 beams under it it is on pier and beam with iron ore rocks stacked one on top of the other i"m guessing it was built in the 1920s
 
(quoted from post at 19:40:55 08/17/14) 150hp or more very carefully could fall down by the way the picture looks and make sure it doesnt have post into the ground.Tractor could turn over.might be safer to tear it down

That's a bit of an excess. I was thinking 149.5HP would be enough.
 
IMO that shack ain't worth moving.
A pint of diesel and a match would be a better option.
 
We moved a building that size years ago with a 12k # tractor. By the time it reached it's destination there wasn't much left of it. I would suggest you just put a match to this one and save yourself a lot of aggravation.

Rod
 
Rod,
I wouldn't tear it down or burn it.
Around here a building like that would not add much to your property taxes but would still give you some dry storage.
Tear it down and build a new one you would have the cost of building plus your property taxes would go up.
 
It won"t take a big tractor once it"s on wheels.

I would recommend a solid frame work to haul it
on, one that doesn"t twist.. I"ve moved bigger
that that with a 1950 John Deere B.. I didn"t
have any big hills to travel down, but did go
up one.

BTW the build looks NEAT!!!!!
 
It doesn't look very structurally sound, but you will find out when you start jacking it up! Anything can be moved, but whether or not it is feasible is another question.
 
If you need to move it in the best condition possible, your best option could be to hire some building/house movers. They will jack the building up, drive a trailer under it and lower it onto their trailer.
 
Still don't have any details on how far or what sort of terrain you'll be moving it over.

Do you plan on using skids or some sort of wheel arrangement?
 

Now that I've seen the picture ???. Why? It's a weathered old building that the elements have been rotting what structural support there is.
It's going to need to be torn to the studs , beams and rafters . Then re-covered.
As somebody else said. It would be cheaper and you would have a better building to burn that aged structure and build fresh.
 
(quoted from post at 05:32:12 08/18/14) Rod,
I wouldn't tear it down or burn it.
[b:0bccfe04f1]Around here a building like that would not add much to your property taxes[/b:0bccfe04f1] but would still give you some dry storage.
Tear it down and build a new one you would have the cost of building plus your property taxes would go up.
e got to be kidding!
I thought they taxed only improvements!.
Nobody should be taxed on old buildings in a state like the one in the pic.
 
I'm of the opinion that this one's dry storage days are some time past...
From what I see I figure it's apt to crumble when you start lifting it to move it. Mabey not... but I doubt I'm wrong. I've seen better fall apart in the move... which is why I'd just burn it where it sits unless it's of some use where it is.

Rod
 
i have more time than money i have enough wood to replace the rotted wood on the outside just took a few inside and under shots
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Yep,as i suspected, this shed is beyond saving.
Not even worth the time to try to fix it where it is at, would be a waste of good lumber.
But hey,..do what you want,..its your shed, your time and your money.
Good luck.
 
Don"t have any idea or advise to give you other than figure out how you are gonna move it, then you should be able to figure out what you need for a tractor.

Whatever you do, post a lot of pictures of the process. It will be fun to see. BW
 
(quoted from post at 16:18:49 08/18/14) It is a great old building and would be a crime to tear it down.
I would save it even if the cost was more than putting up a new one.

The building would have to be braced under tension corner to corner with 10 cables or chains.
 
No B&D.
No chains and cables.
I would brace it up with some rough cut 1X8 planking at a diagonal.
Screw it through the sheathing into the studs with those new fangled Torx head lag screws.
Brace it all round.
The underpinnings look good though I know you can't tell from a picture.
It's had that tin roof on it for many years so the upper works and floor are probably good.
He still can't seem to tell us if he's going to lift it or drag it and he can't even tell us how far he's moving it or even what kind of surface preparation he's doing along the route.
(Cmon Henry - how do you expect any advice if you can't give us any info?)
It's a piece of history and the interior is beautiful. It would make a great garden shed, wood working shop, dry storage, antique shop,
playhouse for grandkids, tack room or writer's loft.
It looks big but he did tell us it's only 20'X24' - size of a double garage.
People who just want to tear it down or burn it haven't a clue.
 
I would give her a good try. Very nice old place. Skids is my call, and lots of traction. HP well thats up to what you have or could get to help. 100 Hp I think is lots. Hook her up so you have lots of downward pull, go slow and have fun. I wish I was going to be there to watch and help if needed.
 
i have farmall super mta guy next door has a 4X4 5075 john deere if i plead and beg i might could get use of a john deere 4440
 
We moved 12 x 20 A-frame chicken shelters full of chickens, on skids, all the time with an Allis B. About 15 drawbar HP. Your issue is going to be how to get the building up on skids and sufficiently X-framed and reinforced so that it doesn't collapse on the move. Neighbor and I moved a 12 x 24 1-1/2 story chicken coop by jacking it up and bracing it on top of a flat bed wagon. Personally, by the looks of the building, I'd use a long chain so no one can get hurt.
 
Visit your local firehouse . Ask for a few firefighters opinions on this. They will tell you old wood like that will virtually "EXPLODE" if caught on fire, Huge risk for humans or animals. OK for corn or dry goods or veggies.
 
My old barn is about 50"x30". Back in the late 1800/early 1900s it was moved about a half mile to it"s current location by a team of horses. I remember my grandfather telling how they spent a day burying a "deadman", and the next day pulling barn up to it. Don"t remember how long it took to get it to where it is now. I live in Hinton township and my mom has an old book about the early settlers in the area. States that John Hinton"s barn was first frame structure in Mecosta county. This was the Hinton barn
 

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