New flooring in barn loft

[jamiegw]

Hello, I recently bought a house that has an attached barn. The area in the picture was historically used for storing hay, and we also want to use this area for storing hay. Around 500 20kg bales = 10,000kg.

Green line: Top of an internal wall
Blue lines: Top of an internal wall
Purple lines: Beams with ends on top of the walls
Red lines: Very thick circular beams with one end on the wall and one end inside the outer wall

All the flooring is very weak, perhaps damaged by damp or wood worm. The previous owners had doubled up the flooring in some places.

What is the best way to approach replacing the flooring?
Can we simply remove all the existing flooring and lay new wooden planks?
Should we consult a structural engineer to determine if the area can still be used to support a heavy load?

 

[Deleted member 174758]

New joists then new floor. The original joists are probably on centres that are too wide and are undersized for the job - it was a barn after all, so the rules for habitable spacrs didn't apply and it would be have been done on the cheap. What are the joist centres, what is their length and what is their cross section size?

 

[jamiegw]

New joists then new floor. The original joists are probably on centres that are too wide and are undersized for the job - it was a barn after all, so the rules for habitable spacrs didn't apply and it would be have been done on the cheap. What are the joist centres, what is their length and what is their cross section size?

Just to clarify this space will not be habitable and we will use it for hay storage.

I'll make some measurements later.

 

[Deleted member 174758]

In that case just board it out - 18mm plywood or chipboard in 8 x 4ft sheets would probably be the fastest way and also deal with level discrepancies better than planking

 

[jamiegw]

In that case just board it out - 18mm plywood or chipboard in 8 x 4ft sheets would probably be the fastest way and also deal with level discrepancies better than planking

This seems like a nice and quick solution. If there aren't enough joists to secure the boards, I assume I would need to add some more joists?

 

[Deleted member 174758]

Yes

 

[jamiegw]

Yes

Great. I'll have to learn how to do some calculations to ensure it will support 10,000kg of hay.

 

[Deleted member 174758]

Ten tonnes is quite some weight!

 

[jamiegw]

Ten tonnes is quite some weight!

400-500 bales of hay at 20kg each.

 

[Koolpc]

Just put in extra joists. Not a difficult job and better to be safe than sorry..

 

[freddiemercurystwin]

Should we consult a structural engineer to determine if the area can still be used to support a heavy load?

Yes, this.

 

[jamiegw]

Yes, this.

Or a farmer. Lot's of farmers round here.

 

[Deleted member 174758]

Or a farmer. Lot's of farmers round here.

Can I see baling twine solution on the horizon?

 

[jamiegw]

Can I see baling twine solution on the horizon?

Well, it does come free wit the hay.