[cowpen]

I'm building this mostly on my own, and at my own pace (slooow). I'm also doing my best to do it "on the cheap" without compromising structural integrity, appearance or utility. I checked with the county building department to pull permits and discovered I don't need any as long as no septic is involved. I'm zoned agriculture, and this will be an ag outbuilding. Lucky me I'm off the hook in this regard, but I still want to build it to last, and build it safe.

I've been gathering (plundering) materials for the last six weeks. A friend had some 8.5" square marine-treated pilings that he salvaged from a house on Captiva Island. I bought 16 of them for $50 each. They ranged between 19 and 25 feet long. I expect that I will rot before they do.

Then I found a crap-load of nice lumber locally on craigslist.org. Got 21 No. 1 grade 2x10x16ｴs, and ten each 2x8x16 PT and 2x6x16 PT, plus a 5-gal bucket full of Simpson truss brackets, hurricane straps, and rafter brackets, all for $300.

Trusses were harder to find, but 84 Lumber gave me a decent deal on a set in the yard that were exactly what I was looking for - 30' span, 4/12 pitch. Those were $900 delivered; about $400 cheaper than if I'd had them built to order.

I'm still looking for metal for the roof and poly foil insulation. Any suggestions for S. Florida metal dealers? I'll probably go with a 26 gauge 5-V crimp since that's what almost everybody around here uses, but I'm also considering one of the 36" ag panels.