Pole Barn Loft Framing

   / Pole Barn Loft Framing #1  

jcook5003

Bronze Member
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Jun 25, 2010
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70
Hi Guys-

Since I'm almost finished building my run in shed and am planning my horse barn now I'm looking for photos or plans of pole barn lofts and how to frame them.

My barn is going to be 36x48 with typical 12' pole spacing. I was thinking about using scissor trusses to increase loft ceiling hieght. I was thinking of running a 2x12 band a few feet down my posts and running 2x10 floor joists parallel to the 36' wall. Is this how most people do it? will a single 2x12 be sufficient to support the floor load?

Anyone with pole barn loft framing photos or plans I would be thrilled to see them.

Thanks,
Josh
 
   / Pole Barn Loft Framing #2  
Lots of details to add before you figure out how to frame the loft. Will the loft span the entire building, or just X feet from one end? Do you want any support posts under the loft, or want to keep it clear spanned? How much weight are you putting in the loft?

-rus-
 
   / Pole Barn Loft Framing
  • Thread Starter
#3  
It will be a full loft the entire length of the building.

It wont be hay storage so minimal weight.

It will be supported by a 6x6 every 12'.

A contractor friend just told me basically putting a loft in a pole barn is simply building a deck. Simple as that. It made sense.
 
   / Pole Barn Loft Framing #4  
Yes, basically, your friend is correct. Deck building is a good analogy. I am putting in lofts in my mini barn right now. However, unlike a deck, one has to compute the load and ask the question, what is carrying this load? You'd be amazed how many lofts/decks are actually only being held up with nails. There will be failure down the road. There are a number of ways to accomplish the task, based on your building specifics. Personally, I like to support the ends of the floor joists with either a minimum of 4"-6" of end support, (two 2 by or more width) and/or joist hangers. There are also charts for clear span capabilities of 2x8, 2x10, 2x12, etc.
 
   / Pole Barn Loft Framing
  • Thread Starter
#5  
I ALWAYS use hangers, brackets etc when building, I also religiously use notches in posts to help support boards. Coming from my engineering school side (sophmore year) I think what I have in mind lumber dimension wise whould be fine.
 
   / Pole Barn Loft Framing #6  
In this application I wouldn't use trusses at all. Rafters will give you more head room in the loft.
 
   / Pole Barn Loft Framing #7  
Have you not considered using attic trusses in the area where you want the loft?
 
   / Pole Barn Loft Framing
  • Thread Starter
#8  
Attic trusses were $4k more than scissor trusses. I would use rafters but trusses GREATLY simplify the building process and make it much fast IMHO.
 
   / Pole Barn Loft Framing #9  
I'm not clear on what you want to do. With a 36 ft span, are you wanting to install pre build sissor trusses? Then come back and build a deck that spans the width of the building for a storage area?

What is the pitch of the roof?

What I'm afraid of is that you are thinking about building the floor off of the trusses and putting the load on the tails of the trusses. If you do this, it will fail.

You either need to carry the weight of the floor onto your walls by spanning the entire distance from wall to wall with properly sized glu lam beams, or use posts to support the floor, or buy trusses designed for attic storage space.

Cutting corners or trying to come up with something creative that isn't properly engineered is how buildings fail. With that much of a span, the are too many things going on that make it impossible for anybody to give you advice that you can use.

Do it right regardless of what it costs because if you do it wrong, it will cost a whole bunch more in the future.

Eddie
 
   / Pole Barn Loft Framing #10  
I would use rafters but trusses GREATLY simplify the building process and make it much fast IMHO.

Not really in this case.

You need the center posts anyway so the extra espense of trusses won't justify any labor savings, if any.
 
 
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