Pole shed or garage??

[kevinwak]

I have a spare set if roof trusses for a garage from when I built my house. The truss company sent the wrong ones and never picked them up. Should I build a pole shed with gravel floor out of them or normal garage with concrete slab???

 

[ding2520]

Hey Kev,
I guess you have to ask yourself what do want to put in this building? I can tell you from experience that if you have a pole shed with a gravel floor, there will be many times a year (spring especially) when there will be condensation on your stuff sitting on the floor. This happenes in an existing pole building on the place I bought. I am not sure if your were to put down a vapor barrier before placing the rock if you could get around the moisture issue. Concrete floor with a vapor barrier will definitely perform better than gravel will.

 

[LD1]

I would go with a pole building. They are easier to build. And you can still concrete them if you choose. As well as insulate, wire, etc.

My garage/shop is a pole construction. It is a finished interior. And you plan in finishing the interior, you honestly cant tell a difference.

I think a pole garage is also easier to wire up as well.

 

[KennyG]

To me the more important issue is the floor. Personally, I would go with concrete unless cost was a major issue. Over the long term, it will have so many benefits.

The type of construction really depends on your size. If you have enough trusses to put them on 16" or 24" centers and you only want 8 or 10 foot wall heights, I would go conventional frame construction. It won't cost much more and I think it's actually easier since you don't have to dig the post holes and set the posts. It also gives you more easy options on exterior and interior finishes.

On the other hand, if you want to go 4 foot or greater spacing on the trusses or want 12 foot or higher walls, a pole structure is probably the more practical approach.

 

[crbr]

Pole building...

 

[kevinwak]

Idealy I would love to see this shed/garage as a dedicated woodworking shop.....BUT I need a place to store my tractor and boat and my attched garage is heated and I wired it to accomidate woodworking tools. With that being said I don't think the budget/wife will allow me to have 2 heated garages on our property.
We just had our house siding finished in evening Blue hardi plank, and after seeing the amazing results I also want to do this shed in the same material! It will probably be easier to install over conventional stick framing

 

[BeezFun]

If you're in northern Alberta your frostline is about 6', if you don't use a pole building you're going to need something to handle that kind of freeze cycle. You could put in footings, but that's really expensive, as are frost proof foundations. Some kind of floating slab might work but you need to have someone tell you how much to thicken the edges to prevent frost heave. I'd think it would be very hard in that environment to beat a pole building for cost.

 

[kevinwak]

Up here mist detached garages are a floating slab with reinforced edges. Web most heavy duty farm shops are built that way. I know it is way more expensive then the pole building but the usefulness of a slab may be worth the extra $$$. Also my dad has a sawmill so the 2X6 for stick framing us almost free and the pressure treated 6X6 are an expense.

 

[Iplayfarmer]

... I don't think the budget/wife will allow me to have 2 heated garages on our property...

I'm sure she'd be fine if you had a garbage can out there to put your wood scraps in. If the garbage can happened to look a lot like a wood stove it shouldn't be a big deal.

Be careful!! Occasionally garbage cans of wood scraps can spontaneously catch fire... Especially if you hold a gas torch to the pile of scraps for a little bit. The best thing to do when that happens is to shut the door of the garbage can and let the fire burn itself out. Some people will try to extinguish the fire when it's almost out by throwing more wood on it. You might try that when the fire gets low.

 

[LD1]

I'm sure she'd be fine if you had a garbage can out there to put your wood scraps in. If the garbage can happened to look a lot like a wood stove it shouldn't be a big deal.

Be careful!! Occasionally garbage cans of wood scraps can spontaneously catch fire... Especially if you hold a gas torch to the pile of scraps for a little bit. The best thing to do when that happens is to shut the door of the garbage can and let the fire burn itself out. Some people will try to extinguish the fire when it's almost out by throwing more wood on it. You might try that when the fire gets low.

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