Help me build a square pole barn.

   / Help me build a square pole barn. #1  

DHennet

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Jan 24, 2005
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Goochland, VA
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JD 2210 & JD LT133
I'm building an equipment shed. It will be 24' wide x 16' deep. It will be three sided, some may call it a loafing shed or run in. I will use pole construction and need help with setting my poles square. I've built small pole structures in the past, and would just measure diagonally from corner to corner. With 12 poles I'm confused as to how to keep everything square.
 
   / Help me build a square pole barn. #2  
I've been around it, but have never done it. But I believe you measure your 4 corners, then come back and measure them diagnally making them equal so you don't have a parrellelagram. Having 12 post won't matter. Only four of them count for squareness.
You could figure the diags by the sum of the square root of the two sides = the square root of the hypotenuse.
ex. A 10x10 building would have a diag of 14.14
 
   / Help me build a square pole barn. #3  
24' wide x 16' deep = 28-10 1/8
 
   / Help me build a square pole barn. #4  
Once you got your corners measured out, drill the holes and set your posts, all you have to do is line up your walls with a string. Kind of like putting in a fence.
 
   / Help me build a square pole barn. #5  
<font color="blue"> It will be 24' wide x 16' deep </font>

If you want a square pole barn the width and depth need to be the same -- otherwise it will be rectangular. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
 
   / Help me build a square pole barn. #6  
Lay out your string lines with "batter boards". At each corner of the building, drive three stakes about 2 feet away from the corner. The three stakes should form an "L". Nail two 1 x 3's or 1 x 4's across the top of the stakes to create the "L". Now you have a 2 foot range of adjustment for your strings. This will allow you to square your lines perfectly by adjusting the diagonals as others have mentioned.

I did this for a living several years ago (more than I care to count). We always set our poles 1-1/2" inside the string. Then when the girts were nailed on, the framing dimension was the building dimension. If you set your poles to be at the string, a pole that leans against the string slightly will push the whole process out of line. We used a small piece of wire twisted around the string to mark the center of each pole. We used left over blasting cap wires, but i think today's telephone wire would work just as well. Since 6 x 6's vary in dimension quite a bit, always work to the center of the pole, rather than relying on an edge (except at the corners, obviously). Plumb your poles both directions as you backfill and/or mud in. Throw some braces on them until you get the girts nailed on. If the poles have some twist to them, use the braces to lean them in or out as you girt and sheet the building. Good luck. I am tackling a 12' x 30' addition to an existing pole barn right now, too.
 
   / Help me build a square pole barn. #7  
This pic may help...
 

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   / Help me build a square pole barn. #9  
Not sure if this will help much or not, but here is an old thread...also not sure if it specifically addresses the question of setting the posts square...but you can see some strings and size wise it is close to what you want to do. And it does use posts for the corners... /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

I feel like Spencer junior!
 
   / Help me build a square pole barn.
  • Thread Starter
#10  
Thanks Jeff. That's exactly what I was looking for. If it ever stops raining, I'll give it a try.
 
 
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