Barn Design

[RobS]

Hi all! My wife and I want to build a barn on our new land. I'm designing it to accomodate the tractor, implements and our RV plus plenty of room to grow. We also want to style it more like the old fashioned barns found here in the midwest (and no doubt elsewhere). The style we like is proportionately tall with a steeply pitched gable roof. I finally hit on the right formula to get the proportions and I end up with 20 foot sidewalls! It actually looks good on paper, particularly with the 14 foot doors we need for the RV. Some measurements from the field confirm our proportions. Trouble is, I'm fearful that this is even buildable today. We're planning on pole construction with steel siding. Anyone have experience with constructing a tall barn like this? Any idea of the additional costs involved? Thanks for any advice!

Rob

 

[WVBill]

Rob: It sounds like you want to build exactly what I did earlier this year.

Attached is the "artists concept" I did before I started designing/building.

In the "Tractor Photos" Forum, on Page 2 you will find a post from me titled "Tractor Home" that has a picture of the completed building and some details of it's size, etc.

I heavily modified a stock plan for a 24' x 32' Pole building from 84 Lumber to create the plans for my Barn. Send me a private message here or e-mail me at WVBillS@AOL.com and I can snail mail you a copy of my plans.

We had a "family reunion" in May and I got help from my Father-in-Law and three uncles and we got the basic structure up in a week.

Best of Luck

WVBill

 

[RobS]

WVBill, I did get some of my inspiration from your barn pics. Thanks. How high are the sidewalls in your high-bay section? Conventional construction techniques? Did you rent scaffolding or cranes? I'm concerned about having to work and lift up high.

I will send you a private with my snail mail. Thanks.

Rob

 

[WVBill]

The high bay walls are 20' high. Conventional pole barn construction. Metal roof on high section, asphalt shingles on low roofs and T1-11 siding. We rented a scissors lift for the week to get the trusses, etc. up high and to help set the tall poles. Couldn't have done it without. Someone still has to climb up on the purlins on the high roof to screw the metal roof down. Glad one of my Uncles has no fear of heights!

WVBill

 

[Anonymous Poster]

I suggest you start by shopping for barns with the bigger local and national barn builders. You will probably learn a lot even if you decide to build it yourself. I know that I did. Here are some web sites that I found when I was shopping for my "fantasy" barn (40x100, 3 overhead doors, heated kennel with indoor/outdoor runs, etc. She who must be obeyed said it had to be sided and shingled to match the house).

National Frame Builders Association

Morton Buildings

Many more barn builder sites can be found with any search engine, but it might take some work to find some in your area.

 

[RobS]

Sounds like you did it right, and the end result sure is nice looking. Thanks again.

Rob

 

[Harv]

WVBill -

Nice computer rendering of the barn.

Just curious -- what software did you use?

 

[WVBill]

Harv; I used Alpha software Dream Home Designer.

Not a "professional" level package but it was good enough to help me determine what roof pitches I wanted, etc. in order to achieve the "look" I wanted.

WVBill

 

[RobS]

Hey, this is all kind of fun... Here's a screenshot (JPEG) of my preliminary sketches. I'm using Visio but will ultimately use AutoSketch for the details. I don't think the Visio saved too well, but you get the idea.

WVBill, can you generate detail prints out of the package you used?

Rob

 

[WVBill]

Dream Home Designer can do floorplan prints (see attached). It has a wide selection of architrctural features (windows, doors, etc.). But certainly not construction prints. It's mostly a low-end concept/rendering tool.

I tried Autosketch thinking I would use it to generate construction prints but I just couldn't master the software (heck, I couldn't even "minor" the software.) So I ended up cutting and pasting (the old fashioned way) from the stock pole barn plans I bought, and adding some hand drawing.

WVBill