Installing post in a pole barn

[firemech]

I have three boat storage buildings, one 60ft X 200ft and two that are 40ft X 100 ft and all are post and beam that are set in the ground with 6ft deep holes (we have heavy frost in Muskoka Ontario) with 3/4" crusted stone beneath and around each post to grade. These buildings are 40yrs old for the 200 ft and 30 and 28 respectively for the 100ft. The greatest requirement is good drainage the treatment of the lumber. The 200ft building (the oldest) utilized used hydro poles that were heavily creosete treated and in good shape when installed and are still as good as when installed. The older 100ft building utilized cedar poles cut an stripped and dried for a year and the 6 ft ends were coated in thick tar to above grade. This building is in a flood plain area that is wet below grade and the posts are still in good shape but have shown some deteriation of late. The newest building used fresh cut poles that were not dipped and even though was installed in soil with good drainage are showing severe rot at grade level. We have drilled holes between each existing pole and installed sono tubes, placed new pressure treated 6 X 6 posted and poured concrete. A note about the recomendation for sono tube with saddles and posts placed above,,,, a neibour buid a 40 X 60 ft building this way. it was knocked over when a truck backed into the eves. If you go this route make certain you install heavy diagonal bracing to combat any shear forces. It cost more to lift the trusses and repair the posts then it cost to initally build the building. Given I'm long winded thats my two dollars worth.
firemech:confused2:

 

[RoMad]

I would think there is a big difference in the best way to set the poles depending on your soil type, drainage, and winter temperatures. Where I live in Florida most of the pole barns I know of have the poles set in concrete, but of course I haven't seen a great number of them. I have a shed that according to tax records was built in 1972. It is made from pressure treated 4x4's set in concrete. We took out part of one wall and had to remove one of the 4x4's. I cut it off just above the concrete and it was still in good enough shape to reuse on some wooden steps for legs.
I also have a barn that looks to be about the same age as the shed. It is also made from PT 4x4s but they were not in concrete. They were just in the ground when I bought the place. I dug around each of them with a shovel about 18", drove a few big spike nails in them about halfway and then filled the holes back in with sakrete. I thought the spikes would give the concrete something to hold to. Because we get some pretty high winds sometimes, I thought the concrete might help hold down the barn.

 

[yanmars]

Cleary put up my pole building. They put a precast concrete pancake in the bottom of the hole. There posts are three 2x6 sandwiched together. They say so more of the preservative gets completely through. They are the higher treatment for continuous ground contact. They fill the hole with the dirt that came out but compact it with a compactor. Even so the dirt still settles some later.
A number of house magazines say the concrete can rot the post at the ground level but I have seen some removed after many years and that was not the case but they were protected by the building. If they were fence posts in the open perhaps that is different.

 

[TRR]

I have pressure treated posts that have been in the ground for 25 years now. I set most of them in concrete. I dig a hole, put the post in, put a little dirt (sand here in Florida) back in about 2 or 3 inches so water does not collect at the end of the post, and fill the rest of the hole with concrete. I pulled one up recently and the part embeded in concrete was in better shape than the rest of the post that was exposed to the weather.

Note, these are the old pressure treatment formula with arsenic in them not the ACQ stuff. I believe the old style is still available from a dock company if needed. If you use ACQ be sure the fasteners are rated for ACQ otherwise you get to do it over again in 1 or 2 years. ACQ fasteners are generally HOT dipped galvinized or stainless steel. It should say ACQ on the package.

 

[ch47dpilot]

BryanM, my quote is for a 24x36x14. It's only the roof no sides included. It includes everything, 4 trusses, 5 2x6x12 fascia, 20 2x6x12 & 2 14' purlins, 8 6x6x18 poles, 32 bags of concrete, 26 14' panels(26 gauge painted), 4 10' ridge caps and finally all the required hardware. Total cost $2329+ tax(tax in area brought total to 2546.24)

 

[rimshot]

I used 6"X6" P.T.posts on top of a precast 8" thick X12" diameter concrete cookie or disk and set the post. Fill the hole and tamp around as I do with the end of an 8' 2 X 4. I dig the hole about 50" deep with my little CK-20 Kioti as close to straight down as I can get the hole. Drills don't work in this coarse gravel around here. I ran short one cookie so used a drywall compound materiel bucket for a form and poured another.

bs5

 

[AlanB]

Alan B: Some people can drive a bus because they don't need to make up for their short comings(sorry Attack guys)

Paladin

Working at the North end of CAAF now. Helping to provide World Wide Services.

Holler at my on a PM if you come this way and I will show you my building.

 

[Diamondpilot]

I have seen them done with and without concrete. Personally, I would use concrete.

Chris