Pole Barn Walls: opinions please!

[Laminarman]

Hi people, thanks for this great forum that I constantly lurk on.

I have decided on two things: First, I am going to build a 30x40' pole barn for housing tractor/implements...etc. starting in the Spring. Second, it WILL have a metal or fiberblass roof.

The building will be away from the house, doubtful it will need electric, but will be visible to all. I got quoted $9,800 for a metal building built (pole frame construction), complete with all hardware, one 10' door and roof/sides/lumber from 84 Lumber. Not a bad price I thought. Problem is, I'm not real big on the "metal building look". I DO like (and so does the wife) the look of a more "traditional" country barn. So...I am thinking do this myself and have the trusses engineered, and use either T1-11 siding or board and batten along with said metal or fiberglass roof. Question is, can folks give me their pros' and cons of wall materials? If I do board and batten, what type of wood, treated or untreated?

I like the speed/ease of metal and low maintenance, but I can assure you it will get dinged up and look like heck over time. I am not sure how durable a board/batten or T1-11 siding will hold up over the years, and if I went that route, any tips folks?? Here are my priorities

1. Appearance (think "wife" here...she wants a stone/stucco barn to match the house..ugh)
2. Durability/longevity
3. Ease of construction
4. Cost

 

[BHD]

there are lot of patterns of steel panels, with different looks, consider horizontal for a different look, one can put stone on the bottom and tin on top, of the wall,

look up some building sites and look at there photo galleries, here is a few to start with,
http://www.mortonbuildings.com/Gallery-of-Photos.aspx
Barns, Storage Sheds, Garages, Steel Buildings, Pole Barns - Lester Building Systems

I think a lot of the look of the building is more to what the building looks like, there is a house in town that has metal roof on it for the siding, and it looks like a house, why it is in a house shape,
any building with out eves and plain will nearly look metal sided if it looks like a normal metal pole machine shed or barn, if you stuccoed it would look like a pole barn. that is my opinion,

putting some other than tin on the side walls will normally end up costing you more. as you will need normally a conventional wall behind it to work with.

 

[Duffster]

Hi people, thanks for this great forum that I constantly lurk on.

I have decided on two things: First, I am going to build a 30x40' pole barn for housing tractor/implements...etc. starting in the Spring. Second, it WILL have a metal or fiberblass roof.

The building will be away from the house, doubtful it will need electric, but will be visible to all. I got quoted $9,800 for a metal building built (pole frame construction), complete with all hardware, one 10' door and roof/sides/lumber from 84 Lumber. Not a bad price I thought. Problem is, I'm not real big on the "metal building look". I DO like (and so does the wife) the look of a more "traditional" country barn. So...I am thinking do this myself and have the trusses engineered, and use either T1-11 siding or board and batten along with said metal or fiberglass roof. Question is, can folks give me their pros' and cons of wall materials? If I do board and batten, what type of wood, treated or untreated?

I like the speed/ease of metal and low maintenance, but I can assure you it will get dinged up and look like heck over time. I am not sure how durable a board/batten or T1-11 siding will hold up over the years, and if I went that route, any tips folks?? Here are my priorities

1. Appearance (think "wife" here...she wants a stone/stucco barn to match the house..ugh)
2. Durability/longevity
3. Ease of construction
4. Cost

What do you mean by a "fiberglass roof" ?

 

[dave1949]

I would not choose T1-11, I don't think it is very durable for the long haul. You are basically putting ship-lap plywood on the exterior. Plus, if you don't get the laps just right, it will wrinkle (it might anyways) when it changes dimensions with humidity. If your walls are taller than the longest sheet of T1-11, you have that horizontal butt joint to deal with. Another potential moisture uptake spot even using the metal drip strips.

Board and batten done in northern white cedar will hold up and takes a stain well. Rough-sawn eastern hemlock is another good choice for board and batten. You can rip your own battens on a table saw. Cedar saws easily and has natural pest and rot resistance. Rough-sawn hemlock is usually not kiln dried, it will shrink considerably, so that has to be allowed for.

Nothing compares to the beauty of natural stone, it my back were 40 years younger, I would be tempted to build something with that. It has zero insulation R value however. If you intend to heat the building, you have to build a conventional insulated wall inside the stone wall.

That's my .02, Dave.

 

[Laminarman]

Thanks for the help folks. After I posted that message I took a drive and wouldn't you know that a diner I pass daily has metal siding, with a stone section about 2' off the ground. Since I have no intention of gathering stone, or putting a concrete foundation/footer to support the weight of real stone, I might consider a low perimeter run of cultered stone or brick which would certainly give some durability.

One other question, what guage metal for walls is "standard"?? The 84 lumber kit is 29 guage for the walls. Thanks.

 

[Laminarman]

What do you mean by a "fiberglass roof" ?

A corrugated fiberglass sheeting, almost like the metal ones. They have them at Lowes for $30 for a sheet, some of these you can get translucent so they basically function like skylights.

 

[bobodu]

No to the T-111...buckles warps and rots. Rodents chew on it,cats claw on it and it needs painting.

 

[Duffster]

Thanks for the help folks. After I posted that message I took a drive and wouldn't you know that a diner I pass daily has metal siding, with a stone section about 2' off the ground. Since I have no intention of gathering stone, or putting a concrete foundation/footer to support the weight of real stone, I might consider a low perimeter run of cultered stone or brick which would certainly give some durability.

One other question, what guage metal for walls is "standard"?? The 84 lumber kit is 29 guage for the walls. Thanks.

29 ga. is the norm for wall and roof panels.

 

[MarkV]

I have never had much luck with the fiberglass sheeting, if we are talking the same type. The ones that are translucent become stained with in a year if you have trees near by. I don't think I would want to walk on them for maintenance and they will crack long before a metal roof wears out.

MarkV

 

[FlaDon]

29 ga. is the norm for wall and roof panels.

Lowes here has 22 ga Galvalume while HD has the 29 ga. Price difference is about $2 a sheet.

 

[BearKiller]

Around here, we use full-inch rough-sawed white-oak or yellow-poplar for barn siding.

I have several of both around here, wood and metal.

The flimsy metal is fine and no painting required, but is soon bent and banged all over, full of horse-shoe dents, and big holes from some bolt or the other snagging into it as something gets too close.

The inch wood is nearly bullet-proof; horses kick it and you can't even find the spot; bump it with a trailer or bush-hog and no harm done.

I have tried it both ways, smoothly planed and squared up neat, and rough straight off the saw.

The rough-sawed actually holds paint much better and looks better longer than the planed.

Forget the "batten" foolishness and sheet with 1/2" OSB or somesuch, prior to nailing on the wood, if you want the cracks stopped up.

 

[Diamondpilot]

Just to throw another idea out there I built my barn and put up 7/16" OSB then did a 3 tab shingle roof to match the house and used vinyl siding and sofit. Its built as a pole barn but had to get the wife's approval on the exterior.

One other thing. Go bigger then you think you need. My barn is 32x52 primarily to make 4x8 sheets of OSB work, but I wish now I would have done deeper like 52x40. Also I kick myself for only doing 12' tall. So many things like my buddies dump truck, my boat, and friends RV, my neighbors Case Back Hoe all will not fit in a 12 footer. 14' would be so much better and I could have built a stand up loft in the rear of the barn for small item storage.

Sorry, no good pictures, I am on a backup computer.

Chris

 

[Duffster]

Lowes here has 22 ga Galvalume while HD has the 29 ga. Price difference is about $2 a sheet.

That just goes to show that gauge doesn't mean much anyway.

 

[Bigboyskioti]

I did mine with the board & batten. Used treated poplar. Only problem I ran into was shrinkage. I allowed an inch to an inch and a quarter on each side of the batten. I have gaps all over. I'm now thinking about pulling them off and just putting metal on the outside. I'm not real sure on how to figure for the shrinkage.

 

[BearKiller]

One other point :

The original poster mentioned possibly using fiber-glass roof panels.

No way would I waste my time/money/stuff-in-the-barn-I-don't-want-wet on any type of fiber-glass roofing or so called "sky-lights".

I have never seen anything but trouble from day one from using it.

Several around here got the big idea to use a see-thru fiber-glass panel about every fourth sheet across the roof.

In less than a week, due to either incompatible shrinkage, warpage, or who knows, the "sky-lights" develop splits and cracks and leak like a sieve.

One guy I used to work for, against my advice (he was a control freak that always went against sound advice), roofed the whole barn with fiber-glass panels; when it was raining, it was dryer outside that in.



If you want free natural light, use those genuine sky-lights that are made to seal to the roof, leak-free, and project/amplify tons of sun-light.


Of course, in foggy rainy overcast one sunny day a month KY, sky-lights are about a waste anyway.

 

[Laminarman]

Thanks for all the responses folks. Decisions to be made I guess. I'll scrap the fiberglass roof idea, that seems like a recurring theme.

 

[towmotor]

T1-11?
No way.
You're better of turning that stuff inside out and using it as sheathing only. Horrible stuff, miserable to paint/stain.

If the little lady would rather have you working ON your barn/garage than IN it , go with barnboard approach. It's got classic good looks, and the individual pieces aren't so heavy that you'll have to disturb her from her tea to help you manhandle them into place, as you would with the T1-11.

Fiberglas belongs on boats and Corvettes-or possibly greenhouses. As a workshop roof?
It's ugly, it cracks, the corrugation makes it nearly impossible to seal.
If you simply must have some fiberglas, make one of those ugly carports out back-where your wife won't have to look at it, and neither will I if I happen to drive by.

If you build the first four feet or so out of a masonry product, you should have plenty of durability, no matter what you do with the rest.

 

[Laminarman]

Sorry, a clarification. The roofing at Lowes I referred to as fiberglass is Ondura by trade name and "impregnated asphalt" is the process. Ondura Corrugated Roofing - Residential Roofing - Commercial Roofing - Agricultural Roofing - Re-Roofing - Tallant Inc. Roofing Company is their site. Looks just like fiberglass with a baked on painted finish, limited lifetime warranty for residential applications and 25 years warranty for commercial applications. Just an FYI

 

[tlbuser]

Instead of T1-11, you could use Cedarmill or Sierra 8 Hardie board, which is available in 4x8, 4x9 or 4x10 sheets. 4 x10 price swings wide from ~$33.00 (local guy) to $45.00 (Lowe's) a sheet.

http://www.jameshardiecommercial.com/hardiepanel.shtml

 

[JonBoyHunter]

I went with 1" x 12" boards and 1" x 4" battens and it works great. This was green eastern white pine as the mill was out of hemlock when I needed it. I was going to go with 3" batts, but a friend talked me into 4". Glad I did, as the 1x12's shrink enough to be barely covered in places. One more tip, it's not too much more money or work, go ahead and wrap the whole thing in Tyvek (or the cheaper equivilent) after the purlins, but before the siding. Any cracks, gaps you do have won't allow air infiltration with the Tyvek. My father didn't on his, and has problems when rain comes out of the north. Mine is dry as can be, despite a few through checks in the siding.

The issue with board and batt - deciding whether or not to stain it. If you do it once, you will do it every few years. The alternative is to let it grey and weather. It will still last a long time, but probably not as long as if it's properly stained.

Hope that helps.

Jon Hunter