pole barn

[mickish]

Anyone used 4x6 pressure treated posts to build their barn as opposed to 6x6 posts.

 

[hcallaway]

I used the 4 x 6 on the porches. On another building I used 6 x 6 on the corners and 4 x 6 on the walls. I am sure there are others. Good luck on your build.

 

[whistlepig]

I had a 30'x40' barn built by Blitz builders twenty years ago with 4"x 6" posts. No problems at all with it.

 

[LD1]

Yep, lots of people do it.

But how tall you make the building is the determining factor. If you only plan on a 8-10' ceiling, then 4x6's on the walls with 6x6's in the corners will be pleanty strong.

When you start getting above 12' walls is when 6x6's are worth the extra cost.

And you may want to check the codes where you live if any of them apply. They will probabally at least specify minimums for a given height.

But me personally, I used electric poles in the 8"-12" diameter range for my 14' high walls.

 

[whistlepig]

Yep, lots of people do it.

But how tall you make the building is the determining factor. If you only plan on a 8-10' ceiling, then 4x6's on the walls with 6x6's in the corners will be pleanty strong.

When you start getting above 12' walls is when 6x6's are worth the extra cost.

And you may want to check the codes where you live if any of them apply. They will probabally at least specify minimums for a given height.

But me personally, I used electric poles in the 8"-12" diameter range for my 14' high walls.

Good point. I had Blitz builders build me a another 24'x40' pole with 10' walls 4 years ago were we live now. Old barn 30'x40' barn with 4"x6" poles was 9' walls. They went with 6"x6" poles for this barn with 10' walls. No building codes or inspections here for agri buildings. Blitz builders decided the post size.

 

[mickish]

I think I need at least 10 ft ceiling height at least,other wise what's the point,I'm thinking 12ft ceiling height would be best so as I get 10 ft door height ,so maybe 6x6 is the way to go.I was thinking the osb sheathing would add some as well as wire lath would add some strength .the cost difference between 4x6 and 6x6 is a fair bit.

 

[whistlepig]

I think I need at least 10 ft ceiling height at least,other wise what's the point,I'm thinking 12ft ceiling height would be best so as I get 10 ft door height ,so maybe 6x6 is the way to go.I was thinking the osb sheathing would add some as well as wire lath would add some strength .the cost difference between 4x6 and 6x6 is a fair bit.

What size barn are you wanting to build?

 

[mickish]

24x40 with a loft,if I go over a thousand sq ft I have to do storm water management and I ain't sure what all that will entail so I'd rather avoid that secnario.

 

[whistlepig]

24x40 with a loft,if I go over a thousand sq ft I have to do storm water management and I ain't sure what all that will entail so I'd rather avoid that secnario.

I am forever glad to get away from the county and city restrictions on building a pole barn. They will probably want you to dig a retention pond. If you are going to have a loft with weight stored in it I would for sure go with 6"x6" posts. Another important consideration is the wind. Where we live now is flat as Kansas. Our buildings take a very considerable beating from the wind. We have redundancy built into everything just to allow for the high winds here.

 

[LD1]

I forgot to add that post spacing makes a difference too.

For 12' walls 4x6 posts ever 8' sould be just fine.

But stretch that to 10' or 12' between posts and I'd definatally be using the 6x6's

 

[whistlepig]

The barns I have been posting about had 8' spacing on the poles.

 

[WM75Guy]

Morton built our stables 48'X36'X10'. They build their posts by laminating 3 2X6 so there is not any warping. They are on 12' centers.

 

[QRTRHRS]

Morton built our stables 48'X36'X10'. They build their posts by laminating 3 2X6 so there is not any warping. They are on 12' centers.

Randy, Just curious, are the posts nailed together or glued? Also, did the rafters with cross ties come in one piece or did they put them together in place? Morton builds a nice barn.

 

[Rustyiron]

FWIW, I'm partial to the laminated 2x6 (3plys). If you are burrying the post directly in the ground and not using the new Permacolumn concrete type base for your posts. Three 2x6 are better protected with what ever the chemical du jour is now (I like and trust the old CCA) for treating wood, prolly ACQ whitch will eat your fasteners in short order!!! A 6x6 is only penetrated an inch or so (with preservative) where the 2x6 is pretty well treated all the way thru, it should last longer. A couple of other reasons are, try to find a straight 6x6 over 10' and a 3ply 2x6 is stronger and will stay tru.
Lately the pre manufactured posts have been very popular and nice to use. Don't know if they are avail. in your area but they finger joint and glue them together with 3 2x6 and the lower 6-8' or so is PT and then KD above that for the rest of the post. They then send it thru a planer and smooth it out, it is a very nice product, and I found the convience and appearance of them made them affordable.
And by the way I think you asked, when I laminate the posts, I just clamp and (oposing) angle nail the sheet out of them usually, but the last posts I built I splurged on these new hi tech screws with a built in washer head. Very nice, very strong, and can be tightened if you want when you have shrinkage.
One more thing, do your self a favor and go with 12' ceiling, a few more bucks for side wall metal but, well worth it.

 

[Gizmo2]

FWIW, I'm partial to the laminated 2x6 (3plys). If you are burrying the post directly in the ground and not using the new Permacolumn concrete type base for your posts. Three 2x6 are better protected with what ever the chemical du jour is now (I like and trust the old CCA) for treating wood, prolly ACQ whitch will eat your fasteners in short order!!! A 6x6 is only penetrated an inch or so (with preservative) where the 2x6 is pretty well treated all the way thru, it should last longer. A couple of other reasons are, try to find a straight 6x6 over 10' and a 3ply 2x6 is stronger and will stay tru.
Lately the pre manufactured posts have been very popular and nice to use. Don't know if they are avail. in your area but they finger joint and glue them together with 3 2x6 and the lower 6-8' or so is PT and then KD above that for the rest of the post. They then send it thru a planer and smooth it out, it is a very nice product, and I found the convience and appearance of them made them affordable.
And by the way I think you asked, when I laminate the posts, I just clamp and (oposing) angle nail the sheet out of them usually, but the last posts I built I splurged on these new hi tech screws with a built in washer head. Very nice, very strong, and can be tightened if you want when you have shrinkage.
One more thing, do your self a favor and go with 12' ceiling, a few more bucks for side wall metal but, well worth it.

Nice write up and I have the same thinking. I will also add, the so called foundation (posts) is not the place to try and save money.

 

[WM75Guy]

The trusses were built at the Morton factory. Two 18 wheelers showed up and offloaded the materials and the trusses were already built. The posts were built onsite, glued and nailed. If you zoom in on the left post in the second picture you can see how they cut the center 2X6 short and place the truss in the notch. They then bolted the truss to the outside members. The 2 2X6 inverted Ts between rafters is how I mounted my 8' flourescent lights.

 

[QRTRHRS]

The trusses were built at the Morton factory. Two 18 wheelers showed up and offloaded the materials and the trusses were already built. The posts were built onsite, glued and nailed. If you zoom in on the left post in the second picture you can see how they cut the center 2X6 short and place the truss in the notch. They then bolted the truss to the outside members. The 2 2X6 inverted Ts between rafters is how I mounted my 8' flourescent lights.

Sorry to hi-jack the thread but I want to take the oppourtunity to point something out that might be of interest.

I am attaching a photo of a barn I had with rafters and purlins to compare with Randy's Morton barn. The rafter and purlin design in my barn will collect a whole lot more dirt due to having more flat surfaces.

As you can see in my photos, I too used the headers to mount my overhead lights. Using 8 foot two bulb fixtures, skipping every other bay and staggering the lights on both sides. This setup made for a very bright barn with light reaching every nook and cranny. With the plastic bezels, the lights could be blasted off with a light duty pressure washer with no penetration.

The posts in this barn are spline jointed SYP/PT SYP glued then heated and cured under pressure. For someone building their own, etc., perhaps these posts are not an option. That's why I am curious about laminating with hardware and how well the posts work without the benefit of spline joints.

The barn builder I used to haul for had a Perma Column franchise and used hand laminated for all their own barns. Recalling that I had moved some pretty long posts, I wish I could remember if they used more than one board for each layer or if they had to piece any.

 

[mickish]

I guess you right,the foundation ain't the place to be scrimping pennies,

 

[mickish]

Anyone used pitch on the bottomn of their posts for rot proofing?

 

[QRTRHRS]

mickish

Are you having a barn built or building your own?