Building a Pole Barn: Step 1

[GManBart]

I am going to either put a barrel stove in it or putting a gas wall heater in. Initially, I will probably just go with a kerosene heater to knock the chill off.

You may want to consider insulating under the slab to keep it from acting like a heat sink. I went with 2" thick R10 sheets under my slab, because of the radiant heat (no sense heating the dirt). Home Depot sells them for a bit under $30 per 4x8 sheet, and Lowes is a touch higher.

I'm in the middle of building a 40x64 barn that has a continuous poured foundation, but will be like a pole barn from the foundation upwards. We've already poured the 24x40' shop side slab, and will do the 40x40 barn side in the Spring (trying to get the walls, doors, and roof up before the weather gets bad).

My general advice would be to plan for everything taking twice as long as you expect it! Also, a visit with the local building inspector is a good idea before you get too set on any particular details, or plans. I had some additional challenges, because we were demolishing a house where the barn is going up, but I can't describe how many times I had to call/visit the building inspector to get things lined up for the permits. I would just make sure they know you're doing the project yourself, haven't done one before, and ask that they give you detailed guidance on what they need to see, and the order of events. There's nothing worse than being ready to do something, only to find out a different inspector has to check it before you can proceed. For example, we put radiant heat in our slab, and I had to get the mechanical inspector to check it, even though the plumbing inspector had already signed off on his part. You'd think the plumbing inspector could inspect radiant heat tubes (plumbing), but that's not how it works here.

Anyway, that's a long way of saying to try getting as much guidance as possible from the building inspector in the hopes it will save you some time, and headaches!

Inspirational photos....the first was after we poured the shop side slab (you'll note the PVC for the bathroom...full shower, toilet, sink)...man cave alert. The second is after putting the header beam up over the two 18'x12' overhead doors.

 

[gregfender]

Greg,

That is a nice looking building.:thumbsup:

Keep us updated with photos. Do you have a couple of friends that can help? If not it looks like a good project for a history class:laughing:

I plan on starting mine late winter early spring. I will get a local guy to put in the post and get it under roof then finish it myself. I need to take down about 10 trees before starting. I gave up on Morton way to many $$.

Are you buying your post from Lowes?

David

I had planned on getting most of my materials from Lowes since they are local...unless you know of someone nearby that sells 6x6 PT posts for less than $40! I am hoping to finish the whole thing under $10K including concrete.

We have an exchange student from Germany with us this year and he is chomping at the bit to get started building. Of course I am too!

 

[hunterridgefarm]

Greg,

Call Wall Lumber in Morganton I can PM the phone number to you if needed. They are very competitive with Lowes and most of their lumber/post seem to be a better quality.

Also South Mountain Builders, they build pole barns with engineered truss system. They sell post and the metal. I can get that phone # if needed. They are located on HWY 18 south about 10 +/- miles outside of Morganton. This is who I plan to use to get mine under roof.

I am checking with https://permacolumn.com/ first to get pricing and delivery. I like the idea of using the perma columns instead of putting the post in the ground.

 

[Beltman60]

put the young lad to work
looks very doable to me

 

[gregfender]

Greg,

Call Wall Lumber in Morganton I can PM the phone number to you if needed. They are very competitive with Lowes and most of their lumber/post seem to be a better quality.

Also South Mountain Builders, they build pole barns with engineered truss system. They sell post and the metal. I can get that phone # if needed. They are located on HWY 18 south about 10 +/- miles outside of Morganton. This is who I plan to use to get mine under roof.

I am checking with https://permacolumn.com/ first to get pricing and delivery. I like the idea of using the perma columns instead of putting the post in the ground.

The Permacolumn idea looks pretty good. I had planned on boring 24"x4' holes for the posts, filling with a foot of concrete for the base, then surrounding the post with concrete up to the top level of the slab, but those look like an even more permanent solution.

 

[SPIKER]

Some advice from someone working around construction most of my life, the shell framing and getting it under roof are the two parts that are hardest to get done. I found after doing a great deal of looking, calling and getting quotes that I could have a shell put up for dang near same cost as the materials from the big 3 home centers.

What I ended up doing was taking out the sod and top 8" of soil & adding some gravel base then had local Amish pole barn crew put up the shell and get it in dry in state.

The barn cost me 20K erected with everything on 16" centers, 50x50, (12' lean too so inside out of weather was 38x50. There is a 2nd story 38x50x10 gambrel style roof of fabricated on-site truss design.

I used the barn like this for years as I added base and compacted the inside & let soil inside dry etc. 11 years later I managed to save up and had concrete put into it again that is something to hire done... That was additional 7K in 2011 with 4.5" up to 8" thick at sides of fiber reinforced 6000PSI mix laid on top of insulation, mesh and radiant heating tubes. I did the leveling, insulation, mesh tubing etc just hired the pour & paid for the concrete 60 yards worth as I had outside 16x20x5" slab & 20x24 apron poured at same time.

So for most part there is a LOT of work & man hours that goes into a barn, my brother builds a lot of them on the side (retired.) He gets help for much of it but still takes a month or two for one your size working 4+ days a week 10~12hrs a day.

start w foundation & sod removal pic (area is about 60x60 & some flags can be seen where outside corner posts were laid out by me.)


Concrete going in back in 2011, there are some videos there too. Not sure what happened to some photos taken from the same places for perspective over the years.



Mark

 

[GManBart]

The Permacolumn idea looks pretty good. I had planned on boring 24"x4' holes for the posts, filling with a foot of concrete for the base, then surrounding the post with concrete up to the top level of the slab, but those look like an even more permanent solution.

I was going to use those as well, before deciding to go with a continuous foundation. I'm going to use their Sturdi-Wall brackets to seat the poles....we'll see how they work out, but I like the idea.

 

[BuilderML]

Greg,
I don't not build pole barns so i can't comment on that but from looking at your plans i can't see how it would be cheaper to build it as a pole barn versus stick building it. You are pouring a slab anyways. By doing so you no longer need your 6x6 post or digging your holes. If you really looked at the cost i think you would find that stick building would be less. 1 post = $40. 2x4x92 5/8= $3.50 . 11- 2x4 @ 16" o.c gives you 15' of wall. Something to think about. With stick building all your layout is done on the ground. More user friendly for a first timer. As far as doing rafters you cut 2 try it out making sure its right and keep one as a pattern to mark the rest. When bracing your walls make sure they are straight or you'll notice they won't fit right against your ridge. In my view with your roof i think you'll need some more helping hands. Good luck with your project. Keep us updated :drink:

 

[crbr]

thanks for the pictures

 

[EddieWalker]

I'm going to finish off a part of the lower part and half of the loft. I am going to panel part of it with the weathered boards I salvaged from my Pappy's barn.

Eddie, what's your opinion on concrete thickness? The heaviest thing I have is 3100 lbs of tractor that I will pull in only for servicing, not for storage. Would 4" with rebar and fiber filled concrete work? I'm thinking 3500 psi. Any suggestions?

If you are going to do it with poles in the ground, then they are where the load is carried and you don't need to do anything fancy with the concrete. Once done, the concrete is just a pad to park on and store stuff. Not knowing your part of the country, I would guess that 3 1/2 inches is fine using whatever the minimum strength concrete you can get. I like rebar in the slab with chairs held off the ground. The strength of the rebar is more from how it's mixed and allowed to cure then the rebar in it. The rebar is mostly to keep it together when it cracks. Remember, all concrete gets hard and all concrete cracks.

What is really important is how good you have. The reason to excavate soil is to either get rid of it if you have too much, as in a slope, or to remove soil that will settle over time because of biodegradable material in thee dirt. Topsoil is often confused with this. Some people have it, others just think they do. If you are like me, and you have solid clay soil, then there is no top soil to remove. Just level the ground pour concrete on top of it.

How committed to this plan are you? How much area do you have to build your barn on? Is the look of it more important then size or cost? The building in your link is very nice looking, but it's going to be expensive square footage compared to a lot of other buildings you could build. How many square feet do you want and what will you be using the space for? How many vehicles?

My guess is that instead of building the barn in the plan, you could build a traditional rectangular shaped barn twice as big for the same money using poles and traditional pole barn methods. Set posts, attached purlins and headers. Install trusses and cover the roof and walls.

Eddie