Gable and side wall overhang....necessary or not?

[rswyan]

Totally false, sorry. Attic air is not "supposed to be hot". Attic air gets to be 120 degrees or better in the summer heat. Having a fan that draws cooler air in and forces hot air out serves a purpose. It cools the attic and reduces radiant and convectional heat to the inside of a building. This is elementary.... Do some research on heating and cooling, and building science. It's not a myth, a diet pill or any other fad...And It's the code in places where there are actually people to enforce it.

Agreed ... I bought an temp/humdity controlled gable power vent quite a few years ago and never got around to installing it until a year or so ago.

We had a problem on really hot, sunny days where the AC could not keep up and the temp inside the house (2200 sq ft ranch) would start creeping up after noon ... by late afternoon (4 pm) the temp inside the house would have gone from 72 up to 77 or 78 degrees ... and it would take until sometime between 8 or 10 PM or later for the AC to catch up and cool the house back down.

 

[rswyan]

Not only would I go back and double our barn's gable and side wall overhangs fron 12" to at least 24"...

Same here ...

I cheaped out and went with 12" overhangs (on a 42 x 72 polebarn) because it was going to cost another couple grand to go with 24" overhangs and I was already over-budget ... it was a bad move - both aesthetically and functionally.

As a way of compensating for that bad decision I want to pour a 3' or 4' slab all the way around the perimeter of the barn ... which, if course, isn't necessarily a bad thing.

 

[PhysAssist]

Same here ...

I cheaped out and went with 12" overhangs (on a 42 x 72 polebarn) because it was going to cost another couple grand to go with 24" overhangs and I was already over-budget ... it was a bad move - both aesthetically and functionally.

As a way of compensating for that bad decision I want to pour a 3' or 4' slab all the way around the perimeter of the barn ... which, if course, isn't necessarily a bad thing.

?..and as a question of par, will that cost more, or less than the "couple of grand" that you saved back then?

 

[rswyan]

?..and as a question of par, will that cost more, or less than the "couple of grand" that you saved back then?

Well ... I haven't priced 'crete (or rebar) lately ... but let's say $120 yard for the 'crete ... mebbe ?

The building is 72' x 42' ... so to put a 4" thick, 4' wide apron on just the sides and rear:

... is 164' lineal feet x 4' wide x 4" thick ... or:

1968" (length) x 48" (wide) x 4" thick = 377,856 cu. in.

377,856 / 46656 (no. cu. in. in a cu. yd.) = 8.09 cu. yds.

So we're about at $1000 just for the 'crete ... before the cost of steel, rebar chairs, forms, or labor ...

I'd guess I'm probably still ahead of the game cost-wise ... and the slab would have a lot of functional use as outside storage ... but the overhang still comes in first in terms of aesthetics ...

Of course, in terms of priorities, having a poured floor inside the building comes in a little higher ...

 

[SPIKER]

I agree with others the bigger overhang SHOULD be done when built, my SOUTH side long wall and both gable ends only have 12" overhangs and not enough. the bottom 2 feet of the siding is always dirty from rain (no gutters) splashing upon it. I had plans of putting in a 10' glass greenhouse along that wall and so far no $ to do it. The existing 12" has one benefit, less wasps under it & more summer heat inside :/

mark

 

[PhysAssist]

Well ... I haven't priced 'crete (or rebar) lately ... but let's say $120 yard for the 'crete ... mebbe ?

The building is 72' x 42' ... so to put a 4" thick, 4' wide apron on just the sides and rear:

... is 164' lineal feet x 4' wide x 4" thick ... or:

1968" (length) x 48" (wide) x 4" thick = 377,856 cu. in.

377,856 / 46656 (no. cu. in. in a cu. yd.) = 8.09 cu. yds.

So we're about at $1000 just for the 'crete ... before the cost of steel, rebar chairs, forms, or labor ...

I'd guess I'm probably still ahead of the game cost-wise ... and the slab would have a lot of functional use as outside storage ... but the overhang still comes in first in terms of aesthetics ...

Of course, in terms of priorities, having a poured floor inside the building comes in a little higher ...

That's why it (concrete slab) was the very first thing we put in ours

Although I have to admit, by your figures, the apron estimate wasn't as high as I would've guessed.

Hopefully, we'll get our electricity in there next (soon) and then I'll be good to go....

For now, we have one heavy duty and another lighter duty extension cords run from a dedicated 20 amp outlet on its own circuit., etc.

We use the light duty one for lighting, and the heavy one for any power tools, air comprressor, etc.

Back on topic, when we get our house roof done (ASAP because the old shingled roof is toast) , we need to have all the eaves boards (and maybe some rsfter ends) replaced anyway due to water damage from the worn out roof and gutters, and because of all the carpenter bee damage, so hopefully the cost of adding another 18" of rafter, deck and roof won't be too exorbitant to manage.

Fingers crossed, and knock wood... =-O

 

[PhysAssist]

I agree with others the bigger overhang SHOULD be done when built, my SOUTH side long wall and both gable ends only have 12" overhangs and not enough. the bottom 2 feet of the siding is always dirty from rain (no gutters) splashing upon it. I had plans of putting in a 10' glass greenhouse along that wall and so far no $ to do it. The existing 12" has one benefit, less wasps under it & more summer heat inside :/

mark

I know what you mean about the back splash with short overhangs and no gutters, I'm trying to decide between adding gutters or just those rain guards that diffuse and spread the run-off farther from the building,

Luckily (the only time it has been a positive) when we built, we had to add upwards of 4' of packed fill to get the body of the barm up to the level of the front, so it's all well above grade and the water doesn't seem to at risk to cause any run-off problems for the posts or floor.

Has anyone ever used the rain diffusers?

Like these:
Rainhandler Gutters

Thanks,
Thomas

 

[Wnc3]

I know what you mean about the back splash with short overhangs and no gutters, I'm trying to decide between adding gutters or just those rain guards that diffuse and spread the run-off farther from the building,

Luckily (the only time it has been a positive) when we built, we had to add upwards of 4' of packed fill to get the body of the barm up to the level of the front, so it's all well above grade and the water doesn't seem to at risk to cause any run-off problems for the posts or floor.

Has anyone ever used the rain diffusers?

Like these:
Rainhandler Gutters

Thanks,
Thomas

I tried the rain guards and it only widens the water impact on the ground depending on height. Mine was 10 feet and made a line 6" wide down the drip line.
I say gutters or nothing at all.

 

[rswyan]

I agree with others the bigger overhang SHOULD be done when built, my SOUTH side long wall and both gable ends only have 12" overhangs and not enough. the bottom 2 feet of the siding is always dirty from rain (no gutters) splashing upon it. I had plans of putting in a 10' glass greenhouse along that wall and so far no $ to do it. The existing 12" has one benefit, less wasps under it & more summer heat inside :/

mark

I have gutters ... the problem with them - due to the location of the polebarn - is keeping the leaves out of them so that they actually work.

Last year or the year before I hired my nephew to install some cheap leaf guards from Home Depot ... I didn't check his work afterwards, but it appears they were installed incorrectly as about 50% to 75% ended up blowing out of the gutters.

This year I'll do it myself, save the money, and actually get it done right ...

 

[rswyan]

That's why it (concrete slab) was the very first thing we put in ours

Makes sense to me ...

Unfortunately, to floor just one (of the three) bays (each 24' x 42') I'm looking at about double the amount of 'crete and rebar to do the entire outside apron ...

Looking back at some old notes, I had a rough cost of around $400 for the rebar for a single bay ... but there was no cost per foot/pound ... so I'm not sure how accurate that $400 number is.

Although I have to admit, by your figures, the apron estimate wasn't as high as I would've guessed.

Yeah ... I was kinda surprised myself.

Hopefully, we'll get our electricity in there next (soon) and then I'll be good to go....

For now, we have one heavy duty and another lighter duty extension cords run from a dedicated 20 amp outlet on its own circuit., etc. We use the light duty one for lighting, and the heavy one for any power tools, air comprressor, etc.

I've got a piece of 10 or 12 gauge outdoor burial running to ours at the moment, just laying on the ground ... it's hooked up to the panel in the barn ... ... mainly for lights.

I've got the 2/0 AL direct burial cable for the service, just need to get one of those round tuit things ...

Back on topic, when we get our house roof done (ASAP because the old shingled roof is toast) , we need to have all the eaves boards (and maybe some rsfter ends) replaced anyway due to water damage from the worn out roof and gutters, and because of all the carpenter bee damage, so hopefully the cost of adding another 18" of rafter, deck and roof won't be too exorbitant to manage.

Fingers crossed, and knock wood... =-O

If you're going to R & R the existing roof, I wouldn't think it would be too bad.

I also have a smaller concrete block shed (28 x 32) on the property that has a 12" overhang on the sides only ... I want to put a 24" overhang on it when I replace the roof.

Probably will pull the sheathing and then nail up 2 x 4 purlins on edge to extend it on the gable ends.

Would sure make it look a lot better.