New Pole Barn Started

BoylermanCT · Jun 8, 2020

In December, I tore down my 200 year old barn to make way for a new pole barn.

https://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/rural-living/420251-220-years-gone-30-minutes.html

We started construction this weekend and I took this week off of work to focus on barn. I had help from my father-in-law and two brothers-in-law. The new barn is 30x40x12. Will have a 12x30 tractor bay on one end and 28x30 area for animal stalls with an aisle in the middle. Has two 9x9 overhead doors. On day one we set half the posts. We were using my father-in-law's New Holland TC-29D with backhoe. As we were setting the 6th pole, and he was scooping up a load of dirt we heard a crack and the tractor split in two. Bell housing cracked completely through. So lost the backhoe and his front end loader. We finished up the day using my tractor to move dirt and backfill the post holes. We also installed electrical service to the new barn so we have power to run our compressor and other tools.

Today it was only one brother-in-law and me, so we focused on building the walls with the posts that we had set on Saturday. Made good progress.

Rented a Kubota 6500lb excavator so tomorrow we can set the remaining posts. Our goal is to complete all of the framing by this weekend. This is the biggest construction project I've ever undertaken, and so far am very pleased with the progress we've made in two days.

otlski · Jun 8, 2020

Congrats on the start of your new barn. Sounds like quite the project. To bad on the FILs tractor. Does Grunders still sell and service New Holland?

BoylermanCT · Jun 8, 2020

We are checking Grunders and the NH dealer in NY he bought the tractor from. Looks like a new bell housing is around $1600. A deacon in our church just retired from the John Deere dealer in Canaan, and he is going to do the repairs as soon as we get the part.

Added the expense of renting the excavator from Bremar in Canton for $350 a day, and now we have to finish up the posts in one day or we have to rent for a second day which I want to avoid.

BoylermanCT · Jun 9, 2020

End of day 3. All the posts are in and we spread 32 yards of fill to raise the barn floor 12". Have another 6" to go and then bring in 6" of gravel in preparation for a concrete floor. Tomorrow we are focusing on the wall girts, bracing and main truss beams. The Kubota excavator was a great machine for setting posts.

shovelmike · Jun 9, 2020

A nice start on what is sure to be a great barn. I am also glad that you have ready and competent help to fix your father in law's tractor.

EddieWalker · Jun 10, 2020

Love seeing barn builds!!!! Sorry to hear about the tractor. Hopefully you can get the part and it's not too bad of a job to fix it.

Why are you going with 9x9 doors? I have a 10x10 on my shop and wish that I had gone 12 feet wide.

EddieWalker · Jun 10, 2020

Love seeing barn builds!!!! Sorry to hear about the tractor. Hopefully you can get the part and it's not too bad of a job to fix it.

Why are you going with 9x9 doors? I have a 10x10 on my shop and wish that I had gone 12 feet wide.

ovrszd · Jun 10, 2020

I'm with Eddie. I'd not like a 9' door. I'm old and a bit careless, I'd be into the sides a lot.....

What is the double header on the eave side for?

Thanks for the pics and follow up. Looking forward to seeing it to completion!!!

yanmars · Jun 10, 2020

Did the tractor have a subframe for the backhoe?

BoylermanCT · Jun 10, 2020

Day 4 complete. Finished the skirt board and making sure everything was level. Has been using a transit for level, but could not get it dialed in fine enough. So we went old school and created a water level to make sure the skirt board was level. Then we put braces on all four corner posts. Had to take off 4 large branches of an ash tree that is near the back of the barn. Finally we completed the framing on the north side of the house including the 9x9 door.

The door size was based on a 30 foot wide barn with 10' stalls on both sides and a 10' aisle. I was debating between 9x9 or 9x10 doors. The taller door just didn't look right so I went with 9x9. My old barn had an 8x8 door which was a bit tight, so the 9x9 will be better. My tractor is 7'11'' tall with ROPS up, and my snowplow is 7' 6" wide, so everything should fit thru the new doors with more space than I am used to.

The double 2x12's header form the main beam which holds the trusses up. Both eave sides have double 2x12's 40' long on both sides of the posts. We have 2 in on the east side. There will be 2 more next to the ones there, and then 4 more 6" behind them on the opposite side of the posts. Each one is 20' long and is a bear to get in place and then nailed to the posts. 40D nails. I ground out the head on my $15 HF palm nailer to accept the 40D nails, and drive them in that way.

Tomorrow we are getting rain all day, so I have a day off to rest!