16' door for pole barn?

[rambler]

Re: 16\' door for pole barn?

Issues I see:

You are going to cuss & moan about that low door for years. Should you sell the property, change your machinery, or get any 3pt implement with any height at all (buildings last 30 years, we never know the future) the building becomes a worthless liability. Very few ROPS on tractors fit a 7' door, and all you need to do is forget to fold a foldable or leave a tall implement up one time & you will do far more than $500 of damage to both the building & the implement. With a 9' door, it becomes a great asset to a future owner with a camper or the like. Some doors can take an extra pannel to make them higher, check with the manufaturer of yours, might not cost much. As I see it, that 'free' door could be the most costly thing you put into this project! A building without access is a worthless building. A building is a long-term asset & one needs to look to the future. You could buy a door, burn the free one, and be lots of money ahead 10 years from now - could make several $1000 difference on the resale value of the property, or the value of the building to you...

As to the header: Are you putting this door on an endwall I hope? You are severely undersized thinking of using 10" headers for a 16' span even on an endwall. (Width is far more important on a header than thickness...) On a sidewall you need professional help to engineer the load bearing capacity, as you are spanning at least one load bearing support and that's nothing to fool with.

Trusses: You can certainly build your own. It takes time, the building inspectors & insurance companies get a lot pickier about your project, you have no one to sue/ get a free rebuild when the building falls down, and often times a high-volume truss maker can supply the finished trusses cheaper than you can buy the materials for yourself. I'd shop around, check with the building inspector, and then proceed whichever way seemed best. Nothing wrong with making your own, esp if you come across some cheap wood, but check out the premade prices first, might surprise you.

Going back to the door, would 2 10' high by 10' wide doors, with much smaller headers and a regular post between them, cost about the same as a big strong header support & engineering? (Or whatever size, can make one a small regular single car door...) Or just buy one door, frame for the other, fairly easy to then add the second one later if it's framed out & your $$$ allow & you want?

Just a few ideas to think on. Otherwise, sounds like a good fun project, and yes it is easy for me to spend your money. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif Hope to watch the progress of your project here. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

--->Paul

 

[fishman]

Re: 16\' door for pole barn?

More good stuff. Thanks to all.

Yes, I plan on putting the door on an endwall. I haven't given up on plain old rafter framing possibly even with center support posts if the extra strength is needed. Of course, in place of the center support post on the end, I'd have to have the extra-strong header.

Checked on trusses and for 9 trusses (7 regular, 2 gable) with 2x6 top chords and 2x4 bottoms/bracing, all #1 wood, delivered is $893. Not too bad, but I know I can build rafters for a lot cheaper, and that will allow me to construct a light-duty loft on one end to store light bulky items, of which I have several.

I'm going to check around to see if I can get an additional panel and track extensions. That sounds like a good idea. Hopefully the panels will be somewhat standard so I won't have to match up to the exact manufacturer.

If I can't, I'm still thinking of going with the 7'. I've measured my b2910 rops (it's fixed) several times, and it will fit with a few inches to spare. In fact, everything I have will go in it no problem. So I have a hard time justifying going with a totally new door (or doors) when I have a perfectly good one just sitting there.

I'd love to have a nice big barn with electric and water, concrete floor, insulated, you name it. But I can't swing that right now and I'm having to seriously assess my needs to keep the costs down. In a few years I can always build a nice shop . . . I've even got the place picked out. If that happens, this building will provide valuable storage space.

I do think I'm going to use some of that foil/plastic (at least I think that's what it is) pole barn insulation in the roof. I guess that just installs right over the purlins with a stapler, then the metal is screwed down on top of it? Am I on the right track there? I don't want condensation dripping all over my stuff and ruining it.