Are the center 4”x 6” poles load bearing?

[Fidler4]

I recently purchased property that came with a 36’x60’ pole barn which has ten 12’x12’ stalls. There are 4”x 6” poles near the center of the barn at each one of the stalls. The prior owners had horses several years ago but I do not plan on having horses so I would like to open up the center area to be able to store equipment (tractor, SxS etc). I plan on removing the walls of the first 6 stalls but would also like to remove the center poles if they are not load bearing. This would give me more maneuverability with moving equipment in and out.

Any idea if the poles in the center of the barn are load bearing?

Thanks

 

[Fidler4]

I recently purchased property that came with a 36’x60’ pole barn which has ten 12’x12’ stalls. There are 4”x 6” poles near the center of the barn at each one of the stalls. The prior owners had horses several years ago but I do not plan on having horses so I would like to open up the center area to be able to store equipment (tractor, SxS etc). I plan on removing the walls of the first 6 stalls but would also like to remove the center poles if they are not load bearing. This would give me more maneuverability with moving equipment in and out.

Any idea if the poles in the center of the barn are load bearing?

Thanks
View attachment 686301

Here is the back side showing how the top of the poles are nailed to the trusses.

 

[PILOON]

While they'd help a tad they were not intended to be load bearing.
You will note that they (4 x 6's) are merely fastened to the side of the trusses and serve mainly to stabilize the stall corners.
INHO you'd be safe to remove them.
That cross beam with nailing plate is definitely a load bearing component however.

I only counted 5 fasteners (nails) to fasten those 4 x 6's and that is 4 sure not not capable of supporting any loads.

 

[Fidler4]

While they'd help a tad they were not intended to be load bearing.
You will note that they (4 x 6's) are merely fastened to the side of the trusses and serve mainly to stabilize the stall corners.
INHO you'd be safe to remove them.
That cross beam with nailing plate is definitely a load bearing component however.

I only counted 5 fasteners (nails) to fasten those 4 x 6's and that is 4 sure not not capable of supporting any loads.

Thanks for your reply. What you are saying makes sense.

 

[RickB]

I agree with Piloon but those trusses don't look like they would carry much of a snow load for your NW PA location.

 

[Hay Dude]

No, if they were built correctly as load bearing posts, theyd be notched & bolted to the roof rafters. The nails dont have enough shear strength to carry what 1/2 inch or 5/8 inch through bolts and a notch would carry.
They will help some, depending on what (if any) footing they rest on.
They are stall corner posts.

The cross members (we call them rafter ties or collar ties) with the nailing plate keep the rafters from spreading and dropping which keeps the walls from spreading. You want to make sure those are nailed up real tight.
A little gap can allow rafter spread to start and begin to sag.

I really dislike those butt-spliced rafter extensions about 3 feet from the ridge and lack of a ridge pole.
One piece rafter much better.

Back left corner insulation looks like its sagging from a possible roof leak.

 

[ruffdog]

I agree with Piloon but those trusses don't look like they would carry much of a snow load for your NW PA location.

That is what I thought too. Also, if you look at the support posts out at the end of the trusses, they too are only fastened to the side. It doesn't look like they used any better fasteners there either.

 

[Egon]

Consider having the rafter design checked for load bearing capacity.

 

[ChuckT]

With the weather being as, ah, excited as it has been I'd definitely look at a pole barn in snow country with a jaundiced eye.

 

[ruffdog]

A foot of wet snow on that roof is about 106,000 lbs.

Snow Load Calculator | Weight of Snow on Your Roof