Barns

[tsh3]

Carl,
Nice barn. That's just the size I want.
How wide and how much headroom is upstairs.

Thanks

 

[RichZ]

"Hirsute"??? Wow, Mark!!! That's a pretty fancy word for a Knucklehead!!!/w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif

So basically, you're calling me big and hairy!!/w3tcompact/icons/shocked.gif/w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif

OK, that about sums me up!!!/w3tcompact/icons/tongue.gif Good observation!!!/w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif

Gee, I can't understand it./w3tcompact/icons/crazy.gif I have this certain appearance, and I'm a Deadhead. I can't understand why people always compare me to this Garcia guy!!!/w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif

 

[BB_TX]

You guys are killing me with envy with your classic old barns. /w3tcompact/icons/frown.gif Mine is functional but certainly doesn't have the character. This a 30'x40' Mueller Steel prefabbed building I put up myself. Mueller brings out bundles of prefabbed materials and you basically just bolt/screw them together.

 

[buck1]

I'll see about posting a picture. My barn is 32'x40' and I use it strictly for storage. The floor is concrete. It has a snow roof which allows for TONS of hay storage in the loft. It also has two stalls. I have electricity but no water. It's relatively close to the house and lack of water has not been an issue. If you're going to have livestock (which I don't) I would consider running water to it. It would have been easy to do since I had to dig a trench to run the electricity. Me and a friend built it ourselves. I used sawmill lumber throughout (yellow poplar on walls, red oak in loft floor and sweet gum for the lats) except for the corner and wall posts which are pressure treated 6x6's. I found out later I could've gotten cedar for the posts from the sawmill....duh. The top is 24 gauge tin. It's the kind you see on newer houses and log cabins. Really good stuff since it holds it's color well and is screwed on. The neoprene washers under the screws has not allowed one leak in 3 years. Here's the shocker, I built it for less than $6,000. That's alot of building for that price. Check into sawmill lumber because it's ALOT cheaper. The most expensive thing I put in the barn are the concrete, tin and pressure treated posts in that order. The posts cost nearly as much as the lumber for walls and floor! My friend opted for a metal building. It's really nice and he doesn't have to spray water sealer once every two years but my LOOKS like my granddad's barn which is what I wanted. His looks like a welding shop which I didn't want. Just a matter of personal preference I guess. By the way, his is the same size but cost about twice as much.

 

[rancar]

Hi Bill...

Nothing wrong with this functional barn you've got. It looks great. If I didn't have that 'classic old barn' I would likely go with something similar to what you have. /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif

Bob

 

[Carl_NH]

Rich,

Nice outbuildings you've got there - reminds me of home, where we had a 50x90 three story bank barn, spring house, corn crib, weigh shed, with a stone house etc.. This was central PA on about 185 acres we farmed and had 2500 chickens too.

My wife wonders why I like these buildings to store stuff..

Nice place you've got,

Carl

 

[Carl_NH]

Tsh3,

24x36 footprint 12/12 pitch means 24' wide by 36' long and a 12/12 pitch means for every 12" up 12" in, so effectively at 4' inside the outside walls upstairs there is 4' head room. Here's another shot of the upstairs.

A more direct answer is we have about 16x36 effective area to use upstairs. Since I'm 6'4 tho its 14x36 without too much head knockin.

Carl

 

[RichZ]

Thanks, Carl!

From the way you describe your home in PA, you couldn't have pried me away from there with a crowbar! Sounds like it was great!/w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

 

[Carl_NH]

Rich,

It was where I grew up, and farming was tough - but looking back now I wish I would have stayed. My parents sold the main farm in the 80's and kept acreage to build a house. A Mobil Oil exec bought it and it's now a B&B called Reapsome House, named after the family that built it in 1859 and my parents bought it from.

Carl

 

[Anonymous Poster]

Good timing for me on this topic. I've looked at a variety of buildings, from pre-engineered (steel) to pole barns to the agricultural metal domed buildings.

Decided to have BCI Barns out of Oklahama build a pole barn as I cannot afford to do slab and metal building at the same time. Doing the pole barn will get me a storage building on site quickly, after which I can do the slab myself as I get time. Slab cost for me to do it will be about $2200.

The barn will be 40x50x12 with painted 26 ga metal exterior panels, rat guard at the bottom sill, walk door on the side wall, skylights, 10x10 sliding door on the back wall and and I will install my own metal roll-up doors on the front wall. Total cost is $11,500 for them to show up and put up the building.

I don't have the time or help available to do it myself, so the solution was to have it built. I usually do this stuff myself, but sometimes there are too many other things to cover. They have been pretty good to work with so far - we'll see how the barn turns out.

 

[Carl_NH]

Nick,

You have the right idea I think for the structure, sounds great from a $ standpoint too.

I priced a pole barn - same amenities as what we have now and the price was more. Plus ledge in the 2-4' range prevented me from doing a pole barn - blasting is $$$ here.

In any event, a "basic" structure - posts, walls, and roof can be done inexpensively. It's the add ons. Cedar Siding $2500, Floor Trusses $2200, Windows $1500, O/H & Entry Doors $1500, concrete $2500. The list goes on with stairs, finish work, trim details such as 16" overhang in the soffits and rakes etc.

It all depends on where you live and what you and the CFO can agree on with respect to appearance. This is the last of three bldgs on our 4 acres, with the house, and garage/office so the structures needed to blend into one common architecture and finish detail.

Carl

 

[rancar]

Nick and Carl...

Is it necesary to pour a concrete floor for a pole barn? Fellows up my way erect pole barns because they do it to economize. Instead of a concrete floor, they truck in fine gravel and spread thoughout the interior. They save thousands of dollars this way and this method seems to meet their needs. What are your thoughts about concrete vs. gravel??

Bob

 

[MikePA]

My garage, such as it is, has a gravel floor.

Pros
- Doesn't show the various drips and spills.
- Cheaper
- No worries about cracking
- No need to sweep it out.

Cons
- Doesn't show drips and spills (can't tell if something is leaking)
- If you drop something small, e.g., screw, bolt, nut, you will never find it.
- Can't easily move things like a mower deck on it.
- It's not level
- Animals can burrow in it.

 

[Anonymous Poster]

Bob, I think it just boils own to personal preference on the floor slab. I do a lot of car stuff and need a solid floor/work area, plus I like a clean floor for assorted racks and shelves.

I also wanted a water resistant building - one note if you do a slab is remember to install at least 6 mil plastic sheeting before you do the rebar and pour the concrete to prevent ground moisture from leaching up through the concrete.

I will initially spread a thin layer of gravel, but will do the floor slab asap. My thinking was that I can do the 40'x50' floor slab in 4 sections, each section 20'x25'x6". Since the barn will be up, my work area will be protected from the elements. This is a non-structural slab, so I can simply level out the area, add some sand fill as base and dig a shallow perimeter beam. I will have the reinforcement delivered and place #4 at 12" e/w. Makes it easier to walk between them as you work to place the concrete - I prefer this to using mesh which usually get trampled. I will also thread some lag bolts into the building support poles and tie them into the slab reinforcement.

Each 20x25 slab section amounts to 500sf or 250cf or a little over 9cy. A concrete truck carries 10 cy so that means I can order 1 full truck load and place any extra on the outside drive/approach to the building doors. Concrete here goes for $55/cy, so each section will cost about $650 including steel (and my free labor). Total estimate for concrete in the building is $650 x 4 sections = $2600. I think I said $2200 earlier, but this is a more accurate estimate. Cost estimates for a structural slab for an engineered (steel) building started at $5.50/sf, hence my decision to go this route.

Sorry to be so long winded - thought this might be food for thought to someone, though.

 

[rancar]

Thanks for the clarification Nick and the points about pouring concrete. Now, I understand why the concrete floor in my garage (contractor built) sweats and cracks. I'm sure he never put down the plastic barrier. And, I do know he used wire mesh rather than rebar. But, at the time, I didn't have the time or skills to do this work myself. Now, if I do this again with another building, I'll be much more careful in the project's supervision.

Thanks again.

Bob

 

[Carl_NH]

Bob,

In answer to your previous question concrete vs stone floor, it depends on the intended use. If primary use is storage and occasional mechanical work, stone is OK. If you want to do woodwork, paint, roll around on a creeper, etc. the solid floor is the best bet. As mentioned above by Mike_PA it keeps the critters out too. I have had mice build nests in my car air filter housing, leave their droppings in the car etc.. Same for squirrels - especially the red ones, they can make a mess of wiring and insulation.

Nick's right on with 6 mil plastic and rebar, as I did the same, plus scored the concrete 1" deep on 12' intervals in the event one area moves it won't stress crack at uneven intervals.

Since I could not do the pole barn (ledge) the monolithic slab was the other alternative which has 18" deep x 24" wide haunch around the edge reinforced to the main slab with #4 rebar in a "J" configuration. It was all poured at one time.

Carl

 

[bnixon]

BB TX,

How much was your barn? I am looking into the prefab steel buildings myself.

Thanks,

 

[BB_TX]

Brandon - Mueller had a standard prefab kit 30'x40' with 12' walls, one 10'x10' roll up door, and one walk thru door for something like $5500 as I remember. However I wanted a few things different so it became a custom. The standard had a 1/12 pitch roof, I wanted a 4/12. That added quite a bit to the price. But since the 4/12 was so much taller, I did not need the 12' walls. I went with 10' walls and that took off quite a bit of cost. I also added 2' overhanging eaves all around, an extra 10'x10' roll up door, 3 windows. and insulation. The total price came up to about $9500 delivered. Foundation was extra. I had a concrete contractor I knew had a good reputation do that for me. He put in extra concrete (39 yards) in the slab and aprons front and rear. That ended up about $6000 but it ain't going anywhere.
They delivered the building bundles at a time as I needed it. All bolted or screwed together. The only cutting I had to do was the end panels to match the roof slope. I had help putting up the main frame I beams, roof purlins, and the roof panels. All the rest I did by myself although an extra set of hands would sure have cut down on the time.
I can e-mail more pictures if you are interested.

 

[BB_TX]

Realized I may have made a misleading statement. When I said "All bolted and screwed together", I meant I bolted and screwed it all together.
Also, the price included gutters.

 

[bnixon]

BB TX,

I heard what you meant!/w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

Thanks for the info. I am looking at a larger building 40X60 but your pricing is very good information.

Thanks for the feedback!