If you could build your barn again...

[clemsonfor]

I am starting to plan my barn and am looking for input from you guys.

I have 50 acres that is a 1 hour and 15 minute drive from my house. I have a TC-29 with various implements, a couple of 4 wheelers, a dump truck and a few old (74' Ford F-100 Custom and a GMC 1976 Bicentennial edition, etc.) trucks that I am planning to restore down the road.

I want to build a building that could house the toys and give me a shop to work on them. (I have a tire changer, hoist, huge compressor etc in storage) and give me a weekend spot to live in, in other words a man cave!

So far I am thinking about a 40 x 60 with a 14' ceiling and a 10' lean to down the 60 side.

I was looking into building a shotgun style "cabin" across the 40' length with a full bath, kitchen, guest room, living room, etc.

I would like to come up with a lofted master bedroom concept that would have a walkout deck (deer blind).

It will be a weekend, vacation spot so I need something I can secure.

So, what you would guys do differently? Have fun poking holes in my plan, I am hoping some of you creative types will have some good ideas.

Edit: Chuck, I am in a "almost no codes" section...pretty much anything goes in rural Madison County.

U Must not be married! Does your wife know of your plans?

 

[Ridgewalker]

We celebrated our 25th earlier this year. She will be very happy to see me spend more time on the farm.

U Must not be married! Does your wife know of your plans?

 

[jimmyj]

What a great post. I have a relatively small barn and because of that I have build all sorts of other sheds and stuff to make up for it. So, because I was not as smart as you and did not ask the questions first, I second....

1. As big as you can, there is no such thing as too large
2. Wide, high doors (hit the top and sides of mine a number of times)
3. Wide not just long. Too long and skinny and you can't turn inside easily
4. Anticipate future lean too additions
5. A good overhang to keep rain away
6. Lots of electrical planned at build vs add on later
7. Build so if you want you could put stalls in later easily due to the right dimensions

Good luck on your exciting project!

 

[buck12]

I plan to build somthing similar in a couple of years on family land only smaller. I need weekend living quarters and room for ATV's and tractor. I hope you share the progress of this project. You mentioned deer hunting. Create a nice skinning area under the lean to with a gas hook up for a propane heater (if you plan to heat with propane) and a hot water spigot to wash hands and knifes in cold weather. I wish you luck with securing your stuff. I currently haul my tractor, ATV, etc back and forth because we have had theft in the past.

 

[Ridgewalker]

ttt

Still looking for tips...

 

[Carl_NH]

Ridgewalker,

Since you are on a budget some suggestions:

Get acquainted with the local electric/phone utility for replaced posts. If you can get 30 or so used telephone/electric posts you will save $$.

Timber some of your land and have the siding/interior decking milled - while you are digging and preping or before, cut the lumber and ship off to be milled (ideally done 6 -9 mos in advance to allow for drying)

Dig/trench the area, compact the gravel, dig the holes for the used telephone poles, then pour the post with concrete.

I would suspect you can get by with $2-3K for a bunch of poles sticking in the air

Install the base PT lumber, and pour concrete floor - most $$ part so far.. Probably $4-5K depending on the concrete price and how deep your side forms are

From here you need to decide roof or floor trusses - this is the next most $$ part.

Install Trusses - then siding you milled..

From here its mostly purchased components - roofing, electrical, insulation, and so on..

 

[Oliver1655]

Lots of great ideas, here are a few more to consider:

There are lots of options to consider in building:
- If possible allow for future expansion, as several members have said, "You can't have enough room!"
- Allow for lots of drainage. Your roof will shed a lot of water. You may even want to run 2'x2' trenches along the sides of your building filled with large rock to aid with drainage. (Space them away 6' or so if not using a footing to keep from making the the poles unstable.)
- Increase the height of the side walls to 16' to allow:
#1 - A 14' high door (Much easier to move things under with a tractor or to drive an RV through.)
#2 - Allows for better use of space for the loft which is where I also would build the living quarters while keeping an 8' high space underneath.
- Consider having a small enclosed area under the loft you can keep heated during the winter to keep the plumbing going upstairs and paints, adhesives, ... from freezing. Your air compressor will also benefit from a stable temperature. You may also want to have a "shop bathroom" in this area to help keep you living quarters cleaner.
- Extend the lean to from 10' to 20' to give you the option of parking vehicles under it. (24' would allow you to have a work bench and shelves along the wall.)
- On the wall dividing the main building and the lean to, you could use 4'x8' sheets of OSB instead of steel which will save money, help with insulating (wood doesn't transfer temperature as much as steel), and makes it easier to hang things on.
- I second the idea of lots of doors to allow for air flow.
- If putting in windows, if you keep them 12" narrow, or place bars across them, it will be a deterrent to theft and may help with insurance rates.
- Translucent panels along the upper side wall for natural light. Please stay away from placing them in the roof. They will start leaking around 6-8 years down the road.
- If you place exposed wiring in conduit, you won't have to worry about rodents chewing you wires. Using conduit on the outside of the walls also allows you to add and move around circuits and outlets. I prefer metal (EMT) conduit. It is chew resistant, when bonded to the breaker box provides the ground which eliminates a wire needed and the metal covers help to stabilize outlets better. When using conduit you only need one neutral ( white) wire for every 2 hot wires (any color wire except; white - neutral or green - ground). There are videos on YouTube which will show you the basics of how to measure and bend EMT.


Have FUN! :thumbsup:

 

[JDGREEN4ME]

Storage loft...

 

[Ridgewalker]

I thought I would bump this to the top one more time.

I have requested bids on a 40 x 60 x 14 w 1 window, 2 man doors and 1-15 x 13 garage door.

I am having an optional 10' lean to overhang quoted that will run down one
40' side and wrap around the first 15' of one 60' side to act as a porch.

I am just getting bids on the shell, no floor, power, etc as I can do a lot of that myself once the shell is up.

Please speak now or forever hold your peace.

 

[MikeD74T]

Go 16' high with a 14' tall door. Anything that goes down the road will fit. 15 x 13 sounds like a real odd door size??
Something that's a little outside the box is sidewalls erected with structural pallet racking & sheathed, with truss roof. Pretty much do it yourself as most contractors have no experience with pallet racks but they're just like an erector set. Would give you multi level storage clear to the roof on either or both sides. Less expensive that wood walls but harder to insulate. MikeD74t