Lost barn to Katrina, need advice

[RockinG]

Been reading TBN for a few months and have finally jumped in as a new member. Of course, I now need advice. I lost my 18X20 pole barn to Hurricane Katrina. The house of fixed and 35 downed trees are finally all by the street awaiting pickup. I need to build another barn as my TC-33 is out in the elements, at least under a tarp. Would like/can afford about 24X30.

My problem is, I don't have the knowledge to build a barn myself, even after reading almost every post on TBN about pole barns. As an example -- the slab is still there. Can I add on to the existing slab to make it the desired 24X30? Need some guidance.

I have been thinking about buying a kit from 84 Lumber, which might be cost effective, but will it hold up and withstand another storm? Maybe me and my brother and brother-in-law can raise it in a couple weekends. Not sure.

I'v also been thinking of just going with a company like Morton's that will do the whole turn key. There are a few companies advertising in local papers that they build pole barns, and/or metal buildings, but I am not too trusting of something like that. I 'm concerned about quality, reliability and a warranty.

FYI, I have 7 acres just north of Pass Christian, MS, which was devistated by the storm. I am married with a 21y/o son who lives in Pensacola. I am retired Navy and currently work in funds development for a nonprofit child abuse prevention agency. We have been in MS since June '99. I am orig. from the New Orleans area.

I thank you all in advance. I really enjoy TBN and find it very helpful and entertaining.

 

[shovelhead]

I'm still cleaning up form Hurrican Rita, and I feel your pain. You guys took it worse than we did. Check out www.muellerinc.com They have engineered prefab kit buildings with up to 120mph wind ratings. I believe they have a store in Baton Rouge. Good luck to you in your building and recovery. I hope we don't have any more bad storms on the Gulf Coast for a while!

 

[EddieWalker]

RockinG,

Welcome to the site!!!

I'll offer my .02 cents to get things started.

Are you looking for a wood or metal building? If you go wood, you have two options for building the barn. Pole's or sticks.

Since you have a slab, but it's smaller than you want, I'd think centering it in the middle front of the building and putting poles around it would work really well. You'd have to get a post hole digger, but from what you'd save in pouring concrete, that would just be money saved.

In time, after the building is done, you could always come back and pour cement around the pad in the middle, but it wouldn't have to be a priority.

For more money, you could pour countrete around your existing slabe with footers to support the new walls. You'd have to drill into the sides of the existing slab, epoxy in some rebar and tie it all together so you it wont move seperately. This is more work and money, but it will be the best of the two options.

If you want a metal barn, than you will have to pour the concret with footers for the walls. You will also need to have brick mold for the siding. It's basically a recess in the outside corner of the pad so the metal siding can fit flush. It's not always necessary, but a better way of doing things.

Check out www.muellerinc.com for metal buildings and ideas. There may be better deals in your area, but they are a good source to start from.

Now if it was me, I'd consider keeping your demensions, but either making it longer. You have two ways to make it longer, either extend it the thinner ways, or extend it the wider direction.

It would depend on your needs and the location.

Good Luck,
Eddie

 

[RockinG]

Shovelhead, thanks for the kind words. Please keep everyone here on the MS coast in your prayers. We are fortunate to have very little damage to our home -- new roof and some siding and shutters.

Eddie, I appreciate the advice. I would like to have an all metal building, but can only afford a wood frame with metal sides and roof, I think.

If I buy a kit, will it explain things like setting the posts -- and how do you get them all even at the top? I know I need to do more research, and appreciate ya'll tolerating a rookie. If any of you know someone in South Miss. or Southeast LA who builds barns, I'd be grateful to know.

Regards,
G

 

[5030tinkerer]

I am building a barn this spring and am seriously looking at making it out of insulated concrete forms from intregraspec. Basically, these are foam stay-in-place concrete forms that are 1' tall and attach together like Legos. With concrete, you'll have longevity and built in water protection. With the shell of the ICF, you'd end up with R45 or R50 walls. 4000psi concrete here is about $78/yard. Total cost will be about $6.50/sqft with no labor (DIY).

 

[Fabro]

Hey RockinG,
To level your posts, just level around at any height on all the posts, then measure up to the height you want. { the same measurement on each post}
notch on the outside and the inside of the posts to set the plate supports into. then lay a top plate flat on top of the post/ plate supports for a nice base for the rafters.

 

[ericbx1500]

Never had to go thru rebuilding a pole barn. My slab was poured after my barn was up like most pole barns. My question is when they poured the slab the cement is around three sides of my posts. Now doesn’t this cause a problem if your posts are damaged? Wouldn’t you have to pour a new slab? How would you reuse the existing slab to make the barn look the same?

 

[EddieWalker]

ericbx,

To replace posts, you just score, or cut a square around the post big enough to dig out the old post and put in a new one. 16 to 18 inches is plenty.

Eddie

 

[CurlyDave]

Since you have a slab, but it's smaller than you want, I'd think centering it in the middle front of the building and putting poles around it would work really well.

I have to agree with Eddie. Since you already have the old slab, I would be inclined to re-use it. Not only does it save the money or re-pouring another one, it saves the work of taking out the existing one.

The only thing I can add is that I do not see any need to center the new barn on the old one. You definitely want to keep all of the old slab under the new roof, so rain water does not puddle. Other than that you have complete freedom with placement of the new barn.

If cost is a big issue, I would be inclined to just build a new pole barn completely covering the old pad, scrape a few inches of dirt away from the edges of the pad and back fill with gravel. What needs to go on concrete goes on the old pad, otherwise it can be stored on the gravel.

 

[EddieWalker]

That's a good point. There really is no advantage to centering the old pad in the middle of the new barn. Having it off to one side might actually be smarter for a work area. Then the other side of the barn could be for storage.

To level off your poles on a pole barn, first you need to decide how tall you want the walls. 8ft is a good height for most uses. It's also a very standard height and easy to work with if your using 4x8 sheets of siding. If your using metal for siding, than height isn't that big a deal.

Lets say you go with 8ft. Buy 12 foot 4x6 PT poles. Put them in the ground 3 to 4 feet deep and eight feet apart. How you secure them is up to you. I usualy just repack the clay that came out of the hole. If you use concrete, there are allot of options on how to do it best. Just do a search here and read everything you find.

After the poles are in, plumb and secure, you can put on your purlins. Determine the bottom of your floor. Fasten a 16 foot 2x6 just above that line and fasten it to three posts perfectly level. Depending on what you use for sideing will dictage how far to space your purlins. The top one will be 8 ft up. When you know where this is at every post, you can easily cut the posts at this height.

Since you're new to this, I would strongly recomend you buy trusses pre-made. But,before you do this, you'll have to decide what pitch you want and what type of roof you'll use. If you put on a metal roof, you can space your trusses out from 4 ft to 8 feet, depending on how you want to do the purlins. I like 2x4's on thier flat sides four feet across myself, but you can use 2x6's on edge and span 8 ft if you don't have any snow to worry about, but closer is stronger and easier in my opinion.

As for kits, I just buy what I need. Sometimes you can save money on a kit, but sometimes you spend more for the same materials you coudl have bought off the shelf.

Good luck,
Eddie