Making a pole barn taller

   / Making a pole barn taller #1  
Joined
May 4, 2004
Messages
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I have a pole barn that is about 13 years old. It's 40'x32' and has a 10' ceiling I would like to go to 12-14' tall. Has anybody ever "raised one up" or attempted to and if you have what kind of problems did you go thru?
 
   / Making a pole barn taller #2  
Do you have any photos of the portal etc. so we can have a think about it ? If they are round post's you may need to make pipe extensions to sit the poles in etc.
 
   / Making a pole barn taller #3  
It can be done but will be kind of expensive for what you are gaining and a lot of work. There are a few options as to how to do it all depending on what you have already. None of them are going to be cheap though.

Is there any particular reason you need this extra height? If it is just to have room for one machine you may want to just build an addition onto this barn or build another barn big enough for what you need. At least you might want to look into this option when you start looking at how much work and cost is going to be put into your existing building.
 
   / Making a pole barn taller
  • Thread Starter
#4  
The barn is made up of 6x6's and 4x6's with cement floor. At the time I built it I would have never thought I would own a motor home and I would like to put a 4 post hoist in.
 
   / Making a pole barn taller #5  
If you have the hoist already, can you temporarily install it in the center and use it to hold up the roof while extending the side beams? I'd do it one end at a time with a few jacks. How did you plan to extend the supports? Steel plates come to mind.

Or, drive the motor home under a low bridge...
 
   / Making a pole barn taller #6  
I can think of several scenarios for doing this kind of project but I would avoid it if possible. The expense would go a long way towards adding another building which would provide more space and improve your property value. Where as, modifying the existing building would not make much difference from that perspective.

Your existing building would be rendered somewhat unusable during the project and getting everything back to normal always takes longer than anticipated.
 
   / Making a pole barn taller #7  
I have a pole barn that is about 13 years old. It's 40'x32' and has a 10' ceiling I would like to go to 12-14' tall. Has anybody ever "raised one up" or attempted to and if you have what kind of problems did you go thru?
Could you build a lean too off to one side of the existing barn and get the height you need?IMHO I think a portable shelter might be cheaper.coobie.
 
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   / Making a pole barn taller #8  
As you would have already thought of building a work ramp outside or a pit inside to service the motorhome and still want the hoist . The barn needs to go up . No matter how you do it , you will need extensive temporary cross bracing to hold it together while it is being lifted . Weather you lift it with a large crane and spreader bar , or jack it up is up to you . You are going to need to fill the space at the bottom , if it were me , i would use Besser blocks to make a wall around the inside perimiter the height you want to go up . Put the blocks on the slab against the inside of the cladding , leaving a space around the Portal legs (the exact size of two blocks wide). You would then need to undo or cut the legs off . I would then lift the barn with the crane and spreader bar and sit the legs on some heavy Galvanised angle iron/Lintels put across the gaps in the Besser blocks and let it come back down . You would then need to fill these gaps with blocks . Bolt the legs through the angle iron , and put threaded rod through the angle iron , through the blocks and into the DynaBolt hooks you have already put into the slab to secure the barn to the slab then fill the blocks with concrete . As you can't have a crane hired all day , this is the only way i can think of to do it .

On Edit , Just looking at BigE's post , you may call Besser blocks , cinder blocks .
 
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   / Making a pole barn taller #9  
I could have easily raised my pole barn shop roof by 8" when I placed 6x8x16" cinder blocks on the cement foundation under the walls of the shop. (Was rotting out due to ground contact). Of course, I also converted it to a standard 2x6 framed wall structure in the process.

Between every 2nd cinder block I drilled a 1/2" hole and stuck rebar in, then ran that up through the rebar hole in the cinder blocks. You'll also need to strap the structure to the new foundation.

The point being that if you raise from the bottom vs. trying to just raise the roof, it might be easier / cheaper.
 
   / Making a pole barn taller #10  
When I bought my property 9 years ago it had a 24' X 24' X 10' garage with 6" X 6" post with a flat pitched roof construction. I bought a forklift w/3stage mast, chained the front and raised it 2'. Secured it and then raised the back 7' for a rear height of 15'. I then built around that and now have a 48' X 50' that is 15' center and 12' at the eaves. I sectioned the posts with formed angles 5 1/2" X 5 1/2" X 2' X 1/8" and bolted together. I did all the work by myself except drop and finish the concrete. I did grade and form it though. The doors are 10' high X 12' wide. I have 12' X 12' doors on each side.
The two doors on the left are the original area. You could rent a forklift. The forklift was solid and stable enough to do the lift. I had some other bracing also.
 

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