Metal Pole Barn/Shop

[country2thesoul]

I'm in the process of doing the dirt work or a level pad to build a 60X50 Shop. I'm a welder by trade BUT what I typically weld on is 1/2 inch thick or bigger. My question is,,, is 2X2X14 gauge square tubing stout enough to hold the load of the building and for wind speeds up to 80 mph. I live on top of a hill and when storms roll through, it's common to have 70 to 80 mph straight line wind. I was going to use the 2x2x14 ga. as my posts and diagnol bracing. Is this to light or should I use a 11 gauge or something even thicker. By the way I am CHEAP and trying to do this as CHEAP as possible.

 

[Tractor Seabee]

Hire an engineer to design the frame. Most of us build at overkill to be safe; you want to go minimums, it takes some calculations.

Ron

 

[Midniteoyl]

Yep.. without seeing the design and knowing ALL the loads, its impossible to answer...

 

[RedNeckRacin]

Your not going to find an engineer worth his salt to comment on this. There are so many variables let alone the lack of a design or picture. The orientation of a piece of structural steel has vastly different strengths based on its layout and connection type. There are more than a half dozen failure modes that need to be examined for each connection/element alone. If you start cutting holes or vary your spacing of your supports that also changes things.


If your looking to be very cheap, go look at some buildings in your area. Take some measurements, cross your fingers, and good luck.

I don't mean to sound rude or harsh, but just trying to be honest about the questions that you asked. Also, please don't cut corners to save a few bucks, you may kill someone trying to save those pennies.

 

[paulharvey]

I'm in the process of doing the dirt work or a level pad to build a 60X50 Shop. I'm a welder by trade BUT what I typically weld on is 1/2 inch thick or bigger. My question is,,, is 2X2X14 gauge square tubing stout enough to hold the load of the building and for wind speeds up to 80 mph. I live on top of a hill and when storms roll through, it's common to have 70 to 80 mph straight line wind. I was going to use the 2x2x14 ga. as my posts and diagnol bracing. Is this to light or should I use a 11 gauge or something even thicker. By the way I am CHEAP and trying to do this as CHEAP as possible.

Properly designed and braced for shear, and lateral wind loads would be dumbfounded by how strong even 18 gauge is. With out proper bracing though, even heavy gauge can bend easily. You didnt mention spacing either, but I would (uneducatedly) guess that 4"x4" #2 SYP would be stronger and cheaper.

 

[country2thesoul]

Ok thanks for the information! Not exactly what I wanted to hear but I get the point with hiring a engineer. I have been looking at other buildings around the area and think I'll go with the 11ga. and spacing posts and trusses on 5 foot centers. I talked to my local metal supplier and took some pics of there in house steel trusses that they build and sale from an engineered design. There trusses are built using 1 3/4"X3"X14ga. metal with 12ga gussets. They told me all of there buy a building kits are used with 14ga metal framing, posts and trusses on 10' centers. So all in all if I build using 5' centers and trusses and posts out of 2"X2"X11ga. and gussets 12ga. I should have any troubles. PLUS I figured up the cost to build my heavy duty trusses compared to their light duty trusses and its a huge savings! My Trusses will cost 170 dollars compared to there flemsy trusses at 330 dollars. It would be nice to have them already built but my labor for myself is free.

 

[tcartwri]

Pretty hard to beat the cost of a pre-engineered steel building.

 

[BHD]

the back door method is to copy an existing building, most likely if it has been standing for a number of years, it been tested by nature, and if it is name brand, the odds are it is actually been an engineered.

A person built a garage, 30 or more years ago, in a town near here, we have some high winds, 9and even tho this is in town, it still has been wind tested,
they built this 24' x32' 8' tall garage, out of 1" square tubes (don't know the thickness), they made a truss, and the walls are just single no truss type construction, seem like to me it was about 4 foot on center spacing and it had celotex insulation board and then tin for a roof and wall, it been there for over 30 years,

I am not saying build your shop out of the 1" tubing. but I am sure if you would make a truss type up right and some type of truss type roof truss one could easily use that as a material but the key is the proper design,

my son is building a shop as well, he is using drops from his job he builds oil field tanks, and has built I beam type uprights and trusses, (copying a build at work),

 

[BHD]

this company employs a steel tube type truss,
Custom Buildings

http://www.spanlift.com.au/truss_types.html

Unless your getting a good deal on the tube, I would think there would be cheaper alternatives and may work just as well or even better,