Planning for Pole Building/Shop/Storage Building

[pmsmechanic]

I am pretty sure I will never install another work bench. All they are is junk collectors in my buildings. Your a lot further ahead with shelves and a heavy mobile work/tool bench that you can move to where you need it. That way your not walking across the shop to get your tools or to a vice.

I would plan on a mezzanine storage area that you can move things too that you can't bear to throw away Also for the same reason, plan for a lean to along one side. You don't have to build it but it's nice to know you have the option.

 

[East30]

As others will state, a pole barn will run out of space. I planned originally to go 40x60, built 40x72, and three years later wished I had build a 40x80. Because of snow, I did go 6 foot between posts instead of 8, trusses at 2 feet as well. Snow typically slides off at some point after it ends, but I wanted the knowledge of a wet, heavy snow fall wasn't going to be any issue. I've got 6x6 posts 6 feet deep sitting on 15" concrete pads at the bottom.

I went 14 foot side walls, and wished I had gone 16 foot. I built an elevated floor (mezzanine) 40x20 at the one end of the pole barn, giving me approximately two areas with of 6'6" areas of height. On the elevated area is all the stuff I kept moving around that would get in the way, to help keep the concrete floor uncluttered. Below are my boats and their trailers. Over 7 feet of height for each area would have been better, but it works fine.

Five foot apron in front of my garage doors is level, I wish the builder would have dropped it a couple of inches sloping away from the doors. I can get some freeze up against the bottoms of my doors, but it hasn't been a huge problem. That was on me, as I assumed he would. Live and learn, it was my first time really building something form the ground up with a third party, the ground sloped away, and figured he would follow the contour.

 

[suburbanfarmer]

One more thing to add is a drain in the middle to wash the toys and have all that water drain out.

 

[pmsmechanic]

One more thing to add is a drain in the middle to wash the toys and have all that water drain out.

I would rather build a sloped apron and wash there. If you have a floor drain you need somewhere to drain to. You also need something to catch the dirt. Then you need to clean up the dirt. It's easier outside.

 

[ericm979]

Mark out the outline of the interior of the building on the site and park all that stuff within it. Then you'll see how big or small it really is.

You can get creative with implement dollies to store your implements in a smaller amount of space.

 

[BoylermanCT]

I'm building a 30x40 pole barn, have the poles up and roof on, but winter came before we could get the concrete floor poured and the metal walls up. It has a 6/12 pitch roof. The snow slides right off. We've had a 16" storm and a 12" storm and the barn roof was clear shortly after the storm ended. Very pleased with the pitch.

I bought my barn online from DIYPoleBarns.com. They are located near you, and have crews who will assemble the barn if you live close to them. I would have gladly used them but they did not have any crews in CT.

 

[RUSSELL5000]

How about we go on to the next topic: roofing.

I understand shingle roofing, having worked in shingle roofing in the past and doing my own shingle roofing in the past. I have never worked with metal roofing.

From what I have been able to observe, there are two basic concepts: in one type the fasteners go directly through the steel panel into the roof deck (the head of the fastener has a rubber washer which is intended to seal water out), in the other type fasteners are underneath panels; the panels overlap the fasteners, and the steel panels interlock and snap together.

It seems to me that exposed fastener approach will eventually leak. I can see that the exposed fastener approach would be fine for siding, as the steel panels are vertical, water cannot accumulate. It does not seem ideal for roofing.

Any points of view?

Thanks.

 

[LouNY]

Back in the early 60"s we did a 100 x 100 free stall barn with a hay mow the roof was aluminum fastened down with ringshank lead washered nails.
These were nailed in the ridge, over the years with the long aluminum sheets expanding and contracting the nail holes have lengthened and the washers have gone.
So it has required some maintenance.
Some of the older steel roofs are 20-50 years older and have held up better, less expansion as the panels are narrower and shorter.
We did 3 roofs in the last 2 years, steel with exposed fasteners, hex headed screws with rubber washers under a retaining washer in the flats.
So far so good.

 

[pmsmechanic]

How about we go on to the next topic: roofing.

I understand shingle roofing, having worked in shingle roofing in the past and doing my own shingle roofing in the past. I have never worked with metal roofing.

From what I have been able to observe, there are two basic concepts: in one type the fasteners go directly through the steel panel into the roof deck (the head of the fastener has a rubber washer which is intended to seal water out), in the other type fasteners are underneath panels; the panels overlap the fasteners, and the steel panels interlock and snap together.

It seems to me that exposed fastener approach will eventually leak. I can see that the exposed fastener approach would be fine for siding, as the steel panels are vertical, water cannot accumulate. It does not seem ideal for roofing.

Any points of view?

Thanks.

Here steel roofs are very common. They do leak but we are living in a very dry climate so no real issues. From what I've read the issue with the rubber washers is installed too tight. They are just supposed to be snugged up. Not tightened to the point where the rubber is all squashed flat.

Most of the issues here are from the screws slowly turning out from expansion and contraction due to temperature changes. I've heard of farmers removing every screw and drilling the hole larger than the screw and reinstalling the screws with a dab of silicone under the rubber washer. That seems to solve the screw loosening issues.

 

[ericm979]

These screws (below) are designed so they can't be over torqued and squash the gasket, and to keep UV off the rubber. I'm currently planning on using them for the roofing and siding on my shop.

ZXL WoodBinder Screw | 4-year Warranty - A. B. Martin Roofing Supply