Pole Barn construction

[truartcle]

Greetings TBNers,
Finally ready to start my 24x30x10 pole barn and am looking for any advice as the project begins. Local Phone Company will be selling me used phone pole and installing them four feet down using the company truck. Each will be 15 feet long (I will cut tops to size). I知 looking for three 10ft or so bays on the long side for storage of tractor, boat and truck. Nothing fancy just vertical board siding and tin roof. I知 pricing our prefab trusses and I think it痴 going to be a **** ton of money. Can I fabricate my own and go 24 OC and should I use rough or dimensional lumber? I live in Vermont and do need to keep in mind snow loads but it痴 an Ag building and the town doesn稚 require and inspection. Thanks in advance for any input and/or suggestions.

 

[hawkeye08]

My sister and brother in law built their own trusses when they built their house. They set up a jig to get them all the same. I think they paid an engineer or bought pre engineered plans to make sure they could handle the loads. Nothing special about them at all. It took up evenings for awhile for sure...

 

[truartcle]

Thanks hawkeye8, that's the direction I'm heading in. I've been looking for a good set of plans to follow and set up a jig.

 

[Teikas Dad]

I put trusses up for my shop addition a couple years ago. The truss span was 32 feet with a 4/12 pitch. If I recall correctly they cost about $125 each so it wasn't worth my time to build them myself. Buying them from a truss manufacturer meant that they were designed by an engineer and built by people who do it for a living. They've got the machinery for pressing the steel plates onto the truss joints. All the homemade ones I've seen had plywood gussets nailed on.

 

[jimgerken]

Yea, I think if you really add up the cost of the materials you would not save much building them yourself. My costs for purchased trusses a couple years ago agree closely with the last append above. Remember when pricing the materials to specify the correct grade of lumber. The top and bottom cords cannot be spruce. They must be pine or fir, and a good grade of 2X6 (see the engineers plan for details on lumber specs). Metal plates are pressed in from each side. They are galvanized. Plywood plates and nail versions will not last as long. I am a real do it myselfer but would not build wooden trusses at home.
If you do proceed, consider building them much steeper pitch than 4/12, you will get a lot of strength increase, and they will shed snow better.

 

[LD1]

My first piece of advise would be to NOT use round poles. And if I cannot talk you out of that, I would at least advise to NOT let the phone company set them for you.

First, I say dont use round because they are a PITA to work with. They arent straight. And it is hard to get the building looking good and square. Second, If you do use them, set them yourself so you know they are right. The phone company isnt going to be building the building, so if they dont get them perfect...they dont care. Also, you really dont want the poles set straight as they would normally set them, The poles are tapered (another reason not to use them). But that means you need to true the outside of the post, and leave the inside be tapered. They also are all the same diameter. So finishing the interior is challenging.

Also, what direction (span) are your trusses going to go? Are you spanning the 24' distance or the 30' distance. cause the posts set on the gable ends needs to be longer, to go up and support the end truss.

I built a 30x50 barn 7 or so years ago and used electric poles to save money. I wont do it again. I'd bite the bullet and buy posts.

BAck to the trusses. IF you plan on having the garage doors on the 30' length, I'd span the trusses 30' so the doors are on the gable end. Otherwise, with a metal roof, in the winter you will end up with big mounds of snow in front of the doors.

Now the trusses, I built mine. Cause I wanted a scissor truss cause the building had an upstairs. Scissors gave me the headroom without having to build taller. They would have cost me $120 each at the time to buy. I built them for $35 each. That said, Price a standard W type truss for a 30' span. I didnt think they cost that much. At least they werent when I priced them last. I was thinking a 4' OC 30' span truss was ~ $60 or so. You would need 7 of them. And would likely only save ~$20 each to try to build. And $140 just isnt worth it to attempt. But call around and get some truss pricing.

But all of this is peanuts. Your biggest expenses are going to be roofing/siding and a concrete floor if you choose.

 

[Wyobuckaroo]

With the extreme snow load we have had in this area this winter.....
There were a lot of pole barns of many types and ages that collapsed...

The common thing seemed to be middle came down but the ends stood up or were pulled in on top of the parts that fell first..
Many seemed to have the rafters pushed strait down through the side walls...

It is surprising that many/most that failed were newer structures....

I would take the time to be able to build to at least double your area normal snow load/extreme conditions ratings...

Good luck

 

[jimgerken]

Oooo, if the rafter went down without the poles, maybe someone has been nailing the rafters onto the poles without notching the pole. That would make the nail(s) carry the entire roof load -- not good enough.

 

[ns_in_tex]

We put up a 30x60x15 about 22 years ago, with telephone poles on 10' centers and put the trusses on 10' centers. One centered on each pair of poles. Center notched the poles & set the trusses in the notch, then bolted through the pole and truss. Between the trusses we used 2x6x10' edgeways on about 30 or 36" centers, fastened flush to the top of trusses with metal brackets. Also used screws instead of nails. Then sheet metal was screwed to the 2x6's. Lathed the outside of poles with 2x4's on about 3' centers & installed a 2x6 upright between each set of poles. Then installed sheet metal to these lathes. Had the inside insulated with closed cell spray foam insulation like they use in chicken houses. Insulation kind of expensive but I love it. Building stays almost dust free. Also used a 20'x13'3" foam insulated door.
I know this is Texas, not Vermont, but the truss engineer can tell you what it would take to be a good job for you. I think I told them we wanted a 20 lb snow load rating. Ours has a 2x8 top cord & 2x6 bottom cord. 4/12 pitch. My guess is a 6/12 pitch and maybe 2/10 top cord & 2/8 bottom cord, might do the job.

If I had it to do over, I don't think we would change a thing.

 

[franklin2]

If your priority is saving money, sometimes you can save a lot by being flexible with the size of the building. Trusses can be found sometimes at the truss company that were ordered wrong or some other problem, and can be picked up cheap if you are at the right place at the right time.

 

[truartcle]

Thank you all for the ideas and words of wisdom. Here is what I have so far. I received two quotes, one came in at 1800.00 and the other at 1500.00. After doing some calculation and getting some material quotes I can build them myself for about 703.00. Been talking to some friends that are builders and I feel very confident about doing it. I will be using dimensional lumber as rough is not saving much. I also changed the size slightly, its now going to be 32x24x10. So far if my calculation are correct I'm staying on target with a $4000.00 budget. Thanks for all the advice

 

[streamin]

Thank you all for the ideas and words of wisdom. Here is what I have so far. I received two quotes, one came in at 1800.00 and the other at 1500.00. After doing some calculation and getting some material quotes I can build them myself for about 703.00. Been talking to some friends that are builders and I feel very confident about doing it. I will be using dimensional lumber as rough is not saving much. I also changed the size slightly, its now going to be 32x24x10. So far if my calculation are correct I'm staying on target with a $4000.00 budget. Thanks for all the advice

Are you saying your building the whole thing with a $4000 budget? metal and all?

 

[truartcle]

Streamin,
This is what I have for the project. Material for trusses, headers and the rest of the skeleton $1038.15, Poles and holes $650.00, Roof metal (plain galvanized) including ridge caps and screws $853.39 and 1000sf of rough 1x8 or 1x10, $750.00/850.00. So far I’m at $3300.00/3400.00. Work starts on Wednesday.

 

[streamin]

thanks for the breakdown, didn't know you could do it that cheap. I am looking to do one 30 x50 and trying to see what I can get by with. Thanks

 

[truartcle]

I understand that some people would never use telephone poles but I’ve inspected a lot of barns built in Vermont using them and found that it’s just what I need for my project. We live in the country and the boss (wife) wants to keep with the country setting which works for me. I’ll post pictures as work progresses. This won’t be Caesars Palace but will be standing and functional for a very long time.

 

[Goaliedavid]

A well constructed 24 x 30 poll barn should last a very very long time and add value to your property, You are not going to save enough money using round polls and building your own trusses to make up for what you will loose in years to come. Look at the bigger picture even if you have to put the project off for a year or two you will be much happier with your barn 5,10, 20 years down the road if you build it right.

 

[Citydude]

I understand that some people would never use telephone poles but I’ve inspected a lot of barns built in Vermont using them and found that it’s just what I need for my project. We live in the country and the boss (wife) wants to keep with the country setting which works for me. I’ll post pictures as work progresses. This won’t be Caesars Palace but will be standing and functional for a very long time.

Saving money and building a safe sturdy barn can go hand in hand. I like your idea of doing your own fabrication, keeping in mind load bearing issues. Sounds like fun!

 

[TractorGuy]

I would consider a kit. What surprises me though is when I search for kits I get a lot of hits for enclosed structures that are categorized as pole barns. Go Figure?

Here is one such link that lists a 32x24x10 for $5323.
STANDARD KITS & PRICES ｫ DIY Pole Barns - Pole Barn Kits, Pole Buildings, Packages, Builders, Prices, Plans

Down here in my area you can get an open pole barn kit that size for under $3000.
Pole Barn Kits

 

[streamin]

I was thinking about the telephone pole but the building inspector wouldn't allow it, says they are worried about the chemicals in the ground, sounds dumb to me.
It seems the prices of the kits are not as high as they were a year ago. However, I can't see paying the prices to them when you can piece it together yourself with the same stuff. all they do is is consolidate it for you, isn't that right? and what do you think their markup is? anyone investigated this and come to any conclusions?

 

[Knight9]

I was thinking about the telephone pole but the building inspector wouldn't allow it, says they are worried about the chemicals in the ground, sounds dumb to me.

LOL!! That's good thinking! After all, they don't put telephone poles in the ground when they are used as telephone poles I guess?