Pole Barn question???

[mfairbank]

Im currently building a 30x50x16 pole barn.....all i have done right now is the batter boards and today im gonna start running the string to get it level.

Can i set my poles in the ground first then level out my area for gravel and a 4in concrete pad?? or do i gotta do this first before setting the poles??

The spot isn't really that far of level right now.

 

[fowllife]

You can build the building before you do the base for your floor if you want to. All of your bracing will be in the way though so it's either before you start, or when your done with the whole building. There isn't really any in between

 

[mfairbank]

ahhh very good point... I totally forgot about all the bracing when putting up the poles.
Just talked to a concrete guy he said they would perfer me to put the poles up before he does the concrete.

 

[fowllife]

Yeah you want it all framed before you pour your floor. A lot of people will put the stone base in and level the pad before they start to to any framing. If the building is big enough I prefer to scrape the topsoil out before, then bring the stone in after (unless it's really wet out) A stone pad it nice to work off of, but can be a real PITA to pound stakes into and getthem to hold at times.

 

[jwstewar]

I'm not saying it is right or wrong, I'm saying how I did it. When I built my 30x48, I laid out where the poles were going to be then I drilled the holes and put the poles in. I tried to leave as much grass as possible to keep the mud down. Built the building over a period of a couple of years (just me and Dad). I did vinyl siding & shingle roof. Once everything was done, I took my little New Holland and box blade, pulled the top soil out. Laid my plumbing for my drain lines and electric lines. Brought my fill in and wetted it and compacted it in small 4 - 6" layers by driving the tractor over it and one of the vibrating compactors. From there I put down a layer of plastic taped up all of the seems. Then I put in 1" styrofoam and then finally my reinforcement wire. I then had the cement poured. 5 1/" thick. (In Ohio, but while Hurricane Katrina's remnants passed through) Been almost 6 years now and haven't had any problems whatsever with my concrete - or anything on the garage for that matter.

 

[fatboyinmaine]

post some pics of the build, i would like to build the same size pole barn

 

[mx842]

I'm doing a 32x40 pole barn/work shop. The way I did mine was I cleared the site and took out all the root mat and topsoil. When this was done it left one side about a foot high and the other about that much low. The dirt on the high side was not really good enough to be used as fill so I just cut it out and will use it for fill around the outside walls. Regardless it is easier to get your finish floor sub grade as close as you can before you get the walls up because it's harder to do this once the walls are up.

In my case I had a steel structure I wanted in my shop that will hold up a large beam that I wanted to hang a trolley that I could attach a chain fall to and unload stuff at the door and also use it for something else in the back of the building. It would have really made it hard to do a lot of grading, cutting at least around all those support beams. I can add fill with out to much problem but it will take a little more hand work that's all. I wanted to get my sub grade a lot closer before I started but the guy that was going to bring my fill dirt stood me up and I couldn't wait any longer.

I didn't want to put my poles in the ground but rather attach them to the top of the foundation footings with attaching brackets that I made in my shop. It takes a little more concrete for the footings this way but I think you will get a better more solid footing in the end. This is just a matter of personal preference and where I live I have seen too many salt treated poles rot off in the ground well before their designed life time.

One thing that is so great about pole barn building is that there is really no right or wrong way to do any parts of it. The main thing is regardless of how you prep the site, leave it on a natural grade or level it first, make sure you start out with a square layout and check your string lines often or at least before you start another section. Batter boards can get bumped or knocked around and 1/4 inch on one end can be 2 full inches or more on the other end of a 40' wall.

 

[DuckHunterJon]

As others have said, you can do it many different ways. On my 32 x 40, I pulled off the top soil, set the poles, and framed it. I then back filled in small lifts, compacting between. Once I had it close to grade inside and out, I sided and roofed it. Why in this order - seemed like the way to do it at the time. It's now been 6 years, and I never had an issue with settling or otherwise.

A friend of mine built a similar sized barn and hired an excavator to come in, level the area, and put stone down prior to anything. He quickly found he couldn't use his PHD (same one I used on mine) as the fill that was used was very rocky.

Many ways to skin the cat.

 

[mfairbank]

Well i decided to install the poles first. I have the corner poles installed and braced.... plan on putting the 4 gable posts in today but i have all the posts temp installed right now and so far so good.

The begining of a 30x50x16