Pole Barn Walls: opinions please!

[BearKiller]

Around here, OSB-board is very affordable, even for a pauper such as I.

To eliminate the roof sweat and insulate both against sound and heat/cold to some extent, go ahead and run the "nailers" and lathe, then sheet the walls and roof with 1/2" OSB, then screw on the metal through the OSB and into the nailers and lathe, for a much firmer, less dentable, wall and roof.

You can even cover the OSB with tar-paper or that trendy plastic stuff, TYVEK or whatever.

The OSB will add minimal to the overall cost and be worth a bunch in the long run.

 

[o2batsea]

I'll go against the popular vote and say yes to the T-111. It has been on the house at the Chesapeake for about twenty odd years and is still holding the original solid color stain just fine without any indication of rot or any other damage. I had my barn built last year with this as siding. The walls are traditional 2x6 studs 16' tall on 2 foot centers with engineered trusses on 4 foot centers. The trusses have 2x4 stringers every 2 feet. The roof is galvanized steel. The exterior is painted with solid color stain. The sheets were pre painted before they were put up, so there was very little painting done after the walls were up. I had Tyvek put on in case someone decides to make it a living space some day.
The building is 32 wide and 40 deep. There is a single 10x10 door on one end and two 10x12 doors on the other. There is electrical. 12 edison base fixtures are in the top with compact flourescent 300 watt "equivalent" bulbs. It is like daytime in there at night.
It has a 4 inch concrete floor and a three course block foundation wall.
Other than the roof having some leaks, which the builder has repaired, no issues. Pics on my facebook page under "allmand in progress" gallery. www.facebook.com\william.t.adams
From foundation to ridge cap was something in the 65K range, including the road work and culvert pipe. Even so it probably added at least 100K to the value of the property, so worth it in the long term.

 

[rambler]

A corrugated fiberglass sheeting, almost like the metal ones. They have them at Lowes for $30 for a sheet, some of these you can get translucent so they basically function like skylights.

Oh my no. No no no. Just - no. Might as well use toilet tissue for your roof. It lets in light too, and probably lasts longer.

--->Paul

 

[rambler]

Was the condensation from the barn being heated? I won't heat this one, perhaps ONLY if it's frigid below zero and I'm hanging a deer in there and want it to stay in that magic zone of 35-40 degrees. In that case I'd use a couple propane heaters, but yes, condensation would be a concern if that caused it. Great, a new set of worries!

No condensation at all when you heat it.

It's when it cools down that you get condensation.

And that happens every time the sun sets.......

You can insulate the heck out of it to stop this.

Or you can vent it properly so air is flowing under your roof almost all the time to keep the condensation from forming 90% of the time.

The air venting is cheaper.



Me, I'd never put a tar roof on a shed - only tin. I'd never put sky lights in the roof - it only leaks, it gets brittle & breaks, it doesn't take hail or tree limbs..... Put them on the wall up high if you want sky lights - lets in a lot of light & doesn't pose all the problems and headaches.

I'd make the whole shed tin, but if that doesn't work for you it has to be something else on the walls I hear you. But tin roof is the only way!

Door - make it big enough. Your property is worth more with a 10-11 foot high, 16 foot wide door that the next owner can get his motorhome into. Build a 10 foot wall with a 9 foot door - and it's just a worthless building no one can use. A liabilty, not a desirable feature to your property. Plan ahead. Hurts to have to build something a second time. Hurts to have a building you can't use 'cause you saved a foot of materials.....

--->Paul

 

[patrick_g]

I knew about nailing both sides of the boards, but assumed you nailed down the center of the batten to the wall purlin in the gap you leave for expansion/contraction not on one side of the batten. I've heard this before, not to nail both sides of the batten so it seems wood quality is what determines this.

If your construction style consistently provides something to nail the batten to in the center, letting both sides "float" over the adjacent boards, then that is a really good way to go. Some construction styles do not provide for something to nail to at every elevation you might want to sink a nail and in those cases keeping the nails (connecting batten to board) on one side prevents the boards splitting when it shrinks.

Pat

 

[bdjsdad]

You can do almost any type of finish you would like with post frame construction. Stone finish will probably last the longest but will also cost the most. Have you considered doing the 29 guage steel and just upgrading the overhead doors on the wall facing your house? If you think about it, the overhead doors take up most of the wall surface they are on. You can install a carriage house style overhead door and it would look great (in my opinion). You can get some ideas from web sites such as Pioneer Pole Buildings and also Conestoga Pole Buildings. I actually think Conestoga has a location in upstate NY (Syracuse area) that you could get some ideas from. Also, I would reccomend some sort of additional post protection. Chemical treatments have changed and the newer ones are not too reliable. For that additional protection, I would reccomend SmartPost by Advanced Solutions. That's the best one I have found so far. For the siding, have you looked into HardiPlank. It is expensive but tough as nails. Best wishes.

Hi people, thanks for this great forum that I constantly lurk on.

I have decided on two things: First, I am going to build a 30x40' pole barn for housing tractor/implements...etc. starting in the Spring. Second, it WILL have a metal or fiberblass roof.

The building will be away from the house, doubtful it will need electric, but will be visible to all. I got quoted $9,800 for a metal building built (pole frame construction), complete with all hardware, one 10' door and roof/sides/lumber from 84 Lumber. Not a bad price I thought. Problem is, I'm not real big on the "metal building look". I DO like (and so does the wife) the look of a more "traditional" country barn. So...I am thinking do this myself and have the trusses engineered, and use either T1-11 siding or board and batten along with said metal or fiberglass roof. Question is, can folks give me their pros' and cons of wall materials? If I do board and batten, what type of wood, treated or untreated?

I like the speed/ease of metal and low maintenance, but I can assure you it will get dinged up and look like heck over time. I am not sure how durable a board/batten or T1-11 siding will hold up over the years, and if I went that route, any tips folks?? Here are my priorities

1. Appearance (think "wife" here...she wants a stone/stucco barn to match the house..ugh)
2. Durability/longevity
3. Ease of construction
4. Cost

 

[KeithT]

Hi people, thanks for this great forum that I constantly lurk on.

I have decided on two things: First, I am going to build a 30x40' pole barn for housing tractor/implements...etc. starting in the Spring. Second, it WILL have a metal or fiberblass roof.

The building will be away from the house, doubtful it will need electric, but will be visible to all. I got quoted $9,800 for a metal building built (pole frame construction), complete with all hardware, one 10' door and roof/sides/lumber from 84 Lumber. Not a bad price I thought. Problem is, I'm not real big on the "metal building look". I DO like (and so does the wife) the look of a more "traditional" country barn. So...I am thinking do this myself and have the trusses engineered, and use either T1-11 siding or board and batten along with said metal or fiberglass roof. Question is, can folks give me their pros' and cons of wall materials? If I do board and batten, what type of wood, treated or untreated?

I like the speed/ease of metal and low maintenance, but I can assure you it will get dinged up and look like heck over time. I am not sure how durable a board/batten or T1-11 siding will hold up over the years, and if I went that route, any tips folks?? Here are my priorities

1. Appearance (think "wife" here...she wants a stone/stucco barn to match the house..ugh)
2. Durability/longevity
3. Ease of construction
4. Cost

I have not read through all of your replies but I just completed a barn/pole building myself. I chose to shhet my building with 1/2" 4-ply plywood, wrap it with tyvec and then used hardi-board 4'x8' sheets (from Lowes). It looks like T-11 but will never rot. It is all painted to match my house even though it sets 300' away. I am very happy with the end result

 

[foggy1111]

I put up a 30x40 building this past spring. I like a couple things that we did which may be helpful:

1. You mention not having electric. I dont have electric either as it will cost at least 5k to get a line to my building. I was concerned about a dark building.....so I put a single ridgelight down the center (its about 16" wide).....and it works like a charm. It feels like the building has florescent lights on...even on cloudy. NICE

2. You mention a 10 foot wide door. I put in a single 16' wide door and would encourage you to put in a wider door as you can "snake" allot of things through a wide door and into either side of the building (if its centered). I also put in a quality insulated, double skinned, overhead door....as they are much more durable than non insulated.

3. I put 12" soffits on the sidewalls, and that adds allot to the appearance of a building IMO. But the real benefit (to my thinking) is the ventilation provided in an uninsulated building. (I would put em on the gable ends too......if my home was near my building....as I like the improvement in appearance).

4. I don't worry too much about damage to the building metal from the outside. I think I stand a better chance of making dings in the metal from the inside. If your using it as a shop....you may want to consider some type of inexpensive liner panel (plywood) especially in high traffic areas.