Pole Barn Walls: opinions please!

[Laminarman]

I went with 1" x 12" boards and 1" x 4" battens and it works great. This was green eastern white pine as the mill was out of hemlock when I needed it. I was going to go with 3" batts, but a friend talked me into 4". Glad I did, as the 1x12's shrink enough to be barely covered in places. One more tip, it's not too much more money or work, go ahead and wrap the whole thing in Tyvek (or the cheaper equivilent) after the purlins, but before the siding. Any cracks, gaps you do have won't allow air infiltration with the Tyvek. My father didn't on his, and has problems when rain comes out of the north. Mine is dry as can be, despite a few through checks in the siding.

The issue with board and batt - deciding whether or not to stain it. If you do it once, you will do it every few years. The alternative is to let it grey and weather. It will still last a long time, but probably not as long as if it's properly stained.

Hope that helps.

Jon Hunter

Would it be prohitively more money to use regular dimensional kiln dried lumber to minimize shrinkage? I haven't priced rough cut lumber...yet.

 

[teg]

I went this route, cut spacers for the top and bottom to keep bugs out. Overlap each side, one inch, just used the whole board. Random widths.

I got a deal ($100) on the wood (12ft length) that was cut at the 2007 NC State Fair (steam engine) - it needed to move before the 2008 Fair!! It's ugly and some boards are just good for firewood but I like its character!!! Air dried for a couple of years.

 

[Iplayfarmer]

...One other thing. Go bigger then you think you need. My barn is 32x52 primarily to make 4x8 sheets of OSB work, but I wish now I would have done deeper like 52x40. Also I kick myself for only doing 12' tall. So many things like my buddies dump truck, my boat, and friends RV, my neighbors Case Back Hoe all will not fit in a 12 footer. 14' would be so much better and I could have built a stand up loft in the rear of the barn for small item storage....

Chris

That's why you need a bigger barn. Between your buddy's dump truck, your friend's RV, and your neighboor's backhoe, it's no wonder there's no room for your own stuff.

 

[FlaDon]

Instead of T1-11, you could use Cedarmill or Sierra 8 Hardie board, which is available in 4x8, 4x9 or 4x10 sheets. 4 x10 price swings wide from ~$33.00 (local guy) to $45.00 (Lowe's) a sheet.

James Hardie Commercial: HardiePanel

Just remember one thing when using this material. It gets heavy fast. Think about 75lbs per 4X8 sheet and around 95lb for a 4X10. You can also get the same material from them in strips. Used on the bottom of a barn, it would shed water better than wood.

 

[flusher]

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'd use T1-11 for a small shed, like this 10x12 ft saltbox, not for a large equipment building.





Here's the equipment shed I built last year--20x28 ft, 10 ft roof dropping to 9 ft in the back. 29 ga metal R-panel for roof and siding. 18x18x18" poured concrete post bases. 4x6 PT posts, 4x12 beams, 2x8 DF rafters, 2x4 girts and purlins. Since I hate painting while standing on a ladder, I painted the frame parts prior to assembly. Floor is compacted gravel. About $3500 materials.





This shed probably is not appropriate for your climate with the wind and snow, but it may give you some ideas that could save you $$$.

 

[patrick_g]

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.

I have used the big box store corrugated translucent roofing twice. Once on a large shed and again a few years later on the same large shed after the UV ate the original. Sold the house before I needed a third application.

I don't recommend it.

Pat

 

[patrick_g]

Would it be prohitively more money to use regular dimensional kiln dried lumber to minimize shrinkage? I haven't priced rough cut lumber...yet.

If you go with board and batten then only nail the batten to one board not both it is overlapping or the batten will split when the boards shrink.

Pat

 

[Scotty370]

Laminarman-If you've got an Amish community in the area, you might find a source for rough-cut, (and manpower!) I'm at the same crossroad that your at, and am torn as to construction type and material. My site is in SWNY, and Hemlock seems to be the rough-cut of choice. Last time I checked $.42 per BF up to 8" wide, $.46 per for 10" and wider. That's their logs, sawed and at the mill for pick up!

 

[Laminarman]

I'd use T1-11 for a small shed, like this 10x12 ft saltbox, not for a large equipment building.

Here's the equipment shed I built last year--20x28 ft, 10 ft roof dropping to 9 ft in the back. 29 ga metal R-panel for roof and siding. 18x18x18" poured concrete post bases. 4x6 PT posts, 4x12 beams, 2x8 DF rafters, 2x4 girts and purlins. Since I hate painting while standing on a ladder, I painted the frame parts prior to assembly. Floor is compacted gravel. About $3500 materials.

This shed probably is not appropriate for your climate with the wind and snow, but it may give you some ideas that could save you $$$.

Thanks Flusher, I appreciate it. Nice structure. Yeah...we have snow and I live on a hill and have enough wind for both of us.

If you go with board and batten then only nail the batten to one board not both it is overlapping or the batten will split when the boards shrink.

Pat

Oh....shows how little I know. I thought you nailed between the two boards to the wall purlin so the batten sort of just rode along the top of the boards. So you nail to the boards down one side? Wouldn't that make the other side curl up with time and lift? I can see how it would split if done otherwise though.

Laminarman-If you've got an Amish community in the area, you might find a source for rough-cut, (and manpower!) I'm at the same crossroad that your at, and am torn as to construction type and material. My site is in SWNY, and Hemlock seems to be the rough-cut of choice. Last time I checked $.42 per BF up to 8" wide, $.46 per for 10" and wider. That's their logs, sawed and at the mill for pick up!

No Amish near me. Tis a shame, I love their pickles and other canned country goods, forget the barns!

 

[teg]

Board and batten, the boards are still nailed down on both edges, and you finish up with the batten later... just to cover the joint - I alternate left and right to secure the batten on both sides... jmho. Nailing within an inch of the edge, I have not had any split... but my wood is dried for a couple years before I use it.

 

[Laminarman]

Board and batten, the boards are still nailed down on both edges, and you finish up with the batten later... just to cover the joint - I alternate left and right to secure the batten on both sides... jmho. Nailing within an inch of the edge, I have not had any split... but my wood is dried for a couple years before I use it.

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.

 

[Steve C]

Sorry, a clarification. The roofing at Lowes I referred to as fiberglass is Ondura by trade name and "impregnated asphalt" is the process. Ondura Corrugated Roofing - Residential Roofing - Commercial Roofing - Agricultural Roofing - Re-Roofing - Tallant Inc. Roofing Company is their site. Looks just like fiberglass with a baked on painted finish, limited lifetime warranty for residential applications and 25 years warranty for commercial applications. Just an FYI

My brother had the Ondura roof on his pole barn for around 10 years. It leaked from day one and got progressively worse. He also got a lot of condensation on it so even if it wasn't raining outside, it was often raining inside his barn. He finally got tired of it and had a standard shingle roof installed. He ended up paying for 2 roofs......but he is happy now. I had some condensation and dripping with a metal roof on one of my barns several years ago so when I had my new barn built I went with dimensional shingles that match the ones on my house and full length soffet vents and a full length ridge vent. I think that this is the best way to go. No condensation.

 

[Steve C]

Just to throw another idea out there I built my barn and put up 7/16" OSB then did a 3 tab shingle roof to match the house and used vinyl siding and sofit. Its built as a pole barn but had to get the wife's approval on the exterior.

One other thing. Go bigger then you think you need. My barn is 32x52 primarily to make 4x8 sheets of OSB work, but I wish now I would have done deeper like 52x40. Also I kick myself for only doing 12' tall. So many things like my buddies dump truck, my boat, and friends RV, my neighbors Case Back Hoe all will not fit in a 12 footer. 14' would be so much better and I could have built a stand up loft in the rear of the barn for small item storage.

Sorry, no good pictures, I am on a backup computer.

Chris

Very nice looking barn, you are right though 14 foot should be a minimum height. I had a 34 x 48 with 10 foot side walls that came with a house I bought. It drove me nuts. I had to use the garden tractor to get my 22 foot starcraft Islander Hard top boat in there because it wouldn't fit through the door if it was connected to a standard hitch. And my 32 foot Diesel motor home had to sit outside, worse yet I had to service it outside in my gravel driveway. I told myself that I would never build a barn with less than 14 foot side walls after living with that one.

 

[Laminarman]

My brother had the Ondura roof on his pole barn for around 10 years. It leaked from day one and got progressively worse. He also got a lot of condensation on it so even if it wasn't raining outside, it was often raining inside his barn. He finally got tired of it and had a standard shingle roof installed. He ended up paying for 2 roofs......but he is happy now. I had some condensation and dripping with a metal roof on one of my barns several years ago so when I had my new barn built I went with dimensional shingles that match the ones on my house and full length soffet vents and a full length ridge vent. I think that this is the best way to go. No condensation.

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!

 

[MarkV]

Generally on a metal building condensation is not due to heating the building. Condensation is caused when the sun warms the outside and the inside is cooler. It can be solved with the use of insulation designed for pole barns.

MarkV

 

[Diamondpilot]

That's why you need a bigger barn. Between your buddy's dump truck, your friend's RV, and your neighboor's backhoe, it's no wonder there's no room for your own stuff.

No, they are never in there at the same time. Just brought in to service, or at least tried too. The problem is and I was trying to point out was the 12' door was not big enough to get any of these items in. I kick myself every day for not going 14'

Chris

 

[Diamondpilot]

Very nice looking barn, you are right though 14 foot should be a minimum height. I had a 34 x 48 with 10 foot side walls that came with a house I bought. It drove me nuts. I had to use the garden tractor to get my 22 foot starcraft Islander Hard top boat in there because it wouldn't fit through the door if it was connected to a standard hitch. And my 32 foot Diesel motor home had to sit outside, worse yet I had to service it outside in my gravel driveway. I told myself that I would never build a barn with less than 14 foot side walls after living with that one.

Nice boat. We do not see them like that down here in Indiana.

Chris

 

[Ken Cunningham]

Definetly go with the insulation in the roof if you get a metal building. Its not cheap, but my building is alot cooler than a friend of mine that didnt get it insulated, and i dont have any condensation worries.

Have you considered your color choices for the walls, roof, and trim. Before it was time to choose the colors for mine i never realized how much the different colors could make the same building to so different.

 

[Laminarman]

Definetly go with the insulation in the roof if you get a metal building. Its not cheap, but my building is alot cooler than a friend of mine that didnt get it insulated, and i dont have any condensation worries.

Have you considered your color choices for the walls, roof, and trim. Before it was time to choose the colors for mine i never realized how much the different colors could make the same building to so different.

Thanks for the info. I was thinking cream/ivory walls and brown or dark green roof.

 

[Steve C]

Nice boat. We do not see them like that down here in Indiana.

Chris

It was just an little aluminum fishing boat. I am sure glad that I had sold it
otherwise it would have been in my barn when it burned down...

It is now floating around in Colorado I am told....

I had it set up for salmon fishing on the great lakes and for walleye fishing on Saginaw bay. As near as I can tell my fish cost me about $ 100 a pound. But you can't buy fish like that in the store. We never caught any huge salmon, only some 25-30 lb fish. But we did drag a 15# Walleye over the transom in Saginaw bay, that thing was a hog. It wouldn't lay flat in my 100 quart cooler it was to long we had to fold it to get it in there.

It is the second best boat I have ever owned. Lightweight, lots of room, easy to launch, very easy on gas but would still run around 34 mph. And the hardtop was great for those 12 hour days on the water, and was priceless when the weather got bad.