Pole building question

   / Pole building question #1  

KTurner

Gold Member
Joined
Apr 26, 2008
Messages
499
We have a pole building thats roughly 21'x24' with two garage doors on the south end and leanto's attached around the east (enclosed) and north side (open). The main portion has a slab, as does the leanto on the east, but it looks like an inch or two elevation difference between the slabs. I believe the main structure was built in the 1970s, maybe as late as the early 80s.

Dirt/etc had built up along the bottom of the west wall and there's some wood damage (insect) that needs addressed. I'm trying to determine the extent of it. It's not clear to me what's going on with the posts. The ones along the west wall are the only ones I can get to really well, and that's where the damage is. The posts appear to either not go into the ground, or be very damaged (rotted at ground level). Two posts have a visible metal bar/bracket attached. There's a row of cinder block along the bottom of the west wall and it may be covering the metal brackets. If these posts are meant to be sunk into the ground several feet, I'm not sure what's holding up that side of the building.

Northeast corner exterior.jpg This is the exterior northeast corner of the main structure, clearly showing a metal bracket attached to the post.

North wall interior.jpg This is a different post along the north wall, looking at the interior. This shows something bolted to the post as well, but I can't easily check the other side.

west wall exterior.jpg This is the exterior of the west wall. The post is in the middle, there's a gap between the post and the dirt. The cinder block is on both sides of the post. The edge of a metal bar is visible to the right of the post.

West wall interior.jpg This is the interior of the west wall showing the post, cinder block and slab. I don't see any signs of a metal bracket here and if it's hidden by the cinder block, that seems like a rather small bracket.

Any ideas what's going on here?
 
   / Pole building question #2  
You may be seeing an older version of something like these:

Post-Bracket-copy-300x300.jpg
cc2f47b04da1dcb065d01b286e17f613.jpg
5611f46122cf1a772f64130951792d28.jpg


They sit in the concrete and the post bolts to them. Supposed to keep the post out of the ground to prevent rot.
 
   / Pole building question #3  
Can you tell whether the metal goes into the ground? My dad's farm has a pole building that was built in the early 70s. One section had problems with the poles rotting at ground level. Someone came in and dug around the bad posts, and then bolted another section of 6x6 to the side of the post that spanned the rotted section. I'm wondering whether someone might have previously addressed the rotting using a similar technique, but with metal.

I'm absolutely not an expert. It's just a thought.
 
   / Pole building question #4  
You are there and can’t tell what’s going on. The photos don’t show enough to tell from here.

From the looks of things their has been several repairs done over the years.

Typically you would cut and remove the flat concrete to expose the posts and then make the repairs.

The repairs are either new posts or concrete and a bracket. Note the brackets above are designed for a building with shear in the walls. Most pole barns get a lot of the shear out of the posts. That style bracket makes a hinge point.

A quick YT search “pole barn repair” showed this-


Strong Way Sleeve - YouTube

In Texas (no frost) I’d be inclined to dig a foundation around the building. But any way you slice it you need to cut the flat concrete back and expose all your posts- it’s the only way to know what’s going on and make the repairs.
 
   / Pole building question
  • Thread Starter
#5  
I was able to get a closer look today. About 12" below ground level, there's some sort of concrete. I probed the ground and the concrete seems to extend about 7-8" from the post. The post and the metal bracket extend down to this concrete. I'm thinking the bracket is set in the concrete and the post is set on top of it. Also, the post is not rotted all the way through, and the damage seems to be concentrated at ground level. Now to go investigate repair options, really hoping it won't require damaging the concrete slab.

more in depth look.jpg
 
   / Pole building question #6  
That is why I put plastic sleeves around the post for my new pole barn(Available from Home Depot),I may never see how long it last;they are guaranteed for 250 years.
 
   / Pole building question #7  
That is why I put plastic sleeves around the post for my new pole barn(Available from Home Depot),I may never see how long it last;they are guaranteed for 250 years.

I checked into those once. They are only as good as the seal at the top.

A 250 yr warranty reminds me of a story.

Good friend of mine is a minster. One of the congregation lost his Mother. Told the Minister he bought the best vault they had because it was warranted to not leak. Minister asked if he was going to dig it up in a few years to check?

A 250yr warranty on the sleeve is going to outlast the building by how many decades, or centuries?? :)
 
   / Pole building question #8  
I was able to get a closer look today. About 12" below ground level, there's some sort of concrete. I probed the ground and the concrete seems to extend about 7-8" from the post. The post and the metal bracket extend down to this concrete. I'm thinking the bracket is set in the concrete and the post is set on top of it. Also, the post is not rotted all the way through, and the damage seems to be concentrated at ground level. Now to go investigate repair options, really hoping it won't require damaging the concrete slab.

Wood only rots at ground level or above.

I think, for whatever reason, the ground level has risen around your building since it's original construction.
 
   / Pole building question
  • Thread Starter
#9  
I think, for whatever reason, the ground level has risen around your building since it's original construction.

You're right, but I'm not sure to what extent. On this side of the building, dirt had built up enough to be in contact with the skin of the pole building and I'm sure it didn't start that way. A couple days ago, I removed enough dirt so there was a gap between the skin and the ground, which is when I discovered the post damage. There's another building (brick detached single car garage) ~4' feet away from this wall. The ground slopes down from west to east, so this damaged wall is downhill of the other building. After this is fixed, I probably need to do something about the area between these two buildings.
 
   / Pole building question #10  
Not enough information to know what's happening here. Why is the siding rotting away? What does the water do when it rains? Do you have good drainage?

Has the rot affected the integrity of the building?

Based just on the pictures and assuming that the building is sound, I would dig a trench along the wall and set forms about 6 inches from the wall with 2x12's. I would fill that trench and forms with concrete and slope the top so water runs away from the building. Depending on the size of the building, I'd probably do it in 12 to 16 foot sections.
 

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