Prepping for a Carolina Carports Barn

[EddieWalker]

Looking forward to seeing your pictures!!!

 

[hunt4570]

Sounds like a nice project, also looking forward to the pics! How do they mount it to the ground??

 

[TractorGuy]

To follow up on my last post: They showed up at 8 this morning. The assembler lives about an hour from me and got a call one of his cows had gotten out so he had to run attend to that. I had put all his electric tools in his tool box and was worried about how he would react but he was glad I protected them from the morning dew.

They used straight rebar about 3' long with a head on it to position the bottom rails while they were working on the building. Then they use a screw anchor about every 5 feet and bolted them through the sides on all the bottom rails. I think it is wind certified to 170 MPH but not positive on that issue. I know it's anchored far better than the small carport behind my house that has sat steady through several hurricanes but then it's much larger. I don't think it will move from most sources of sever wind but like any building a tornado would make a pretzel out of it. The siding panels are said to be 26 gauge standard and they measure .020" thick. I upgraded the frame metal to 12 gauge and it measures correct for that gauge.

So far I am pleased with their attention to detail and work ethic.

This is where they are at right now. They say they will finish today. They have to install the rest of the siding, all the roof, and trim.

 

[TractorGuy]

Final update:

Recap of the finished building specs.
Design is called a Carolina Barn
42' Wide by 30' Deep
Center section is 18' wide by 14' high. Actual openings turn out to be about 4" short of designated heights so the center is 13' 8" from bottom of gable to ground.
Lean tos are 12' wide by 9' high. Again, the actual height of the opening is 8' 8".
Standard heights would have been 12' legs on center and 7' legs on sides.
Frame was upgraded to 12 gauge. Panels came standard 26 gauge. Color matched screws were included at no charge.
Other extras include: 3 sides enclosed, front gables covered, 36"x80" walk in door installed in left side.
Colors are Barn Red with White trim. They have 3 different reds. One is bright red and another is purpleish. The Barn Red should look a little better when it fades some.
Cost of the building after a 12% discount and tax was $11,380. I have about $700 in fill and other stuff used preparing the site.

Only two guys showed up to assemble. They were pretty conscientious and you could tell they had done it many times before. Not sure but I think I might have got a better job than I would have if the crew was bigger. It took them 2-1/2 days to complete which is very reasonable given the complexity of the build.

Not crazy about the anchors but it shouldn't go anywhere. The screw anchors were black painted steel about 30" long with two 4" wheels. From the tip to the head was about 26". They also used some straight rebar pegs with a head on them that were about 3' long. In total they used a dozen straight pegs and 35 screw anchors. Both type anchors were 1/2" diameter shafts. Each frame runner got 4 straight pegs driven through holes in the top and 7 screw anchors bolted through holes drilled through the sides. The bottom connector rails across the rear also got 7 of the screw in anchors.

There is one area where the top of the lean to mates with the center section that I don't like the way it looks but the installer said it was like that to help with runoff. The only other beef I had was the amount of screws they left on the ground. I complained about that and they spent 30 minutes picking up what they could find by hand. The guy said he forgot to pack his magnetic sweeper.

I spent a couple hours going over the inside and outside with a HF sweeper that I don't think did a great job and got a double handful of screws and junk up. I expect I will be finding screws for a while. I just hope I don't pull too many from my tires.

Here are final pics of the building:

 

[civilian]

Nice looking building. I like the colors, matches our house and out buildings. Do you expect much rain to blow in? I don't know if your winds are predominately from one direction or not. Is there a ridge vent on it? And/or is the short step walls open at the tops/under the upper roof eaves? Just wondering if it will be stuffy in the back areas. Enjoy. Jon

 

[EddieWalker]

I'm impressed. It looks really nice!!!

 

[TractorGuy]

Open side is facing NW so it shouldn't get too much blow in. Peaks are not vented and I think they are all sealed with a foam strip. Time will tell how it works out. I could always replace the top cap with a ridge vent if I need to.

 

[Hay Dude]

I like it. Appreciate you taking us through your process.
12-13k spent to shelter vehicles & equipment seems very reasonable to me.

 

[TractorGuy]

Just one follow up. We have had a lot of rain and the eaves are so short on the lean tos that it is dumping water right by the outer wall. The way I put this on a gravel bed the water is seeping under the frame into the inside. I have gone back and forth on what to do and I think I'm going to buy some two foot pieces and extend the eves out on the lean tos.

No leaks at all on the inside and hardly any blow in so far. I just need to get the water to fall further from the walls so I can channel it away from there.

I considered gutters but I remember how bad I hated them when we had them on my mothers house so I am going to try to avoid that path.

In hindsight I should have had the lean to roof panels cut a foot longer.

 

[EddieWalker]

Extending how far the water falls off of the building will create splashing when the water hits the ground. This can cause erosion, and actually put more water under your walls.

gutters are what I would use.