Shed or Pole barn options

[paulsharvey]

Me and the wife have been thinking of buying or building some decent shed space. I currently have a 12x16 ft 3 walled shed, with dirt floor that I use. My plan is tractor and mower will live in it. The new shed/barn would be for tools, storage, possibly small work shop, maybe reloading bench. I've seen some pretty affordable 14x30 ft kits from Lowes/HD places, but they have bad reviews.

I'm on 2 acres, but I'm pretty restricted on where I can put the shed.

I would Like concrete floor. Will probably insulate and plywood/peg board interior. I want at least one large door, 6 ft wide at least, but could be barn door, roll up, large single, ect.

I don't want to consider anything over a max total of $8000.

Building permits needed in Florida? Typically a 'Shed' does not need one I think, they are 'temporary'. I am zoned Ag, but I'm not a 'bonafide agricultural property'.

I would like to add power but I don't mind doing that after it's installed to avoid building permit issues.

Does anyone have experience with Pole barn kits?
Assemble your self kits from box store?
Professional installed kits?

 

[RNeumann]

A concrete floor puts in the “real building” zone. I haven’t seen one of those that is movable.
In Florida I’d skip the pole barn and do a slab with a little footing around the edge in a monolithic pour. Concrete is going to eat your budget quickly though!
After the slab and footings, a simple 2x4 framed building with something like T1-11 that would be siding and sheer would be cheapest. Hand frame a little roof and throw up some Comp shingles.

$8000? Maybe. You do the work and concrete, doors and windows in your area doesn’t break the bank. The rest of the materials will be under $1000.

This would get you “dried in”. The electrical, insulation and drywall could come with time and money.

 

[EddieWalker]

How old are you and how would you describe your physical fitness? Are you comfortable working on a ladder?

Pole barns are the easiest type of building to create. For most sizes, a small crew can have it done in just a few days. I've never worked with a kit, so I can't comment on them. But if you want to pick out your lumber, and get the straightest boards available, it's a simple enough thing to do yourself.

24x48 with 12 foot walls is a very doable sized building for your budget. Set 6x6 posts every 8 feet, install your wall purlins every four feet up, and then rest your trusses on top of your posts. Leave a 10x10 foot opening for a roll up door, and another 3 foot opening for a walk through door. Set your purlins on your trusses, and then cover it all in metal. Any metal building supplier will cut the metal to fit. I'm buying 16ft 2in long R panels for my new porch so I have a nice overhang into my gutters.

 

[JamesHW]

I follow barn/shed posts closely, having lost our barn some years ago to a tree (will be making do w/ shipping container for a while). Just a thought on concrete slab vs none, I would look at the various plastic geo-grid type products that are laid down on well tamped earth with a weed barrier and filled with gravel. They create a durable and tight surface (wheelchair compliant I understand) and can support great weight depending on thickness or type. Here is an example: geo grid new 1 – Standartpark

 

[nikdfish]

We put in a 20x22' metal building w/2 roll-up garage doors a couple of years back on a concrete slab. The building was done by Carolina Carports & was close to $6K with NC tax. That included the vertical run roof, 12 gauge tube, 2 garage doors & 6 windows. The slab & footings was about $2500, with me doing a lot of the site prep & digging for the footings but a contractor doing forms, pour & finish. Permits & inspections ran another $250, as memory serves.

 

[paulsharvey]

I'm capable of doing the work, but I've heard hear stories about the 'quansit' hut style being a huge pain in the butt, and taking 4 or 5 guys to erect.

Right now I'm trying to feel our what I want, rough price ideas, permitting requirements, ect. I certainly haven't ruled out a pole part type, but would probably order the steel pre-fab trusses over conventional framed roof.

I would like 12 ft exterior walls, but I'm not sure that 8ft wouldn't work for my needs. Kinda depends on price difference and construction type.

 

[nikdfish]

Should have linked to this thread in my post...

https://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/rural-living/368814-doing-some-concrete-projects-house.html

This is a pretty long thread that covered the concrete work & assembly of the metal building

 

[ovrszd]

8ft walls severely limits your overhead door height. You'll end up with a 7' door which really sucks.

The building Eddie described is very easy to construct. You could shorten it to 10ft and save some cost. But again, you start limiting door height.

Menards has a "build your own" feature on their website. Check it out. It'll spec the building along with prices. Whether you buy from them or not is your choice. Very handy tool for brainstorming.

 

[aczlan]

I'm capable of doing the work, but I've heard hear stories about the 'quansit' hut style being a huge pain in the butt, and taking 4 or 5 guys to erect.

Right now I'm trying to feel our what I want, rough price ideas, permitting requirements, ect. I certainly haven't ruled out a pole part type, but would probably order the steel pre-fab trusses over conventional framed roof.

I would like 12 ft exterior walls, but I'm not sure that 8ft wouldn't work for my needs. Kinda depends on price difference and construction type.

The Carolina Carports barns that were mentioned are not a quonset hut, they are a pole barn, but they are framed with steel square tubes rather than with wood. They are available in most any size you can think of. We were looking at them when we were getting quotes to build our pole barn.
If you go to their website, they have their price lists their which cover most any option you could think of.

Aaron Z

 

[paulsharvey]

The Carolina Carports barns that were mentioned are not a quonset hut, they are a pole barn, but they are framed with steel square tubes rather than with wood. They are available in most any size you can think of. We were looking at them when we were getting quotes to build our pole barn.
If you go to their website, they have their price lists their which cover most any option you could think of.

Aaron Z

When I check their website they can't build theirs in Florida or California

 

[wagne223]

A concrete floor puts in the “real building” zone. I haven’t seen one of those that is movable.
In Florida I’d skip the pole barn and do a slab with a little footing around the edge in a monolithic pour. Concrete is going to eat your budget quickly though!
After the slab and footings, a simple 2x4 framed building with something like T1-11 that would be siding and sheer would be cheapest. Hand frame a little roof and throw up some Comp shingles.

$8000? Maybe. You do the work and concrete, doors and windows in your area doesn’t break the bank. The rest of the materials will be under $1000.

This would get you “dried in”. The electrical, insulation and drywall could come with time and money.

While this is a great way to do it, in FL, unless the OP property is zoned Agriculture (full AG, not horses only) then he will need complete engineering plans by a FL engineer plus the FL approved materials sheets for all doors, windows, exterior siding and roofing materials.

The engineer plans alone will be $1500.

That is why the prefab buildings are popular now. They include FL approved engineering plans which makes getting the permit a lot easier.

Also why not all companies sell them in FL.

They have really made building tough here!

 

[paulsharvey]

While this is a great way to do it, in FL, unless the OP property is zoned Agriculture (full AG, not horses only) then he will need complete engineering plans by a FL engineer plus the FL approved materials sheets for all doors, windows, exterior siding and roofing materials.

The engineer plans alone will be $1500.

That is why the prefab buildings are popular now. They include FL approved engineering plans which makes getting the permit a lot easier.

Also why not all companies sell them in FL.

They have really made building tough here!

I am zone Ag, but that isn't the only requirement, to build a permanent building over 144 square ft (I think, not 100% sure the footage), you have to be a 'bonafide agricultural property' meaning actually recorded on your property taxes as a for profit farm. Agricultural zoning is not the same. Also, I Think bonafide ag is a min of 5 acres.

I Think you can attach a shed to concrete, but I'm not real clear on the details.

To go the permit route, I saw a pole barn truss outfit in Ft Meyers has engineered drawings for $950 when you buy their truss kit. I worry about getting permit and the county poking around at all the other non-permitted stuff(non as big or permanent as a small barn).

 

[aczlan]

When I check their website they can't build theirs in Florida or California

If you go to their brochures page, and scroll down to the bottom they have a section specifically for Florida certified carports. They have a 150 mile-an-hour wind speed rating on them: Carolina Carports Inc

Aaron Z

 

[paulsharvey]

If you go to their brochures page, and scroll down to the bottom they have a section specifically for Florida certified carports. They have a 150 mile-an-hour wind speed rating on them: Carolina Carports Inc

Aaron Z

Thank you, I missed that. I downloaded a brochure and will look at it. Even if I go another route, it provides a good baseline price point to compare too.

 

[aczlan]

Thank you, I missed that. I downloaded a brochure and will look at it. Even if I go another route, it provides a good baseline price point to compare too.

You are welcome, I have talked to them on the phone and by e-mail a couple of times and they were great to deal with. Seemed like very nice people.

Aaron Z

 

[japody]

You are welcome, I have talked to them on the phone and by e-mail a couple of times and they were great to deal with. Seemed like very nice people.

Aaron Z

Suggest you read their Google reviews first. I did.

 

[3Ts]

When I lived in Florida many years ago we put up a barn on a slab ourselves. We did get a permit which was easy to do and not very expensive. We went with wood trusses and had the truss company do the engineering for them to meet the Florida codes - all part of the design and the cost to have them made and delivered on site was a little less than if I'd purchased the equivalent amount of lumber to do it myself.

One thing on roll up doors - they typically need 2' overhead space for the drum, and be careful of the door itself some have a very large gap at the top when it's closed because of the way it unrolls as it closes and check for the sealing on the sides. I have a picture of a snake going thru the door by squeezing into the U channel the door rolls in. I know, pictures! I'll have to try to find it.

 

[aczlan]

Suggest you read their Google reviews first. I did.

I read many of them, many of the problems seem to be related to the installer (who is a subcontractor) rather than the company themselves.
The trick, seems to be finding a dealer who also does the installation. That way they have a little bit more skin in the game than a non installing dealer who just takes your deposit and sends the money (minus their commission) the factory, who then sends out a third-party installer to put it up.

Aaron Z