Starting a Barn

[Sinecure]

The center aisle posts up and braced.

I still have the front aisle and overhang roof 20 footers to deal with, but I am done with the majority of them.

Most of the posts left to get up will be the stall posts so I should be able to get those up a little easier after having the learning curve of the 20 footers under my belt.

The photo below represents about where I am in real time with the build, so the updates will get a little further spaced out as I look to complete some things.

My main goal for this trip to the property is to get everything up (posts and cross beams) and tied together. This may be unrealistic, but we will have to see how it goes.

Ace10 - Yes, I have a couple of loads of gravel/crush run on order. I need to give it some thought on if I spread it all out or maybe just in one of the main aisle sections. I have some thoughts about installing some floor drains in the finished paver area and will eventually have to trench some lines for things. On the other hand, I don't like working in the mud. It is supposed the dry out over the next couple of days and the site does get full sun all day, so I may be alright going forward. It is a mess to work in when wet, but the clay around here dries out fairly quickly and gets pretty solid with just a little sun exposure.

 

[sld]

Here is another link where an "older" gentalman build some useful tools to assist him building his own monitor style barn mostly by himself.
BUILDING THE BARN

I watched this build last night and it ended in July 2013 incomplete. Did the guy finish it? Really cool project he did.

 

[s219]

When I was grading my barn pad a couple months ago with that orange clay/sand they call "compactable fill" in this area, it got so **** sticky and nasty with rain that I got a load of #8 gravel delivered to cover it up, and that worked very well. #8 is about the size of pea gravel, but it's a crushed product so it settles and compacts much better. It's very easy to rake, and does a better job covering clay than crusher run does. I found crusher run will want to "mingle" with the clay and isn't quite homogeneous enough to rake easily. Also, straight gravel like #8 is self compacting, so no need to really roll or pack it too much after you put it down. If #8 is not available, #78 is very close.

I probably wouldn't worry about the existing carriage bolts unless someone here has more info about their rating/compliance and can raise a real concern. With the cost of bolts and the value of your time, might not really need to change out the existing carriage bolts, just switch over to regular bolts going forward?

 

[BitChin1]

I watched this build last night and it ended in July 2013 incomplete. Did the guy finish it? Really cool project he did.

Not sure - was wondering the same?

 

[EddieWalker]

Pros and cons to every type of construction. With the poles in the ground, you get the added strength of the ground holding them upright. With the posts mounted on top of the concrete pads, you now have to deal with racking. The poles wanting to fall over. The best way to do this is with sheething. plywood or OSB work great for this. It's what keeps a stick built house standing. Before plywood and OSB where so affordable and easy to get, they would put diagonal bracing at all the ouside corners to lock the building together and keep it upright. This goes back hundreds of years and it's how most houses where built before the 70's. Attach the bracing to the top of the outside corner and run it down to the sill plate at a 45 degree angle. With houses, it's always notched into the studs. On barns, it can become part of the purlins.

Attaching bracing at the tops of the posts, such as Y bracing gives you a little bit of support, but nothing close to what you want. The top plates and roofing structure are your enemy, they will want to force the posts and walls to move around. The basic idea of how modern construction works is that in theory, you should be able to put every piece of wood in place and not need any fasteners. Nails and screws are just there to keep them in place. The design should be with this in mind. If you need to hang a piece of lumber, then you need metal brackets or notches or some sort of support. Bolts for loads are not allowed because they split the wood in time. Bolts are only used to secure lumber in place that is already supported.

What are you going to use for your siding? If it includes OSB or plywood, then you won't have any issues. If it's going to be metal, that works too as it locks the walls together on the purlins.

Eddie

 

[Sinecure]

Thanks Eddie. I appreciate the comments and the information.

What I have always been told is exactly what you explained with regards to support/bracing/etc.

I plan on using a combination of all the above (lol). The rear stall posts will be concreted into the ground. I will also have a section that will be a farm office/small living space (the far right hand side of the structure), so that portion will obviously need to be OSB or plywood sheathed. The rest of the sections will be wood siding tied into purlins and diagonal bracing.

 

[Sinecure]

Third row of posts up. This row included a mix of 20 footers for the front center aisle and shorter posts for the front stalls.

For the shorter posts, after using the sled to set the first one - I found it easier to just carry them over and "walk them up" by hand. There are not that many, so this didn't prove to be too tough.

Not counting the rear set of stall posts, I only have four more to set and brace. These will be the front overhang roof (upper and lower) posts.

 

[Sinecure]

Remaining front four posts installed. I now need to start connecting everything together.

 

[Sinecure]

To support the beams spanning the posts of the center aisle I will be using the Simpson hanger HUCQ610. I got a few of these up and mounted today.

I will be using 3 LVL's at 1 3/4 inch thick by 11 7/8 to span the center aisle posts. These hangers are pricing at $35.00 each.

 

[sld]

Loads have to have a path out of any structure. A post standing by itself can only transfer loads into the attachment at the bottom. Not a good way. When you look at the entire structure hopefully loads will be transferred into strong joints that take advantage of the material and not necessarily the fasteners. All loads on a building need a strong path to the ground. That is why decking is so important. You do load these fasteners but there are bunch of them.

This is how my simple mind sees it anyway.