Steel, T1-11 of Board & Batten for Pole Barn

[MMH]

I'm putting up a detached garage that will be a pole barn building. I'm debating on what I will want the sides to be made out of.

Steel seems to be the most maintenance free & easiest to put up. The biggest downside is that it will be hardest to repair (if something bumps the sides) or modify (if I later want to put in additional windows, etc. In addition, I'm not sure I like the appearance as the garage would be about 70' away from the house. I would go w/a two tone wainscoating to make the garage look less like a industrial building.

T1-11 - would look a little better, but be more labor intensive to put up. It would also be be a little more maintenance. In addition, it would have to be painted. Repairing & modifying would be easier than steel

Board & Batten would look the best, but by far the most work to put up & the most from a maintenance perspective.

Comments Please!

 

[B7510HSD]

I'll be interested to hear this also as I am looking for ideas but My garage will be located at the Coast where salt air is an issue!!

 

[Kyle241]

I love B&B and I built my house with it. For my garage I went 'cheap' and when with Smartpanel. It sort of looks like T1-11 and I wish we had that available around me as I would have chosen that more likely. Based on your list, I would go with the T1-11 but that is MY choice.

 

[300UGUY]

I'm putting up a detached garage that will be a pole barn building. I'm debating on what I will want the sides to be made out of.

Steel seems to be the most maintenance free & easiest to put up. The biggest downside is that it will be hardest to repair (if something bumps the sides) or modify (if I later want to put in additional windows, etc. In addition, I'm not sure I like the appearance as the garage would be about 70' away from the house. I would go w/a two tone wainscoating to make the garage look less like a industrial building

T1-11 - would look a little better, but be more labor intensive to put up. It would also be be a little more maintenance. In addition, it would have to be painted. Repairing & modifying would be easier than steel

Board & Batten would look the best, but by far the most work to put up & the most from a maintenance perspective.

Comments Please!

I built a 40x40x12 barn in 1989. I just finished staining it for the 3rd time. Next time, steel or vinyl siding. No more ladders and hours of work.

 

[BeezFun]

I like T1-11, I prime and paint it on the ground before I put it up using a pole roller and brush. Then after assembly I hit any exposed edges with a sprayer. I've got siding with 10 years on the paint and shows no sign of needing touch up. I think it's very hard to paint/stain wood properly once it's installed, never gets a good first coat and it's often dirty or dusty by the time it's installed. I also like to paint inside of building white for visibility, you can do that with primer.

 

[JCByrd24]

I will never use T1-11 again on a building more than 1 sheet tall. The seems require so much attention to look anything near decent because the stuff is so flimsy. You basically have to fully block all the seams or they will go ~~~~ between studs. You also have to be going perfectly straight, no chance to hind your sins. While it may seem like sheets would be faster than B&B, handling 1x boards beats a 4x8 sheet every time, and I'm under 30 still. To save some time you could skip the batten and use shiplap, also looks very good. I have this on my carport

 

[SPIKER]

I have a T1-11 barn/out building that I have a 2nd floor on. I HATE it for all the reasons above. the Hardi-Panel I ahve heard good things about. mine was put up in november so could not stain it until following year. Put on some of the best stuff available which has mostly pealed loose in cracked bad and even after 9 years has rotted spots in the seams in the sides over 8 feet which is ALL of the sides. It warped and pulled loose on all but the north side and I have to constantly re--screw it off. for a small shed to store a mower in out back hidden behind a large hedge it might be OK but for a building you are concerned with looks on stay away from T1-11...


Steel also looks good to me but the industrial look was not what I wanted with my place and modifications were a big deal which was reason I went with t1-11.

Hardi Panel is the concrete looking & much like T1-11 but is not a wood product so rot & warping & moisture is not such an issue... that if available would been what I would have chose now.

B&B is nice & very lovely but pretty expensive to maintain my Brother has Ceder B&B on his place that has to be bleached & power washed every few years to look good and has to be re-sealed often and like you know a lot of work.

next is standard house siding not much to it but when I can my barn will probably get that over the top once I get the place screwed down to stop the warping...

mark

 

[ustmd]

For my shop I was going to use T1-11 (or Smatpanel), but ended up going with vinyl siding. I went and looked at a bunch of building that uses T1-11 and the seams drove me nuts. As a previous post mentioned, all the joints need to be blocked and if there weren't, they cupped. If you were more than 1 sheet high, you had to have flashing and if the sheets were not perfect (of if you had an imperfection in the wall-waviness), it stood out like a ***** in church.

Good luck

 

[bigtiller]

I put T1-11 on a 10x16 shed and I will never do that again. I don't have a spray paint machine so I have to paint it by hand. That is a really big chore!! Using a brush, roller or pad makes no difference. It is a big job for a little shed.

 

[BeezFun]

As a previous post mentioned, all the joints need to be blocked and if there weren't, they cupped. If you were more than 1 sheet high, you had to have flashing and if the sheets were not perfect (of if you had an imperfection in the wall-waviness), it stood out like a ***** in church.

Manufacturer says all edges must fall on a stud, so if it's installed incorrectly it will perform poorly, which is true of most building materials. Over girts you can orient the studs flat to make the nailing surface more forgiving for joint layout. Makes it easier to put up long runs (like on pole barns) without having to fudge the edges.

It also comes in 10' lengths to possibly avoid z-flashing. If you do use Z-flashing it's cleaner to apply a band with a dado to the top of the bottom row, then put flashing over the band. The band allows you to stretch a line and get a nice clean edge rather than possibly the wavy look someone mentioned. The wavy look is another indication of flawed installation, not an inherent problem with the material.

Regarding paint, T1-11 is so rough finished I don't see how it could actually peel unless the paint were poured on, or applied right over dirt. It does drink a lot of paint which is another cost factor. My experience is about 150sf per gallon of solid stain. I have a 32 year old little barn that is T1-11, the original owner painted it once, and I painted it 10 years ago, and other than holes and chewing from the horses, the finish looks fine.

 

[TractorTidy]

I had 30X45X10 board on board building built 4 yrs ago this month. Used 1X8 poplar boards. Looks nice. Had it stained w/ a dark brown stain the next summer.
Is holding up well, a few boards warped on bottoms but not bad. I am doing a shop on one end which has poplar/oak/walnut siding (all sawed w/ my woodmizer)
and wainscoating of galvanized metal 36" up.

A couple of downsides of wood I see is: initial expense although a metal Morton building was in the same price range w/o concrete, excavation and trees removed.
Also, more gaps for critters, wind and rain to get in. The boards do shrink a little, but w/ the board on board you get a lot more overlap. Lastly, if it ever catches on fire (heaven forbid) stand back and let it go. Make sure you have it insured!

An upside is the look. I have a wooded lot and it blends in very nicely.
For an example of the look, go to American Heritage Barns.com.

 

[Rustyiron]

Keep in mind that T1-11 is designed for std. 16" o.c. (vertical) framing. By the time you "convert" a true pole bldg. to that .......... Do you have a sawmill local for real B&B? I'm with ya on the industrial kinda look of the steel and concerns of damage but with a little creative design (wainscott, colored corners & trim, shutters etc) and a 4' high plywood backer for the most common lo height dings, it's hard to beat steel. Heck, you could do a hybrid on the high vis. sides use B&B or a B&B wainscott, and "cheat" with the steel on the rest. I've seen the "lick & stick" stone for the lower wainscott, that really looks nice and gives the wall some depth.

 

[RoMad]

Once Hardi plank and Hardi board were invented I don't know why anyone would prefer T1-11 over it. It doesn't rot, burn or get eaten by termites. My house is hardi-plank siding and we love it. I also have it on two rental mobile homes and have put it on some others. I have one rental that has vinyl siding. The nice thing about the vinyl siding is you only have to pressure wash it occassionaly.
For barns and sheds, I go with metal siding. It isn't any harder to modify to me and I never have to paint it. It also goes up quick. It might look pretty good to use hardi planks on the bottom three or four feet and then metal above that.

 

[crash325]

Long Boring post Sorry. :laughing:

Not all T1-11 is created equal. There several different grades and types.
Paper board - sort of a fiber board with a plastic coating. Cheep, often comes on mobile homes.

OSB type - can be had with the plastic coating (outside only). Most any type of wood on the outside. Inside should be sealed before it is put up.

Plywood type - real wood plywood, no sealing or coating of any type. Can sometimes be had with a plastic exterior seal.

Then there is the thickness thing. From about 1/4" up to around 3/4". Lots of measured in 32's. 8' & 10' Tall is real common, 12' pretty easy to find. Longer can be had by special order.

Joints need to be sealed & nailed / screwed down. Works out well on 24" on center studs. Not so well on 16" on center studs. Add an extra stud or put in 4 to 5 cross braces.

When going more than 1 sheet high, be sure to add "Z" flashing to the joint. Normal for me is to put a trim board over the flashing sealed across the top side.

Put Tyvek or other vapor barrier on before siding. Be sure the back of the T1-11 is sealed.


Spend as much time as needed to make sure first sheet is straight. Then it is pretty easy to keep them straight.

Yep they are heavy, nice to have 2 or even 3 people when putting it up. But even at my age I can put it up without help.

 

[joeyd]

When I put up my pole barn I wanted it to blend in with the house so I finished the front gable with Hardi-shingles and painted them to match the gable on the house. Luckily the steel paint scheme was a close match to the house. OSB sheeting was nailed to the front with house wrap over the OSB. The steel was attached to finish it off but using the Hardi-shingles keeps it from looking industrial.