Tractor Pole barn, part 1

[treeboone]

This is the beginning of a 20 by 30 pole barn (maybe larger, who knows...) This is my wife peeling poles with a drawknife, I just skidded in some more with the L4610. The site is being cleared and I hope to have a mobile bandsaw mill work up some lumber for purlins and rafters. Tomorrow I will deck the logs and hook up the backhoe for stump removal. More pictures as time allows. I could afford to buy lumber, but the quality has been so poor that I feel stupid buying it when Im cutting it up for firewood. This makes a fairly crude but practical building. I thought some folks would find it amusing to see it done.

 

[Bill_in_MI]

Please keep the pics coming. I'd like to see the faming when you get there. Looks like a nice setting, too.

 

[beenthere]

What tree species are you using for poles? How do they peel this time of year? Will you use the same species for the rafters and purlins? Interesting and ambitious project.

 

[scruffy]

Add a pic of the milling process also! Why buy the lumber when you got it all standing there on the 'hoof' so to speak?

 

[StoneHeartFarm]

Treeboone,

That draw knife is a hard way to skin those logs. It's the way we always done it, but it's the hard way. The one log furniture manufacturer I watched does it with an electric hand planer. Just set it on the log and run it down the length.

We used the draw knife and also hand spuds made from an old leaf spring welded to a pipe handle. They really help with trouble spots. Definitely send some pics as this goes up. Especially pole setting, (I'm interested to see how you square this project.)

SHF

 

[treeboone]

The logs are lodgepole, common in this area.When found in thick growths it is tall, slender and straight, a good teepee pole, thus the name. The bark is very thin and smells great. My wife takes about 15 minutes to peel one of these. One advantage of this tree is that it is not much harder to skin in the fall when the bark sets. Another advantage is they do not warp significantly, but may split somwhat. If I can hire a small bandsaw mill, that would be fine for the other lumber. If not I may just buy a basic mill. From what I've seen they are like tractors and sell for almost new price if cared for. Yes pictures will be forthcoming. As far a "square" goes, that is a 'hold your mouthright' issue. The engineers in the group better bring smelling salts. My house is pole built and it is not square. The floors squeak and the walls are wavy. We do love it however, it is comfortable to us in all seasons. The interior is a combination of wafer wood, cedar and knotty pine. I suppose the main issue is keeping the poles straight up. The basic layout will be measured square. We will pour small footing pads with quickcrete, and set pinned pier blocks on top. The poles will rest on the pier block pin. The center poles are 13 feet, the walls are 9. They will be cut to length later. Today is groundwork. Pictures this evening.

 

[Ches]

Would love to see your progress on the pole barn. Keep the pics coming. Like some of the others, I can't see buying the lumber when you have it. Also, there is a sense of great satisfaction when you complete the project, know you did it yourself, and the materials came from your own land. Makes you proud, and rightfully so!

Ches

 

[bgott]

What are you going to use for preservative? Do you have termite problems in Idaho? Here in southeast Texas between the moisture and the bugs untreated wood buried in the ground doesn't last very long.

 

[treeboone]

One reason I am doing this myself is because the treated lumber available was so wet when pressure treated that barely any treatment was absorbed. The 4x4's warped so bad they spun on the pier blocks. Why pay premium $ for junk? We have wood bugs of all kinds here, but they prefer moist wood with bark on it laying on the ground. The posts for this barn will be set on pier blocks and off the ground, I guess there is better eating elsewhere for bugs.