Vinyl siding on a pole barn???

[Knight9]

Hi all,

We are considering a pole frame constructed garage/workshop/storage shed. It hopefully will look similar to the picture here <A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.barnsbarnsbarns.com/noff/elmridge.html>Pole Barn </A>.

The issue is this. We have vinyl siding on our house and would like whatever we build to match as it will be very close to our house.

I've talked to two contractors so far. One said it was no problem to put on vinyl, they would just have to sheet the exterior with plywood first. The other said no way, you don't want to do that. It may heave and crack.

Does anyone have any experience with vinyl on a pole building? Is this feasible or do I need to look at a standard frame construction on a frost footing? We are in Alberta so we do get cold temps....but we use vinyl on most houses up here.

Thanks,
Kevin

 

[TerryinMD]

Kevin,

I haven't seen many steel sheathed pole barns wrinkle or dimple, so why would the vinyl. The bigger issue with vinyl is that you would have to have additional nailing surfaces to secure the siding. That is probably why the one contractor suggested using plywood. This would drive up the cost significantly I believe.

Terry

 

[Knight9]

Actually Terry I asked him if that was going to be way more expensive to sheet the building. He said it was a little more, but not much more than the colored metal. The other contractor said he "could" do it and would sheet with plywood too, but he didn't want to and didn't think it was a good idea.

Kevin

 

[TerryinMD]

Kevin,

Really!! That's interesting.

What is the sheathing cost per square foot - metal vs vinyl?

Terry

 

[Knight9]

I can't answer that right now Terry as we haven't talked $/sq. ft or anything. I'm only going on his statement of similar cost. I know that vinyl siding is the cheapest exterior option we have in our area for homes, but then we don't do homes in metal..../w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif

Kevin

 

[rdln]

I see a few smaller barns being vinyl sided in my area (Michigan) foundations/poles must be at least 42inches deep here. It shoudnt be a problem although spend money on real plywood not OSB. Have you ever seen how easy nails are to pull out of OSB?

 

[Budinohio]

Kevin my barn is 42x48 with 7/16 osb then 3/4 stirofoam blue board and vinyl siding on top of that,it has been on for almost four years with no problems. I have no rat wall the posts are in the ground 6' and I went with shingles for the roof. On the inside I have 7/16 osb ceilings with 14" of NU-WOOL blown insulation. On the walls I have 7 1/2" of NU-WOOL insulation with 3/4 tounge and groove osb. My floor and equipment never sweat even before I insulated. My father in law has an all metal barn with no insulation and concrete floor. His barn floor sweats along with anything metal he has stored in it and unless you put in a ceiling and or insulate the roof you can't hardly stand to be in his barn when it rains.(NOISEY) that is why I went with wood over steel,as far as price I don't know if one was cheaper than the other but then I diddn't care. I know it is to each his own and I own vinyl. budinohio

 

[Knight9]

Great info Bud, thanks.

Kevin

 

[Anonymous Poster]

I have a 40x100 pole building sided with vinyl. Classic pole building: poles 42" deep on 8' centers, 2x4 purlins and side-nailers on 2' centers. Over this I have 5/8" OSB sheathing on roof and walls, shingle roof, vinyl siding.

None of the closest and most prominent barn builders in my area (incl. Morton, Stockade, etc.) wanted to build a vinyl sided barn. My wife outsmarted me and called the company that made the siding and found a builder with a good reputation a little further away.

 

[Robert_in_NY]

It can be done and will cost more depending on size but a couple thousand doesn't seem to far off base because you have extra material and labor as it does take quite a bit of time to install both the plywood and siding as opposed to the steel. The vinyl should not crack as barns do move but not that much and the vinyl will give enough to not worry about it, have the contractor you are talking to to run a price with both the steel and the vinyl and weigh out the advantages of both as even a metal barn can blend in with your house. I will get some pics of a barn we recently built that matches both the guys house and garage, the house and garage are vinyl while the building is all steel. You can also talk to some local lumber yards and see who they would recommend for contractors as they know most of them in your area and have a fairly good idea as to how trustworthy they are. Good luck and don't be afraid to ask the contractor a lot of questions as if they are decent they will not mind answering them for you, also when we bid we give the client our top price that we will not exceed and when we come in under they are extremly happy.

 

[Knight9]

Robert,

I don't think I have a case with my wife on the metal siding. Since this is actually a double garage/shop/storage and is so close to the house she is adamant that it be sided with the same siding. She would prefer me to just put up a basic garage package which is what I was originally planning on doing. Unfortunately the local county here has some definite ideas /w3tcompact/icons/crazy.gif about the square footage I'm allowed to build without full foundations etc. Pole structures don't apply however!! Thus I'm looking to circumvent a little.

Thanks for the reply. I couldn't see why vinyl would not be feasible. And I'm always game to see photos...so I would love to see more of your work. I saw the one you posted a while back. Looks like very nice work!

Kevin

 

[MarkV]

Kevin,
I think what you are running into is that the builders that tell you vinyl will not work just don’t work with much vinyl. Pole structures normally get covered with metal (at least these days) and the crews that put up pole barns many times specialize in just that. They have their system fine tuned to how long it will take, where to get their materials, what pricing works for them, ect….. You throw a twist into their system and they are unsure.

Robert’s comments were right on, in my opinion. No question a pole barn will move more than your house. By the time you cover it with ply or OSB though, you will have a pole barn that moves much less than most. I can’t see any reason that the vinyl can’t be used. If the barn builders are hesitant to do vinyl work maybe you should look for bids on the barn sheathed with ply and another bid from a vinyl company to cover it. Keep looking and you will find the right person to do the job.

MarkV

 

[StoneHeartFarm]

Kevin,

My new barn is 30x40 with 10' sidewalls. It is in the middle of a field on top of a hill in Michigan. I plan eventually to vinyl side, but for now have been installing T-1-11 Plywood. The reason is that the plywood will be considered a finished siding for the building inspector, will significantly strengthen the building and will make an excellent nailing surface for vinyl later. I see an awful lot of barns around here that are vinyl sided, and about the only time I've seen any crack has been when somebody's kids bounced a baseball off it in the middle of the winter.

Heaving might damage the vinyl, but your contractor should be taking precautions against it.

The other nice thing about the T-1-11 is that it goes up quick. I hung 20- 4x8 sheets by myself in 1 day. Hardest part was getting them level.

SHF

 

[Knight9]

Thanks for your replies guys!! I am quite pleased to hear that vinyl siding is not unheard of on pole barn style buildings. I will certainly follow the advice given, however, and get a quote with metal and one with vinyl to see how large the difference is. I'm sure I'll have sticker shock either way!!

On a slightly different vein, has anyone ever seen an electric door opener for sliding doors like those that are displayed on the picture (link) included in my first post? I'm wondering if you can attach an opener(s) to those type of doors.

Kevin

 

[Anonymous Poster]

I recommend that you do not use sliding doors unless you need an opening so big that you can't get an appropriate overhead door. Overhead doors can be insulated and seal weather-tight for not too much money, and using an opener with one is a no-brainer. Every sliding door that my family ever had has been switched to an overhead door.

 

[Knight9]

Rubintropfen,

I certainly agree with that assessment!!! I would prefer an overhead door, but I'm not sure what the impact will be to the cost due to the extra requirements from a structural perspective. If they remove the center post from the slider I would expect that would require larger carrying beams, larger posts etc. Might not be worth it???

I've asked that very thing however of one of the contractors so we'll see what he has to say.

Thanks,
Kevin

 

[WVBill]

SHF:

I have a barn very similar in size to yours that I used T1-11 siding on. Now, 2 years after I built it I'm getting around to thinking about an exterior finish. Vinyl siding would be one option but just getting the barn closed in used up all the budget.

Did you consider solid color stain? That's what I'm thinking about. I think paint would be too much maintenance forever.

Anyone used a solid color stain on T1-11 with success?

 

[cedarranch]

At my mom's lake home I built a 20x30x10 with t1-11. I let it dry for almost a year before using a UV stain. The stain lasted about 5 years before needing another coat. At that time my sister moved in and they painted it white. That was 7 years ago. Seems the paint is holding better than the stain. Or maybe the stain just gave it a good base? /w3tcompact/icons/hmm.gif

 

[StoneHeartFarm]

WVBill

I've though about stain or paint. At the house I'm in now, (barn is at the new house), I've got a small storage shed with T-1-11 that I built about 10 years ago. I painted the door and that's it. The rest I left alone and the T-1-11 has held up well, even along the bottom. The color is now gray, but not quite as nice a gray color as hundred year old barn wood. The door paint is still on and looks just about like it did when I put it on. One thing I recall from the process, however, is that the T-1-11 sucks up paint like you wouldn't believe.

Some grades of paint are getting some really long guarantees these days, but I think it's going to depend on the location (sun, wind, etc). My plan is to leave everything alone and then vinyl side in a couple of years, because I want to put a 2' high band of stone around the bottom. It'll make it look more like a frame garage.

SHF

 

[StoneHeartFarm]

Kevin,

I haven't seen an electric opener for sliding doors, but that doesn't mean there isn't one. I've seen fence gates that slid open and closed, I suppose the system could be adapted to doors. I went with 9x10 commercial grade overheads. (Only reason I got commercial grade is because that is what the Lumber Yard sent). Mine are Wayne Dalton TorqueMaster Doors (flat panel) and the Lumber Yard socked me just over $1,100.00 US for the pair. Embossed Panel doors would have added something like $400.00 to the bill.

SHF