I'm planning on putting up a pole building.It will be used for storage of a boat ,tractor etc.Also I plan on a workshop inside and mechanical room.Any thoughts on things I should take note of before I start.I have some building experience in regular construction,but not the pole barn type.Any and all ideas are welcome!!
This book will cost you about 10 bucks. It's probably worth ten times that.
Pole barns are the easiest most understandable type of building to construct. There are many good books on the subject so read up.
One decision is whether to use real poles or dimensioned timbers for your main supports. Poles are stronger. Timbers are more expensive but easier to use. When using a tapered pole you plumb the inside surface of the pole.
Roof design is another major decision. Trusses are usually used and gives you that uninterrupted space which is so nice. However, they required equipment and manpower to install. Ordinary roof designs can be used you just have to have those intermediate supports taking up your floor space. You might also need longer poles to reach the ridge.
My pole building will use dimensioned timbers on 12ft centers. I will drill the holes with an bobcat auger. I will use concrete in the holes since my soil is poor. Trusses are in my design and I will hire a crew and machine when the time comes. Steel is the siding of choice and is what i plan to use.
There are many other things to be considered. Those are just a few. What problems or questions do you anticipate?
Depending on your geographic location, an option might be a
A relation of mine put one of these up, and its a really slick package - well engineered, complete package of wall panels, top plates, trusses, purlins, roof insulation, steel siding and roofing, trim & fascia materials, rat fillers, fasteners, and drawings. ( no i don't work for them....) Wall panels are a sort of SIP, but using dimensional framing instead of OSB skins.
Can be installed on slab with footing, or concrete piers on 8' centers.
I'm going to be ordering a package for a 32'x56' with two man-doors, a roll-up door, and trim for 3 windows later this spring. Current price is
10,800 for the materials package. He also offers slab insulation. Only negative is max 10' eave height which limits you to an 8' high roll-up versus pole building which can go higher.
wow
very very cool!!
Yes! Use PT lumber or it won't be long before you are rebuilding.
If you still want to save money you may want to look into deviating from the traditional pole building and use poured concrete piers below ground transitioning to your juniper poles above ground. It will mean adding some bracing and a connector but the cost may be offset by getting away from 24' treated 6x6's.
The Juniper simply wont last underground.
Mark
Why do you need such a tall door? Don't buy more door than you need. Unless you have very large equipment you can likely get by with something smaller. Smaller doors will be less expensive and more reliable.
One neighbor turned his hay field into a landing strip. He built a barn (hangar?) for the plane. His solution was to buy folding doors. I have only seen roll up doors used on commercial storage but I'm sure you can get them if you really want.
As far as I know, Juniper and Cedar are the same wood. Where I am, it cost about three times the cost of treated. Cedar is very rot resistant but like the others said, PT last a lot, lot longer. So, there is no cost savings unless you harvested the poles yourself.
Many, many, very cool interior ideas are available for the pole building. If you use trusses you will have a completely open floor plan which can be divided and insulated at your whim. Multiple levels are possible as well as cantilevered decks and living spaces.
Pole structures are incredibly strong since the load is transferred directly to the ground and will support surprisingly large cantilevers. This can give yu a lot of square feet exterior of the poles and not easily obtainable with conventional construction.
Some designs which include insulated walls actually build the walls onto a cantilevered support. This allows you to build an uniterrupted wall without any interference with the sub-structure. That's just one idea since the pole structure is so simple yet strong and very adaptable to many different designs.
Pole barns have their downside of course. But for the owner builder it is by far the easiest and most cost effective thing to build and you can have every expectation that it will outlast you.
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