Traditional Barns vs Pole Barns

Four guys did my 30x40 from start to finish in less than 16 hours. No cranes, but they did have a skid loader mounted auger, chain saw, circular saw, and nail guns. It was quite amazing.

I'm looking at some free Gambrel Barn plans from Canada Plan Service and with a 38' wide barn you have two rows of 4x4 posts 13' in from each side and every 8' down the length of the barn - to support the loft floor. I imagine with a pole barn, you get a smaller upstairs but a larger open area below.

RO

Robert, the floor support has absolutely nothing to do with the outside style of the structure. The span of joists will be determined by their load carrying abilities. Flat trusses could be designed to clear span the 38' in wood or steel. It will always be a compromise of cost of materials, height clearances, ease of construction. You don't mention the depth of the joists in your plans, but I imagine it is done with 2x8 to span 13 feet. This will always be subject to load requirements, deflection limits, and span tables.

The 4x4's seem a bit small but if I understand his design....he'll have a forest of them. Worst case each 4x4 will see the load from approx 100 sq ft of loft. Easily handled by a 4x4 unless he's gonna spec book library / file storage.

Larger "poles" at the barn perimeter only or a single row down the middle would give more freely used floor space. A pole every 13' across the barn & every barn 8' along the length is going to really chop up the space.

Of course a 38' clear span is going to require some pretty deep floor trusses. I'd guess something in the 24" / 26" depth range depending on design loads and loft floor "bounce" tolerance.

cheers Bob

Yeah. I'm thinking more along the lines of 6x6's or 6x8's at minimum for a pole barn.

------------------------------------- J. Benson Marketing Consultant Pole Barns