Pole Barn advice/Tips & Tricks/ Pictures I want to build a pole barn in 5 or so years (I work on a glacial time scale). The dream is to be at least 3-4 bays, one of which will have a 4 post lift so at least one section will have to have to be ___ feet. I might even want to wall off a small section for an office. I will build it in West Virginia once I retire and buy out mom and dad. I plan to do most of the work and farm out a few things. It has to look good due to its location on the property. So if anyone has pole barn porn pictures post them and I will use them for reference.
Build at least a 40 by 60 with a 14 foot side !! and insulated real well!! and this might not be big enough :Brow:
Build it big! Mine is 36 by 60 plus a 12 foot porch on the end. Budget for the complete package. We spent most of our budget on the building alone and decided to wait for insulation, electric etc. 6 years later the electrical is about75% done and only one 12 foot section is insulated. If you do the roll up doors, add the seals and insulation. Here's some shots of mine during build and just before the concrete was done.
Be sure that it is well-drained. There is no such thing as a wooden pole stuck into the ground that is permanent.
I'd advise you to build it bigger than you think you'll NEED. There always seems to be something else you wanna cram in there, and you dont want to wish you had a little more walking room or working room.
I would have been happy to build a little bigger except I had to get a $500 building permit exemption just to build a 30x32. I have gotten 4 cars in it in a pinch. I got 10' walls and I would have liked to put up the 12' ones that most car lift places recommend but it would have made the thing look like a warehouse with giant slab walls in the back yard and I had a heck of a time convincing my wife to let me put it up in the first place. The biggest mistake(s) I made was not putting up a shingled roof/or not insulating right away with the expanding spray on stuff. I think they wanted $3500 to spray 2" of insulation everywhere and the only time to really do that is when there is nothing in the building. I don't remember what the roof would have been but it was something like $2K extra. The key with the roof is you can't go back and add it later because with only the metal roof they put the trusses up on 48" centers so you can't do an easy retrofit. The insulation/roof would definitely help with heating but generally I don't work in the garage much when it is really cold although this year I installed a 100K BTU propane ceiling heater. It heats the garage pretty good but as soon as you turn it off it only takes minutes for the heat to go out the walls. Regular insulation is on my list. The real problem without shingles or roof insulation is the NOISE when it rains! I can hear if one drop hits the roof. I think I can hear it if a snowflake hit the roof. The lighest shower sounds like a heavy rain. You'll walk outside and you can barely feel it hitting you. A normal rain is close to too much noise and anything more than that is unbearable unless you have earplugs in. One time I was in there when some small hail came down and you had to run out of the garage! I usually just don't go out to the garage if is more than a shower. To recap: Get a shingle roof or insulate it right away. I ran surface mount conduit for all electrical except lighting and I made sure every post has a recepticle on it. You are never too far to plug something in. I love having it though and it beats the heck out of working in the front 2 car garage plus all the extra storage.
check mine Dave and I can tell you where its good and where I should've done something different,give me a call when you get a chance. gary
I was thinking of asking you questions about your barn. I have to pick your brain on it. Hey Gary do you have an oil pump primer handy. I'm working in Kent the next two weeks. The paine estate is about 1/2 way
Nothing like bringing up an old thread!! Pole barn is in the future still a year or two away. Two questions: 1.Cost of building 30x60 2.Cost of concert? Like it to look something like
40x60 6in concrete pad smooth finish is $7k in my area $4500 in just the material 44.4 cubic yards 30x60 can be done for $11k from local pole barn builders 40x60 8ft on center is $14,800 assembled
I have a 40x64 pole building with 14’ eves. With gutters and a man door was just under $20k. Just a thought, if you plan on doing a loft in a portion of the building, I’d suggest going up another 2’. My loft is mostly going to be for parts storage, but it’ll only be about 6.5’ high. I had mine built by the Amish. They were done in 2 days and did a great job.
That’s a lot cheaper than in my area, Ethan. I shopped around for concrete and ended up paying close to $15k. 4” thick with 2 6” piers poured for my lift.
Don't always go with the least expensive. Often, you get what you pay for. When we built our second barn (40X36), I checked some places and their trusses had 2X3 rafter/joist ties, 2X10 only on the bearing walls. I also, being in the snow belt, bought 5-12 pitch trusses. I used 2X12s around the entire wall perimeter, inside and out. Yes, I over-built a bit, but we have strong winds across a lot of open field and our two building not so much as creak. Some pics:
Take it from A farmer we have been building pole barns longer than anyone. Todays treated lumber is not like the old stuff. A poured foter and short wall is best but much more expensive. If you want to build pole type use concrete poles.https://www.permacolumn.com/ Take a look at the product here. If you want to take a look at the buldings on our farm pm me to set it up.
