Building Plans for Tractor Shed

I'm going to build a new tractor shed. Or should I say my first tractor shed. I have an idea of what I want but want to run it by you guys. I plan to make it 60x30 and it to only have a roof slanting in one direction. I have a smaller building to do my maintenance and all the other stuff in. This will just be a lean too of sorts to keep the elements off on my equipment. Any way I plan to make the span from front to back 15 feet then center pole then the other 15 feet back. My width will be 12 foot spans. I plan on making the front 18 feet high and the rear 12 feet high. This should give me a good slope and good clearance. My posts will be 6x4 running up and my trusses will be made of 2x8s will this be sufficient to support my buildings. Sorry is so long. I'm trying to find a free cadd program to draw it up.
 
Why so tall? 12 foot high opening at front should take care of your size tractors.7 foot in back? Check at building supplier for minimum pitch for snow loads and runoff.
 
WIth the muffler on the Super M and the corn picker I wanted some head space. Also we are going to be getting a backhoe soon and what to be able to store the boom under roof. Might drop it to 10 feet and 16 up front.
 
The guy at Tacoma Truss Co. drew up my plans, on his computer, not entirely free, cause I was buying my trusses from them, but only charged for the trusses. I put up a 21'x 20' three bay tractor shed, came out 21'x 60', using a carport co. It looks like what it is, 3 carports joined togeather. I put them on 4 concrete runners, 1' wide, and 3' tall. Only enclosed on 3 sides. It gets pretty windy here, at times, and the concrete not only provides needed height, but also weighs them down, and makes them sturdy.
 
Here are some rough plans
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Tall sidewalls are better than short! What fits now may be too short 5 years from now. L have a 50' by 64' shop with 14' side walls and I wish now it was at least 18' sidewalls and at least 16' longer! Armand
 
The posts running down the middle are going to be a PITA. Look into a conventional roof- with trusses. It will be worth the extra money.
 
I built a sheep barn like you are proposing about 15 years ago. I put the posts 15 feet apart each way, and have had no problems. I used 2x12 on each side of the post, set in a notch, to hold the rafters. I will try to post a picture, but I am not sure the way I built it will show.
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Not a expert by any means but after doing a lot of reading planning my new shed I can tell you I feel.....

A 6 foot drop over 30 feet is only 2.4 in 12 slope. Not very much unless you live in the deep south.
4x6 post are not big enough for 18 or even 12 feet sticking out of the ground.
I do not fully understand your rafter truss lay out so I will not comment on that.
 
Thats what I wanted John. I need to see what size posts I need to run up. I Planned to run 2x10s doubled up across the front spans then run 2x8's to the next center posts. Metal roof.
 
Mr. Fuller, Why don't you make it 15 or 16' high and put a gable roof on it , then you won't need any center posts. Most real lumber yards include the truss design at no cost when you buy them and that may be a cheaper way to go because there will be no need for all those footings for all the center posts. Just my thoughts, Chuck
 
Please look at pre manufactured trusses.

Those fellas deal in volume, and no waste.

Often you can get a truss cheaper and then it is properly engineered

A truss would get rid of those miserable middle poles. That will save money too.

A truss could be the mono slope you are looking at.

It could be more of a regular peaked roof, which is stronger design.

Or could be a greatly offset peaked roof - pretty much combines the 2, mostly a big mono slope with a little bit of peak to the front side.

I would least like the big mono slope you plan.

And I would not like the middle poles at all.

Putting a door in an end wall, instead of the bays all along one side also allows a much wider door than the 12 foot bas you plan on.

12 foot is very limiting. The old shed dad built has 16 foot doors, and my dualed Ford TW20 tractor fits in that width, it does not fit in a 12 foot door.

I would imagine your goal is the most building for the dollars spend.

I think you could build a better shed for the same money by getting rid of the middle poles and using pre made trusses.

I would look at putting a wider door in an end wall, even if you keep the bays.

If you want advice on what works and what doesn't, you will need to provide a location, so folks can get a handle on your snow load and wind load. Here where I live your 6x6 poles would not handle either the wind load on that tall a building, nor the snow load on that big a roof. It would not even be close. However on the south, I see buildings built with what look like tinker toy size beams spanning 12 feet.......

Also, what are you using for siding/ roof tin I would guess, and are you putting the roof beams flat or on edge, and how far apart are you spacing them? Every little piece makes a difference.........

Paul
 
You'd be better with a set of trusses- you can make them easily enough yourself if you set up a jig for them- and go up to AB Martins and get some tin for a roof. Go two feet higher to 14' of clearance- you'll thank yourself for it one day. And do it with trusses and clear span, and go out to forty feet. Use a truss every four feet of length, and 2x4 purlins spaced 2' apart. You have enough snow that the pitch should be about 4-12, and the extra space inside without posts is well worth it. You'll grow as time goes, and run out of room quickly with 15' spacings. And, you'll save some on posts....
 
You need to contact your local building department and see what their requirements are first. If you are strictly ag, you may not need a permit, but for most pole barns you will need to pull a permit and submit drawings. In my county (northern OH), anything with more than a 12" height, floor to the bottom of trusses needs to be engineered. As someone else commented, use trusses, as I recall, you are in PA or NY and will have to contend with snow load. If your low wall is at 12", in my county, 4/12 is the minimum pitch, your high wall would be over 20". 12" span over doors or an open sided lean too will probably need to be 2 -2"x12" LVL. It pays to check with your building department first and a good local lumber co. can also aid you.
 
Oh man, 6x4 poles, no way, those are for shorter heights. No way they will handle 18 feet.

Laminated posts are much stronger than cut posts. Glue and nail 3 or 4 2x8 together to make a post. Then you don't need quite as long a wood, and the knots will be in different places. The bottom 6-10 feet are pressure treated so it soaks in the 2x pieces better, and the top doesn't need to be pressure treated to save money.

When you look at the trusses, ask about poles too - again, the factories that make these have gotten real good at doing volume work and pricing it pretty cheap, cheaper than you can buy the parts yourself.

Now all different if you have your own sawmill, or a relative and using home grown wood, and full size not the boughten 2x stuff that is only 1.5 inch.......

Paul
 
Using #2 Spruce-Pine-Fir and a Ground Snow Load of 30psf No ceiling with a Dead Load = 10psf 2X8 are good for a span of 15'1" at 16 on center. 24 on center is only 12' 1".

So if you want to use 2x8 you need to stay 16 o/c.
Double 2x10 since It needs to also carry all the 2x8's is not big enough. Double 2x12 with a plywood center is more in order.
Post should be at least 6x6 on short end and most likely 8x8 on tall end.

Now let me say this is only to give you advise of places to start what to do since I have no idea where you live.

If you really want some good advise look into steel trusses. You can get 30 foot span for about 250 each and you space them 10 to 12 foot apart so you only need 6 to 7 of them to cover 60 feet. You just mount them to post; put 2x6 purlins on edge and apply tin. Very nice; easy; and come with stamped plans for your county.
This is what I will be using in my shed.

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I built mine 24 deep and 32 wide used 26' long metal roof mine is 16' front and 8' in the back,used 1" randum width rough cut hard wood for the sides used 2X12X16' for front middle and end then set the posts on concrete pillars from Home depot (the ground was all shale rock) if the building is side or back to the wind and FULL no fear of lifting the price was $3100 total and is built to add more later. I also set a 851 New Holland baler in it and a 2-85 cabed White in it
 
Well from the early look of things I can go to trusses and I knew middle poles would be a pain. MIght as well eliminate them as early as possible. As for sides I dont plan on putting any sides on. I want to be able to pull through from one end to the other. I am in SW PA so we have some decent snow loads and some wind but this is out of most of the winds way. I will keep everyone updated on this as the work progresses.
 
I would like to suggest the following.

Buy a 40 ft engineered truss. Place them either on 24" or 36" centers. Whatever engineered for. Use 2 2X12 with plywood glued between them for the plates to sit your trusses on. Use 8X8 or even 10x10 treated post spaced 16 ft apart. Uses treated 4X4 to make brace between post and plate. Use lag bolts and notch 8X8 1/4" deep to place brace into. Cover with tin, aluminum or covering of choice. Let engineered know what you are going to use so trusses can be designed appropriately. You can build it as high or low as you like. With this design if you need addition space in the future you can add to the sides(lean to ) for minimal cost.

I am looking at building a second one like this this year. Cost of materials for a 40w X 48L is approx $6000. This includes, hurricane straps, nails, bolts glue, bracing etc.

If you would like a couple of pic of how I have done mine email me.
 
Here are pics of a storage building that I built for our local CNH dealer to store combines and hay balers in. It is 80X30' with a 3' cantilevered eyebrow. The rear 2X12" plates are let into treated 6X6' poles, 10'oc and thru bolted. The front poles are 8X8 laminated posts and the 32' 16" microlams are also "let in" and thru bolted to the posts, 16'oc. The cantalivered trusses were custom built as per my specs, Pro Build lumber co. supplied all the engineering, and materials. All the poles are set on concrete piers.
Loren, the Acg.
 
Can't you do what I did? I happened on good secondhand sheds and worked them to suit my site. I am sure you can find secondhand trusses somewhere....Look for guys who do demolition. Our buildings may not siuit your snow loads . But any you find in your own area should.
Good luck with your project.....Sam
 
Thanks John. I appreciate your time I will look into it. The building inspector is a complete A-hole and that is being extremely nice. I know I will need a permit I'm hoping for farm use I can get around that. I will have to look into it.
 
Not in snow country.

In snow country, you space the poles and the trusses the same distance apart. 6, 8, or 9 feet is common. Truss directly on top of the pole each time. Plates just hold poles together, and side load wind loading, no actual roof weight.

An exception is 8 foot pole spacing, 4 foot truss spacing.

Bigger spacing than that, or having more trusses than poles, ends up using too much wood for the plates and such.

In snow load country.

Really any building will use about the same amount of wood. Stick built 2 foot spacing takes more nails and labor, but is easier to finish out.

A pole building goes up quicker and only a tiny bit of wood savings. If you use better quality wood you can use less wood, but each pice of wood costs more.

But they get real close on amount of wood no matter how you build them, if you engineer it out right.

If you scrimp or cheat on the wood grade, well...... You notice those buildings a lot on the heavy snow years every 6-10 years.......

Paul
 
If you are worried about supporting your building, find a structural engineer. They will be able to tell you the loads, the framing requirements and the bracing requirements for your current design.
If I were to build a shed for my toys I would sit down and run the calculations before building.
 
I can't imagine a 30'x 60' roof being open on both long sides and having enough bracing for snow and wind. I would be talking to a structural engineer before I parked something under it.
 
Open sided sheds only keep the rain off if it's coming straight down.

Open sided sheds only keep the sun off if it's high noon in the middle of summer.

My grandfather had a shed similar to what you describe, except it was enclosed on three sides. It acted like a giant funnel when the weather came from the open side.
 
Good plan with the 18 foot height. Even if you dont have that size equipment right now.

I built a 40x60x14, I put in 12 foot doors. Now I have problems getting one thing in there. Wish I would have gone to at least 14 foot doors.

Rick
 
any lumber company that provides you with material, if they are repitable will offer an engineer to go over your plan and be aprised of local codes as well. If they cant previde the engineer then go to your local building inspector and he can give you the required material minimums. This should all be offered free of charge. Good luck, we have lots of these type building in my area storing hay and straw bales in different sizes.
 
I put up a hay shed that way back years ago. 40 x 100', open all the way around, 20' doors on both ends. I closed it up on three sides- east, north and west- about three years ago after I added a 24 x100 lean-to roof on the southerly side. My biggest regret is that I only went to 14' to the bottom cord of the trusses, and that I didn't put the siding on earlier, and I have already put up another shed that is 50 x 100' for more storage....
 

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