Pole barn colors?

Dave H (MI)

Well-known Member
The contractor is trying to get over here to get a deposit and some final details so he can order the materials for our barn. But we are having a little trouble finalizing a color scheme. Originally, everyone seemed good with red. White trim, soffits, etc. Charcoal roof instead of jet black. Then I am hearing mention of other colors with contrasting wainscoting...

Just wondering if folks here have seen different combinations they like? I could use a little help.
 
Here's something I've learned over the years... never, ever let men pick a color scheme. You'll never hear the end of it.

That being said, the 2 tone looks nice, and adds to the price as well. I have a green and white one that looks good.

The standard red with white trim... have one of those too... is hard to beat though.

And a word of caution- dark colors tend to fade. Keep that in mind.
 
Don't worry about it., you'll be painting it in 20 years anyway. Then your wife will tell you what color it will be. Don't ask me how I know.
 
Dave,
Something to think about. Boss wanted the color of the siding and roof to be the same as her house. So the siding is a blue/gray, the 35 year shingles are charcoal.

I positioned the barn so the doors face the house. Then installed a security light to discourage break ins. So far so good.

I have a 1 ft eve, no gutters to clean. Flowers on ground to prevent rain from splashing dirt on siding. Barns with no eves will require gutters. Some barns with no gutters look green with mold growing on siding, water gets on siding.

I would also recommend translucent panels under the eves. Mine are about 2 ft, to the first perlin.

I put my barn on the highest part of property. Removed the sod. Got everything laser level before construction.

I have no desire to insulate mine. Today it was sunny. Outside temp 35. Inside temp close to 50. The dark metal acts like a solar collector. I can always count on a 10-15 degrees warmer inside if the sun is shinning. Keep in mind, no insulation, no heat source. The 6 in concrete floor acts like a heat bank.
 
We built a 30x40x12 two or three years ago. We ended up doing a black roof, red sides, black wainscoting, and black siding doors and both ends. I think it turned out really nice and it surprised the contractors. I'll try to snap a pic tomorrow and post it. We used jet black. I was concerned with the black roof making it hotter but with the bubble wrap insulation, I honestly can't tell a difference between it and my other wood barn with plain tin.
 
Dark colors sun fade faster than lighter colors. It seems even the light colors are starting to look rough by the time they are 30 years old, but from a distance they look OK longer.
 
I went with hunter green and charcoal from menards.
a180636.jpg
 
I'm hoping to put up a new shop. I'm with Ray on the color scheme of the light brown and green trim. That's kinda what I thought would look good with the Oliver theme anyway. You being an IH guy,I don't know how well that would match up for you though.
 
I agree with Coonie Minnie. Let the family pick, you will never win. This is a small building I built myself a few years ago, I wanted Red or Burgundy with Clay.
a180637.jpg
 
You mean they make them is something other than white with red trim???? LOL

I usually go with the white with green trim. here.

The colored main panels seem to lose there color after 20 years or so.

Some guys wives like to run the show on colors. Mine never cared what color my barns where and I do not care what color her cloths are. It works well for us.
 

A fella I know put muted red steel sides and charcoal steel roof on his hip roof barn. It's really attractive to my eyes, but that's a barn and you're probably putting up a pole building so those colors might not look as good on the shape of building you are building. With pole sheds, tan sides with dark blue wainscoting and charcoal roof is attractive to me.
 
Our Menards has those colors on their sample display. It looks quite nice. That barn is pretty much what we are building except we have two 10' sliders on the end and a smaller slider on the side. I need the big doors for the combine and the tractor also when the duals are on. Otherwise I would say they are pretty close. Came out nice, Ray! Hope mine looks as good.
 
Someone posted a picture of a pole barn in IH colors a while back. It was sharp. Even had the logo on the gable end. Not sure I want to go that radical, but I did like it! Can't find a link to it. Really doesn't make sense for me either as I have two dorfs in the collection and if I could find a nice Oilallover, maybe a 550 or similar, I might just add it too. Nice looking, useful tractor. Probably run circles on my 300U.
 
I thought I did let them pick! Originally, I was open to colors. They (wife, 2 daughters) all wanted red with white trim. So OK, nothing wrong with it. So what I do in these situations is get it all pictured in my head and it gets kind of familiar to me. Then the oldest starts showing up with pictures of barns from everywhere, shatters my mental image, leaves me full of doubt. Thing costs a lot to put up and I really don't want any buyers remorse!
 
Had our shed built October 2011. I was thinking white with red trim to match the red with white trim Quonset which is about 40 feet away but changed my trim to black to match farm house which is about 100 feet the other way.
a180656.jpg
 
Like I said I'll get a better pic tomorrow and post it. We really liked the way it turned out. I was going to go with the green and off gray or something similar but the wife talked me into this. And yes, it was actually a joint decision. The contractors hated the thought of it, but it turned out so nice that they added pics of it to there notebook to recommend to other customers.
 
I don't normally claim myself, but yeah, that's me....or the guy who ate me. I think the wife is fattening me up for the kill...
 
Mine is all grey with green roof. Looks nice - but very plain. Neighbor put up one with grey sides, roof and lower wall (3 feet) blue. Looks nice too.
Rest of our buildings are grey with green shingles, so new barn doesn't look put of place. What would go well with your other buildings? Pole barns usually larger than other buildings, and you don't want to overshadow other buildings.
 
Ask your salesman if they have software to show different color combinations on your building. The manufacturer's website might already have one online that you can experiment with. If your manufacturer does not have one, one off their competitors probably does.
 
Casey: You need less ballast this way. LOL

I always tell mine she is trying to hurry the life insurance. LOL
 
Go with what ever colors your wife likes, happy wife/ happy life. I would recommend putting skylight panels along one side under the eves. Neighbor has this on 2 sheds, walk inside with the doors closed and it's light enough inside to see what you are doing without opening a door or turning on lights. Chris
 
While helping in laws pic a carport, we noticed that in the hot summer(SC KY) White roof was 10 degrees cooler side by side comparision.
 
Front barn 28 years old. Rear 13 years old. Repainted the front (slightly faded) to match the back when I put up the back. After painting, you couldn't see a color difference. Now, I wish I would have left it alone. Color is way different than it was.
a180687.jpg
 
I've never seen a colored one yet that didn't fade over time, no matter what they tell you.
So when I built mine I went white all the way-roof, sides, trim, doors. It's about 12 or 13 years old now, and looks as good as the day it was put up.
I also went with a clear ridge cap which lets in plenty of light. We also put rigid foam under the roof steel, and just crushed rock for the floor, and it doesn't really sweat that much. It's used strictly as a storage building.
I don't have a real good picture of mine either. This is all I could come up with for now.


mvphoto15492.jpg
 

We sell tractor parts! We have the parts you need to repair your tractor - the right parts. Our low prices and years of research make us your best choice when you need parts. Shop Online Today.

Back
Top