Al Baker(pumpman)
Member
I am not a carpenter, but have built 5 small pole barns after moving on this place 20 years ago. Biggest one was 24x66 with 14 foot lean to. This hay barn will be 53x96 with 3 sides having lean to. I am trying to use professional builders for guidance on how to build. Here in west mich we have a 58 lbs. dead snow load rating. to carry that much weight I must use two 2x12 one on top each other, on each side of the upright 8x8. This means FOUR 2x12s for each 8 feet. It will cost almost 3 grand just for headers! I looked at kit buildings that came in the mail like Menards, Lowes, ect. I started saving money and started to get things ready. When it was time to pull the trigger on a package I found out that the prices in the sale flyers was for central lower Michigan. Because I live in Northern, but worse yet ,western Michigan I have to build everything much stronger. Each company I called quoted me 30-40% more for a package than what was in their sale paper. It took me two seasons to get my wallet in order to be able to build. Now I find out that lumber is so much higher than I first thought, that very little money is left for labor. I did think I could use oak for a header but was told it will warp and crack while drying. Small barns you can fudge a little. this one has to be right. I have too much money invested to turn back, and not enough to just throw money at the problem. I refuse to go to a bank, so I am trying to find a different way to skin this cat. Guess the 15 years that passed between now and last barn I built lumber has really went up. Sure feel sorry for the young folks trying to get started.