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Any last minute recommendations on pole barn build?

J

JohnDeereJimOhio

Member
I just scheduled to have a 40x60x14 pole barn built, it will have two full lean too's 12 foot wide... main roof pitch is 4/12 lean toos will be 3/12 contractor said at lowest side of lean too I will be at 10 foot tall.. contractor is usuing all metal, wrapping whole building in bubble wrap or drip wrap. 6x6 post in main building and 4x6 on lean toos. Main front door will be 16w by 12h with electric opener. Building will also have a man door front and rear. It was priced with 4-1/2 in concrete in main shop for just under $40,000 dollars.. I will be installing water electric and pex piping pre cement for in floor heat. This shop will be used to house tractors and vehicles as well as work on them and do some fabricating work. Lean too's will be used to store equipment trailer and horse trailer. As well as hay and other equipment.

So my main question is before they show up to build this in May is there anything I should change or anything else I should do based on your guys experiences with buildings you have built.
 
do the insulation just under the roof tin. i have a 60x120 morton that was put up before i bought the farm. it has a 30x60 insulated shop, the rest is un-insulated. the roof gets condensation on the un-insulated side and it rains in the building after sun up.
 
Drive through doors on both ends are nice. Man doors in all 4 sides save a lot of walking.
I ended up putting a ceiling in my work area. Birds find a way to get in and make a mess on tools and parts.
Sky lights or clear siding along the top to let in a little bit of light? If not you'll need lots of light switches.
 
The poles for the lean-to's shouldn't be too hard to replace when the time comes.

The poles for the shop area with the pex floor are probably going to be difficult to replace. I'd sure try to keep the wood out of the dirt under the heated floor.
 
How deep in the ground are they going with the post and do the use any cement and how do they nail the boards on top ? Amish around here were doing big business building pole sheds cheap over time it became evident why. Not to long ago a wind storm came and lifted some of these buildings right out of the ground and one building for the second time. A second reason was instead of nailing the 2 x 4 's on top vertical they put them horizontal and used less lumber that way and lost strength. Best bet go look at other buildings that were put up and talk to the owners about pro's and con's. I've seen one shed built with three inch overhang on one end and barely on the other side.
 
On the floor heat they make a grid they put down and run the pex thru it. It looks like an egg carton. Not sure of the name but it works well.
 
Sounds like a nice place. I'd of liked to of done a lot of things to mine different but every little thing seems to add about $ 1,000 dollars !
One thing would be make it 2 x bigger than you plan. And some others you are doing like making it tall enough for a car lift and adding the side lean to.
 
Watch what they use to attach the metal roof. Our shed has exposed screws that had a rubber gasket under them. The building is not quite 20 years old and the roof leaks like a sieve. All the rubber gaskets or grommets are gone. Last summer I went up and caulked as many as I could. We are looking at replacing the roof with a standing seam metal roof with no screws that are not exposed to the weather.
 
Getting recommendations after awarding contract is closing the barn door after horses are out.

You will get whatever was bid.
 
If you're in a cold climate: make sure the main entrance faces south and let the sun warm, melt the apron area.

Clear lexan or polycarb panels on the top 2' of the walls makes a HUGE difference in the interior light. My dad just had a new shed put up with the clear panels. He likes it so much, he's hired the company to retrofit his other older sheds with the same thing. Difference is (literally) night and day!
 
While planning mine, I looked at buildings which had bubble wrap on the roof. In a few years, it sags - looks bad.
I went with steel which has a "fuzzy" coating on the bottom. No drips, looks good

I second the suggestion for light panels in the sidewalls. Many days with all doors closed, I do not need to have the lights on.
 
Agreed on the light panels in the side walls - even with the lean too on both sides they will still let in a fair amount of light. I would NEVER put them in the roof.

My shed as the roof screwed on and the walls nailed on - seen a lot of sheds lose their roof and leave the walls but I've never seen one lose the walls and leave the roof.
 
Just some random thoughts:

I second the upper transparent panels.

Friend in northern Michigan had a barn built last year. Builder recommended sheeting with OSB, then tar paper, then steel. Keeps underside from freezing, condensing, and raining in the building with occasional heat used.

In floor heat is really nice, so I understand. Hope you're insulating the slab from underneith and the sides. Make sure the foam used is underground rated though. Not all foams are the same.

From each drive-in door, pour a ramp several feet out from the building that ends up below grade. This way, the corner of the slab is not strained if it ends up, over time, several inches above the drive way.

If you're worried about break-ins, no grade level windows on the blind sides of the building.

Thinking about a ceiling supported chain hoist or bridge crane assembly ?

Thinking about a pole mounted jib crane? Need a little more concrete in that area.

Many discussions about screws leaking in the past. Several reccommend fastening on the crowns of the ribs, out of the water. Check with your builder.

Power coming in from a pole or underground? If underground, bury a conduit so it comes up thru the edge of the slab, and not have an external conduit feeding the place. Cap it for now, then uncap and attach the remaining conduit to finish the project.

Kids or grand kids available to hand print & sign the slab at the right time ?

Pete
 
If it is floor heated you will do insulated Windows, not the transparent sheets. They would work inthe up heated lean tons.

I'd have made the door bigger, but that is kinda set now. I farm with 1980s equipment and few items fit in dads big shed with the 11x16 doors, barely get the dualed tractor in such a narrow door.

Paul
 
If you plan on heating the whole building in Ohio then those clear panels others suggest will do nothing but let the heat out.
My last building I put purlins on the inside and put R19 fiberglass insulation bats in the space on the walls. Put liner panel on the inside and then had R30 fiberglass blown in the ceiling. Very easy to keep warm enough to work in it and stays cool in the summer. You will need vented soffit overhangs if you want to insulate and heat it.
I have seen double bubble but my buildings just have the regular vapor barrier. You need a vapor barrier on the bottom of the roof panels in Ohio.
 
Hi, I was at a shop some time back where the fellow put some coffee cans poured into the concrete along the walls with re bar so he could hook a chain to anchor some part when he was wanting to straighten it. Ed Will Oliver BC
 
I'd recommend Higher side wall, but for sure I'd say a 14 foot tall main door. And shops are never big enough..
 
And 48' wide.
I built 48 x 96' on recommendation of contractor. Dimmensions on 8' multiples make it much easier. If you put heating tubes in floor put them in sections so you can choose which sections you want to heat at any time. May have times when you don't need to heat all of barn. Going to be very expensive to heat that big an area. On my barn, we put 5/8" water resistant OSB down with a plastic membrane under steel. No leaks or condensation problems. Went 2' spacing on rafters (trusses) with plenty of bracing. Don't cut corners. You only want to put it up once.
 
Mike,
I have clear panels below my eves. I like the light they let in. However I don't plan to insulate and heat my barn. I would recommend clear panels from the top purlin to the top 2x12 down both sides. geo
 
Make sure the contractor is building with the correct poles, that have enough chemical. Ordinary lumber yard poles very well might NOT have enough chemical. Just cause the label reads Ground Contact, that is probably only good enough to use for 15-year longevity. Here's what you need;
?NatureWood? Alkaline Copper Quaternary ACQ
Minimum 0.60 pcf ACQ for Structural / Building Pole / Foundation Use

?Micro-Pro / Smart-Sense? Micronized Copper Quaternary MCQ
Minimum 0.60 pcf MCQ for Structural / Building Pole / Foundation Use

?Micro-Pro / Life-Wood? Micronized Copper (tebuconazole) Azole MCA
Minimum 0.23 pcf MCA for Structural / Building Pole / Foundation Use

Ordinary lumber yard poles might not have enough chemicals.
Those poles might only be approved by the manufacturers for decks or fence posts, not for permanent structural building foundations.
 
Don't bother with pex for heat unless you're going to insulate under the slab. I don't mean double bubble either I mean proper XPS insulation minimum R5 or R8 even better.
 
I have SEVERAL buildings that are over 12 years old with bubble wrap under the metal. Purlins on 4 ft. and NO sagging. I think it is all on what you use and how well it is installed. We never build even if no heat or open sides , we still use bubble wrap under the metal. Skylights , clear panels or what ever waste heat if you are trying to heat the space forget them.
 
IF i was to build a building it would be a steel building setting up on a two foot concrete wall with no less then six inch floor and have it over rated for snow load . Did some pricing of one last year on a 50x88 with half shop and half storage . and with out getting down to the electric part and bolting it together ourselfs with the concrete and yes i called around for best price and it came in under 38000, Now then we would have to add one week of dozer rental and barrow a back hoe to dig footers barrow forms to me it is a better building then a pole barn . and yes i have helped put up other metal buildings . First one every screw nut and bolt was put in by hand .


NOW WE HAVE portable air Compressor cordless tools and IMPACT WRENCHES.
 
I sent you an e-mail with my contact info. I am a retired building contractor and have a few concerns about what you did/did not detail in your build.
Just a couple of pic of two of the commercial equipment repair shops during the building process, that I built. They incorporated radiant heat with waist oil boilers.
Loren
a156488.jpg

a156489.jpg

a156491.jpg

a156493.jpg
 
I do not understand less slope on lean-tos than main building. Unless you never get any snow. I would make main door as tall as possible and even a smaller garage style door out opposite end is always nice but easy to add later if wanted.
 
(quoted from post at 17:17:22 04/04/17) I do not understand less slope on lean-tos than main building. Unless you never get any snow. I would make main door as tall as possible and even a smaller garage style door out opposite end is always nice but easy to add later if wanted.
Click to expand...



NEVER NEVER put posts in ground. We always put ours on a wall, they will last forever. 17 ft minimum door clearance with a 30 foot wide door
 
Ok. i build barns for a living and cannot beleave how many guys want a leanto on the side.so you are building a 60x60 barn with four rows of poles in your design .and 10 foot high at the side just build it 60x60 then when you add on next year you can go right off the end.
 
With the correct posts it works well. Posts on a wall causes
other problems with wind load transfer needing diaphragm or
bracing details to move loads to the foundation because they
can't resist bending.
 
Personally, I prefer not putting ANY electric in the walls. Run the electric around the perimeter, near the ceiling, with plenty of junction boxes. Drop electric down in conduit as needed. This way you never have to think about electric in walls for ANY reason (adding windows / doors; addition; chimney; adding, taking away, or moving machinery, etc.). What ever the future brings, the electric can be easily changed. Not to mention; you'll always know where it is.

Seamless gutter around the perimeter would work nice. Leave the gutter down 2 or 3 inches from the ceiling. This gives room to add / subtract wiring. Install connectors in the bottom of the gutter where needed.
 
If you are planning on working on any tractors that are bigger than 50 or 60 hp if it works with your in floor heat, I would go with 5" of concrete. The difference in price between 4 1/2" to 5" wont be that much. You also mentioned a couple of "man" doors....No women allowed huh? ;) might be a good idea....(just kidding)
 
Bubble wrap is not worth the aggravation to install it. If you plan on heating the building, you'll need real insulation.

With a heated floor, it's important to get proper insulation under the floor and especially around the perimeter. There are a number of options, with the best being high-density foam under the floor and around the perimeter. If you don't want to insulate under the slab for whatever reason, second-best would be to run foam insulation down at least 4 feet around the perimeter. Lots of information on insulating heated floors is available online.

Make certain the builder sets the posts on concrete plugs, big enough to support the weight of the building. I imagine 12 inch diameter plugs would be the minimum required to support the weight of a building that size.
 

My shop is 40x50x17. I am in southern NH and heat it with propane for under $500/year. I can do this because I have an insulated inner room that I bump up to 60 degrees when I go in. The outer part stays at 40 from the heat that is released from the inner room. I suggest that you have your hear zoned so that you have the option to do something similar, giving you the ability to keep it comfortable in your retirement.
 
I added a drain in my new shop, a real plus.
close cell insulation then 6" blanket in side walls.
office space with storage above it.
ceiling with blown in insulation.
cheaper to heat then plugging in 2 tractor.
never to big.

just got a bid on a 45 x 54 x14 storage shed.
4 foot footings with crush rock flooring.
no windows, 1 walk through door, 10 x 24 overhead door.
not to exceed $56,000.
wanted to stay under $50,000 but need 3' of fill to level.
I think over priced but said they would have it up first of May.
 
I agree with insulation under the roof. I have 30x72 pole building. no heat, rock floor. Put R4 insulation before roof panels were attached and have no dripping. I will probably change my walkin doors to swing in. Mine swing out. Make good wind catchers in bad weather, had to set stop posts to avoid banging side of building. Have not regretted 16' side walls with 14' high powered roll up doors.
 
I went 40 x 64 same number of poles on 8 ft centers as 60ft without having the one space of 4 ft.
 
Bubble wrap provides very little insulation value. If installed under a metal roof it may stop condensation drips provided the joints are sealed properly.
 
(quoted from post at 17:59:41 04/04/17) Ok. i build barns for a living and cannot beleave how many guys want a leanto on the side.so you are building a 60x60 barn with four rows of poles in your design .and 10 foot high at the side just build it 60x60 then when you add on next year you can go right off the end.
Click to expand...
Around here you need your plans engineered if you go that route, adds cost.
 
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