(OT) More barn building questions

My question is, can this be done practically? Let's say I pour a slab (stick frame) or set the poles (pole barn) next week. Then I add the walls etc. Can I realistically wait 3 or 4 weeks before the next part letting the untreated wood sit in the open that long?

Let's say stick frame.. can I do the walls in a week and then cover them with a tarp or whatever for a few weeks until the next paycheck rolls in and I can do the joists, rafters, etc. roof, etc. then the shingles?

I know from woodworking to not let things sit, so am I better off just saving until I can hire someone to do all of it all at once? How do y'all who do your own do it? I don't have heaps of money or helpers to work with.

I want to build this thing myself but I don't want to be foolish either.

Any ideas welcome.

Jake
49 8N

I built mine in about 3 weeks,worked on and off one day on the weekend and weeknights after work. Also I used only pressure treated, no rot less bugs.

Free telco poles and looked around an found a place w cheap tin helped keep my cost bellow $600.

I used strong ties (box of 100 or so for $25) to hold down the rafters and lag bolts to attach the stringers. Was not too hard to put up w a extension ladder and such, just be mindfull of safety. Only had help putting the tin up in the end.

Also someone told me if you use tin screw it down, don't nail it.

Of course weather has a lot to do w design and roof pitch, need for walls etc.

I would post some pictures but I do not have a scanner and my dig. camera took a dump.

You mean something like this?? The wife and i put it up in 4 months, cost around $3,000..Email me for more pic's ( Email is on N Club site)..Ken N Tx

Finished

We're in the middle of restoring a 100 year old barn. We're using the type of wood typical to use on farm barns, hemlock. It's just rough cut lumber from a relative who owns a lumber mill, but many people get it from the Amish.

After the hemlock is installed, we're going to let it dry out over the Summer and then stain it.

Hemlock and other woods used on barns last a long, long time. Many people never stain or paint these woods. Just look at some of the old barns in your area. And, we found that the Hemlock isn't all that expensive.

Just my 2¢.

The poles... if telephone, etc.. are already treated... otherwise buy pt poles / piles, etc.

Set them.. then add the frame work whenever you like, using pt wood... will be a tad bit more expensive than #2 white wood.. but that weather / time factor moves way down the scale.

Lastly, add the roof of choice... I'm partial to flat roofs ( slightly angled / swept back to drain water ) and a tin roof.

If you decide to do the slab.. you can pour it later.

Again.. not completely ideal.. but will fit your time / bufget constraints, and after all.. it is only a barn...

I did a similar project like this... I built a 10x10 flat roof 4 post structure, to shelter my 8n while I worked on it as there was no room in the barn.. later added on another 10x10 section as a horse stall for a mini ( horse ).. later moved the tractor into the barn, and now have a nice free standing horse stall, with attatched cover to put feed / hay under, right next to the main barn. ( And i'm a CE... go figure.. )

Soundguy

After a week you can set the materials on it, and if they're covered, and up on sawhorses off the cement, there's no rush. Gives you a chance to cogitate on the project. Hey, anticipation is half the fun!!!

Then, get a few friends over, especially some that have a bit of experience, and you'll pop that thing up in a weekend. Such fun!!! duey

It would be best to do the entire frame and get the top on and then use roofing paper(if you're using shingles for roof covering. Weather won't hurt the lumber for a few weeks as long as it dries out well before you wrap it up. It would be better to keep it all dry, but if you look at houses under construction, they sometimes sit open to the weather for several weeks.

A pole barn would allow you to set the poles, get the trusses up and get the roof on rather quickly. Then you could work on the girts and siding as the budget allowed.

also consider using multi-ply treated 2x6's for the posts. This way, they can be built up as needed by staggering individual ply lengths and spiking them together in place. also, this gives you a flat surface to nail the wall girts to.