Pole Barn posts

Anonymous-0 · Jun 3, 2009

I am looking at putting up a pole barn. I would be doing it all on my own with material I have found. The question I have is, I found some 8x8x16 Beetle kill Pine (for a good price) that I would use for the posts. They would NOT be treated, so I was wondering if there was something I could treat them with for the part that would go into the ground. I live in Wyoming so our dirt is a lot dryer than many other places.

Tramway Guy · Jun 3, 2009

You could always put footings that go above grade to set the posts on. Bolt the post to the footings.

John Harmon · Jun 3, 2009

Probably eventually these "Posts" will rot off about dirt line ,however if you would dig your hole,clean the bottom real good,drop in 6 inches of concrete in the base,set in the Pole and pour concrete to backfill the hole to grade ,form up around the post at least 12" above grade or more and fill form with concrete, your pole bottoms below grade would be protected from rot and most unknown damages except maybe termite or ant damage. The termites and ants can be controlled with insecticide.Sackrete con mix and a little water works real good for this as Sackrete is cheap and handy from HD or Loews.JH

Mark W. · Jun 3, 2009

Wood can suck the moisture out of concrete causing the wood to rot. You may be able to splice in shorter treated sections for the inground portion.

Rexalot · Jun 3, 2009

How about something like this:

http://www.thesuperpost.com/buy.asp

Or I guess you could always soak the ends in old oil and then paint them with roofing compound. Don't know how long that would last but it's cheap.

Do not cement around them. They will just rot quicker.

Another thought is to pour concrete footers with anchors bolts then bolt tabs on your posts to bolt to your anchors. Then your post is secure, above ground on a "pad". Trying to think how a few old barns I've been in were built above ground in similiar fashion except the walls were anchored and the posts just set on pads.

Just ideas... I used treated post when I built mine and scrounged all my other timber to keep the cost down.

thurlow · Jun 3, 2009

Well............is this barn gonna have walls on it? If it is (poles protected from the weather, and in your climate), I'd put 'em in the ground and not worry about it.

Anonymous-0 · Jun 3, 2009

I am still "undecided" on the walls. I am either considering not having any OR just putting walls up on the West & North sides only (predominate winds). Since I want it open, I also don't want it to uproot itself in high winds! (W-I-N-D - the dirty four letter word in Wyoming).
HOWEVER, the good part is where I am planning on putting it will have a 40x60x14 pole barn already on the West side & a semi-trailer (reefer) on the North to help protect it a little. Do you think I would be good to do it either way (sides/no sides)??

Bill(Wis) · Jun 3, 2009

Down a few posts a guy was asking how to keep birds out of an open ended building. Best answer I saw was to close the end of the building.

James St. Aubin · Jun 3, 2009

It seems to me if you only have two or no walls, then all you've got is a roof. I consider a big part of the value of a pole barn to be security. That includes security from animals too which means you need walls all around. With only two walls the wind bracing might look awful funny without a wall there. Most building codes require wind bracing in Michigan. If wind is an issue in Wyoming, I'm sure you'll need the diagonal braces too.

Anonymous-0 · Jun 3, 2009

Look up Cuprinol maybe that will work for you.

How big a pole shed are you building? An 8x8 -16 would be a pretty stout sill timber. Put down some pads and anchor the sill timber to it and build up from there. If you can weld make up some metal connection plates for the joinery.

JBMac · Jun 3, 2009

I've used copper napthalate (sp) to treat plywood for boat upholstry. I would think that work for fungi. Get some bifenthrin, and follow the label for post treatments (you saturate the back-fill soil and that should give you control of insects. It should last about 5 years, then you might have to retreat the 6-10" of fill every so often.

JBM

MarkB_MI · Jun 3, 2009

Unless you don't value your time, it doesn't make much sense to use untreated post for any building you expect to last twenty years or more. However, if you can get copper napthenate and give the end grain a good dose you might get decent life out of your otherwise untreated posts.

Anonymous-0 · Jun 4, 2009

I sure wouldn't go to all the trouble of digging the deep post holes a pole barn needs and then put untreated pine in them. When I was a kid, we tried a few pine fence posts made from Ponderosa Pine trunks that grew on our ranch. Untreated, they often rotted and fell over in 3 or 4 years. Soaked in crankcase oil with some Penta, they might last about 10 years. Some of our treated Cedar posts are still holding up fences more than 40 years later, and the part down in the ground still is pretty sound.

You must not have building codes where you are. I doubt that any building inspector would allow untreated pine touching the ground. It rots too fast.

I would spend the money to buy good treated pole barn poles that will probably last longer than you do. Building a pole barn is too much work to do a substandard job that will not last. Good luck!

Pole Barn posts

Anonymous-0

Well-known Member

Tramway Guy

Well-known Member

John Harmon

Member

Mark W.

Member

Rexalot

Member

thurlow

Well-known Member

Anonymous-0

Well-known Member

Bill(Wis)

Well-known Member

James St. Aubin

Member

Anonymous-0

Well-known Member

JBMac

Member

MarkB_MI

Well-known Member

Anonymous-0

Well-known Member

Similar threads