30'X40' Pole building Eastern PA!

Ok folks, been looking through here for a while now and it's now time to start my build thread!! Things have progressed far enough that I can now start showing the build progression.
As a background the site is a 2+ acre lot immediately at the base of the blue mountain. So yeah, rocks and clay galore.
For the building I went with a Pioneer pole building, 30 feet deep and 40 feet wide. It has one man door in the corner and 2- 10'X10' garage doors on the front facing wall.
I do, well used to do, a lot of automotive work and enjoy fabricating as well as home improvement so this will be a work shop of all sorts.
The building is going up now and i have planned for a floor to go down in spring. I'll go over that as I progress along with ideas and planning for that as well.
ALL site work so far has been done by myself, including tree felling, digging, stump removal, clearing and leveling. All of this is being done with an old 70's Case 580B backhoe. The thing has been super good to me so far.
Ok, obviously you want pictures....
Here is the site I started with. Also the dump trailer I bought with the backhoe.

Taking down the first big tree and a couple smaller ones.

Digging out the first stump and putting the dump trailer to good use.

Not looking forward to the large one with the double trunk coming up...

Digging out the area, getting ready to take down the big one.
That story coming up...

Ok, so the story with the big tree...
I kept looking at this sucker and thinking, I need a plan. As a background I worked for a tree service in high school and when I got out of school for a little bit so I do have experience doing these jobs. Yes I was climbing and cutting in the job as well as clearing and cleanup.
My original plan was to hire a friend of a friend to come and climb up with his gear, top the tree and I would take care of the rest. If it wasn't a split trunk I would have had no problem but I was worried about the potential of taking one section and having the other fall when i wasn't ready.
The days kept passing and I couldn't get anyone to help me out so I thought one morning I would just go and rent a boom lift, go as high as i could, cut as high as I could and deal with the rest. I figured I could at least cut it in half or better and that's easier to direct and deal with.
Went to the rental place one morning and asked the girl about renting a boom lift, well... actually it went like this...
"Do you rent the boom lifts on trailers?"
"yes"
"Do you have that here?"
"Yup we do, would you like to rent it?"
"Sure would"
"Ok, when would you like it?"
"Right now would be perfect"
"Oh, well I don't have it."
"huh?"
"It's rented out until sometime next week."
"But you just said you had it here?"
"Oh, I thought you meant did we have one"
"Ummm, no, that's what my first question was of Do you rent them. You know what, nevermind"
Left there and called around to find out they were all rented out. Well I am running out of time to get this site prepped, the contract is already signed and they want to inspect the site first. I only have about 4 weeks and I am working a full time job here.
Got more and more irritated on the way back home and said to my buddy, "this suckers coming down TODAY one way or another. I'm done with it."
We get home and get out equipment set up, two large saws, one medium and one small limbing saw. Heavy duty chains, straps, come-alongs and a rope with about a 6500lb tensile strength.
We decided to throw a line up around the tree as high up as we could, pulled the rope up and tied off. hooked up a chain to a come-along and strapped to a large oak out in the woods. I then placed the backhoe behind the tree and extended the bucket up as high as I could and put pressure against the tree. We tightened the come alone until you could play guitar on the line and went to the saw. I made the front wedge and removed the piece. I started making my back cut and the bar got a full width in.... and got wedged. I looked at my buddy and said, "this, this is NOT good"
I got out a wedge and tried driving it in at a spot I cut a little deeper. I left the saw and quickly went out to put more tension on with the come-along. I told him you just man the backhoe lever and don't let off that thing.
I tightened up the line and thought that should be better. It was just enough to take the pinch off the bar. I started cutting further into the tree and heard it start cracking. I looked at my buddy and said keep on that lever and keep pushing with the backhoe! As I looked up and saw the top of the tree slowly tipping.....towards the house!!! NOT GOOD!!!
He stayed on the lever and I started cutting into the tree in a different spot as fast as i could to try and get it to turn as it dropped. As luck would have it the tree cracked, pulled every last tensile strength from the rope, cable and chains, turned and fell straight into the yard/driveway. Our set up was the only thing that saved it from destroying the house and my entire year.
As you can see in the picture his reaction says most of it. The other is after we already cleared some away from his truck, the blue ford. The tree just missed: The well cap by 8 inches, the outside outlet and lightpole by 6 inches, his truck by a mere leaf, the shed, carport and wires as well.
Lesson learned.

Wow! Lots of work in there, hopefully there are smaller ones going back from there

Then I had to deal with this stump after the aftermath of the cleanup of the tree. This thing took days and days to dig out. I'm still dealing with moving it around the property. I just put it in a place and occasionally start a good fire under it to dry it out and keep making it lighter.

Get that man a beer, Pioneer just finished up my garage last week and this week Charlie comes to finish the concrete pad.

You wont be disappointed with Pioneer, they got a great crew and move with a purpose. Worth every penny.

Once that was all taken care of I was able to stick to digging and leveling, which I quickly learned I have no experience in and was not very good at!
I used a rotary laser and did measure but every time I tried to level an area the bucket would hit a rock or a soft spot and dig in or ride up. After a LONG time and much trial with it I realized back dragging was definitely the way to do it. Once I started scratching off what I wanted with the backhoe and then back dragging to a pile the lot finally started leveling off nicely. I also installed a level inside the backhoe on the control lever tower so I could make sure as I swung the bucket from side to side I wasn't creating another problem.
Then it was time for a load of stone. That's when things finally started looking up for me and looking a LOT better...

So then I wake up last week and the holes are drilled!! YAY!!!

Yeah, they got clay all over my nice stone but really the stone was necessary because the lot is almost entirely clay and would not dry out, every time you walked or drove on it you made a mess. So I bit the bullet and put down the load of stone for me and for the guys building it.
I will be putting down more stone the end of this week once the building is finished up just to clean everything up nicely and create my base for the floor.

And that brings up to TODAY!!! (Ok, technically yesterday but I work night shift so my schedule is always messed up)
The poles were set, concreted in and the framing finished up for the walls!
I'm thinking this morning they will be putting the roof on and maybe when I wake up today I'll see a building!

+1 on pioneer, I too had pioneer build my pole barn same size as yours but I went with 30 wide 40 deep. Where about are you located?

Just a thought you should move this to the garage gallery section.

Nice Job! but i no see any rocks. Pioneer put up my 40x60 as well, great crew and great to deal with. I cleared/excavated/ leveled my lot but they brought a little Bobcat with a auger on it to drill holes, I pointed and laffed as soon as i seen it, that thing was a joke around here. Im Upstate NY, we have rocks the size of a car! I ended up having to rent a tracked Jackhammer to break rocks to drill holes!
Good Luck on your build!

Kevkx125 said:

Just a thought you should move this to the garage gallery section.

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I would but I don't know how to move stuff.

Oh by the way I'm in Andreas.

ABADWILLYS said:

Nice Job! but i no see any rocks. Pioneer put up my 40x60 as well, great crew and great to deal with. I cleared/excavated/ leveled my lot but they brought a little Bobcat with a auger on it to drill holes, I pointed and laffed as soon as i seen it, that thing was a joke around here. Im Upstate NY, we have rocks the size of a car! I ended up having to rent a tracked Jackhammer to break rocks to drill holes!
Good Luck on your build!

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There were rocks, but thankfully all very manageable. They put a rock clause in my contract in case they hit something and asked me to stand by with the backhoe.
They used the same bobcat with an auger on it, he fought with maybe a third of the holes, 2 taking a while but he got through them all.
I'll post pictures of today's progress soon, I think I got the new crew cause they are pretty slow.

Congrats dude! Pioneer here too. Very happy. Crew hauled azz and got it done quick!

Did you see them pour concrete for the posts? Mine just uses the pills under the posts, but real sandy here.

Ask one of the mods. Where is andreas?

This is the progress for today.
They got all the roof trusses set and braced, metal on front and back wall and trimmed out garage door openings.
Like I said, I think I got the new crew, they are slower than anyone else's that was built or that I've seen but as long as it's right it'll be all good.
Thursday I am scheduling stone delivery in the A.M. to spread for the floor over the winter. After that will be working inside laying out everything, running electrical, air lines, and everything else in preparation for finishing off in spring.

Nice thread Nhrafan! I enjoy seeing your progress pics. I am in Jim Thorpe (Penn Forest). I am in process of getting ready to start my pole building as well. Excavation starts late this week/early next week. I have decided to go with Shirk Pole Buildings for my build. I am doing a 40x50. Good luck with your build!

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bullnerd said:

Congrats dude! Pioneer here too. Very happy. Crew hauled azz and got it done quick!

Did you see them pour concrete for the posts? Mine just uses the pills under the posts, but real sandy here.

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Yup, they had a whole pallet of quikcrete delivered with the materials, I think 2-3 bags in each hole. They don't worry about mixing it from what i've heard, they just put it in and let the moisture from the holes and ground set it up. With the rain we had last night I'm betting it got PLENTY.

Looking good, definitely made some head way.

I had Pioneer put up my 24x36x12 This past September also! Great Crew and company to work with!

Nhrafan26 said:

Yup, they had a whole pallet of quikcrete delivered with the materials, I think 2-3 bags in each hole. They don't worry about mixing it from what i've heard, they just put it in and let the moisture from the holes and ground set it up. With the rain we had last night I'm betting it got PLENTY.

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You see this a technique a lot with fence posts. The company that did mine were planning to do it the same way. I called the concrete manufacturer and asked if it was acceptable, of course they said no. It needs to be mixed to spec to achieve the proper strength, after all it is a footer that supports a roof. I also called my inspector (I'm in Chester County, PA) and asked if it was acceptable. They also said no, and that it would not pass inspection.

And here's today!
Got the roof on, sides finished up and cleaned up.
Now just to get the garage doors installed and all the rest of the work!

Looks good NHRAFAN26

Here is my 30 x 40. I was height restricted so I went with a 9.5 wall and a 4/12 pitch roof.

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=207837

Got another 22 tons of stone in the garage yesterday. Still have to spread and level it but that'll be my floor for the winter.
Better than mud and clay walking all over it doing my electrical and other ****.
Oh and the inspector was here today unannounced, stapled a tag "approved framing" so that's good!!

Woo hoo! The backhoe fits!
Getting ready for the predicted snow fall here this weekend. Guess we'll test the roof snow load too if we get what they're calling for.
Nice to have a place to put everything inside it of wind, snow and **** weather. Now we won't get ****.

Congrats on the new barn! I also built a 30x40 with 12' side walls and a 4-12 pitch roof. Seems like a perfect size for me, I will be watching your build to see how the rest goes

The barn looks great. Heck, if you had hit the house with that tree you might me living in it!! Congratulations

IGO2XS said:

The barn looks great. Heck, if you had hit the house with that tree you might me living in it!! Congratulations

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If I hit the house I WOULD be living in it!!!!!!
The living quarters is being torn down once I sell my other house and then we will be building a new house at the other end of the property but until then we kinda need it!

Picked up my foam board today!
46 sheets in all. Got a hell of a deal on it, just had to drive little more than an hour each way. Good thing I took the big trailer cause I filled it!
2" thick going on the ceiling then metal panels over top. Going to seal the edges and the seams with spray foam.
Now I'm working on building some scaffold to get it on the 12' high ceiling.

Have you decided how you will secure the foam? In another thread you were thinking about long screws & washers.

burger said:

Have you decided how you will secure the foam? In another thread you were thinking about long screws & washers.

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No I haven't yet, although I'm leaning towards the screws and washers on the bottom of the trusses. I just don't know about putting the metal liner on top of it then. That's the only thing that's got me thinking of reconsidering and going between the trusses.
But that's a lot of cutting and spray foaming then...

Nhrafan26 said:

No I haven't yet, although I'm leaning towards the screws and washers on the bottom of the trusses. I just don't know about putting the metal liner on top of it then. That's the only thing that's got me thinking of reconsidering and going between the trusses.
But that's a lot of cutting and spray foaming then...

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Have you seen this thread? My foam insulation will be installed similarly.

burger said:

Have you seen this thread? My foam insulation will be installed similarly.

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Nope, I hadn't seen that one.
I think since i'm planning on putting a ceiling in mine I will at least stick to the foam on the bottom chords.
I STILL haven't decided whether I want to go in between or over top. (well underneath)
Main reason I'm doing a ceiling is because I have been known to do a lot of bodywork, paint and similar so the issue of dust collecting up there and then falling at the least opportune time is murphys law. The ceiling will be easier for me to wash down or at very least blow off from time to time and keep cleaner.

Thanks for the link though and sharing, I love when people share ideas for things I'm doing. Well... I hate it too.

Any updates on this project?

PiperCub49 said:

Any updates on this project?

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Well, yes but nothing good that's for sure...

I was building this on property owned by my girlfriend, I was going to finish this inside and turn it into a workshop so that I could start building our house on the corner of the property.
In January she walked out and I haven't seen her since. We have text each other very little and I never even got an explanation as to what the hell even happened.
I won't go into much more of my opinion of her or things of that nature as I'm sure you can figure it out for yourself.
I am still in the process of clearing everything out of it and trying to work out getting my money back for at least the building. Not holding my breath but you have to try. My time I'll never get back but that's life.
HARD lesson learned but it was learned that's for sure.

I'm working on remodeling the house that I own after I have moved back in and will be selling it within a year. I will then be looking for somewhat of a small house with land to build another bigger, better garage for myself.

Seriously, people **** worse than you can imagine...