24' x 50' Shop Build in VA

[JCook5003]

Hey Guys-

The day is finally here, I've started construction of my new shop. I'm tearing down an 80 year old 20' x 80' pole shed and rebuild back a 24' x 50' x 12' sidewall building. It will contain a 24' x 30' shop and 24' x 20' farm equipment storage area.

Here are some light plans I quickly drew up today of the building.



Foundation:




I've built several pole barns for people and never have been a fan of placing wood in the ground. I use perma-columns on a prior build and without equipment found them hard to set with just two guys. I've decided this time around to monolith pour the floor and 2' x 2' x 2' footings under each post and use dry set brackets anchored to the floor. I will then be using steel trusses on 10' post centers with vertical 2x6 purlins. This photo should clear it up.



Here is the existing building that will be torn down. Having a friend bring his backhoe down to help with this process.





I'm confident in my ability to build a strong building, but I've never insulated a pole building before. I'm still trying to decide the best way to insulate the roof to prevent "rain". I'm thinking of using that bubble radiant barrier over the purlins, then install the metal over that. I'm also considering house wrapping the entire shop before I install the wall purlins. Then insulate the walls later down the road. Opinions? Thoughts?

Should be fun guys, stick around and watch me work really hard in the dog days of summer. Thanks for checking it out.

 

[matt_i]

Just wanted to point out, in a friendly way, that it seems directionally wrong to downsize, unless you have loads of unused/free space in your existing building.

Good luck with the teardown and build, it always takes longer when doing it yourself, but very satisfying knowing it was well-done.

 

[JCook5003]

It seems directionally wrong to downsize, unless you have loads of unused/free space in your existing building.

I tend to agree but the upper 3 bays in the existing building are empty, and it leaks like a sieve and the posts are finally just about rotted through at ground level and a couple of the beams are bowed like boomerangs.

The shop space will be about 10 foot longer which is really where I need the space. The outdoor storage space isnt that critical for my use.

 

[JCook5003]

Got the metal siding off the shed over the weekend. Found some Oak boards under it that was used as board and batten siding. 1" thick some as wide as 22", I will definitely be saving those for some woodworking projects.

I've also decided to add one more open bay to the building and go 24x60. I was worried about future space.

I should be ready to call the backhoe in to demolish this building later this week.

Here are some more pics:







I cant believe I packed my whole garage into this......



Another interesting point, the fiberglass insulation in this building is about 20 years old. It had rodent blocking, was house wrapped and covered tightly on both side the insect damage alone was huge. I definitely will be rethinking the use of fiberglass insulation in my building.