30 x 30 pole barn with loft ideas

[88rxn/a]

Hello!
I'm in the planning stages of building a pole barn garage. I'm looking to have the Amish come down and partial build it and I'll finish the rest.
I can do the wiring, insulation, (have help) and cement.
I'd like the storage above and also turn half of it into a guest room.
I am completely new to the building aspect of it so I apologize now. If I go 30x30, I should span around 14 Ish feet across in the loft correct? What if I went with attic trusses? How much room will that give me? I plan on researching on here so when I talk to the Amish I know exactly what I want. I can picture it in my head but to put it on paper, I'm clueless.
I don't want to have them come down and build something we don't like.
To me it sounds simple, a barn style 30x30, 2 garage doors, 4 windows, couple man doors, window (or 2) upstairs in the ends...I want it sturdy upstairs so I'm not bouncing as I walk.
Am missing any important steps I need to explain??

Thanks so much for the great site!

 

[AVIVIII]

We're in the process of putting up a structure with 30' span attic trusses. With a 10 pitch roof, we were left with a 16' deep room with 5' knee walls sloped to an 8' ceiling.

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[88rxn/a]

Do you happen to have a picture of the room?
Did you price the difference between gambrel and attic trusses? If it's a big cost savings I think I could live with a 5 to 8 foot sloped ceiling.

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[rburke65]

Please update your profile with your location. If you go to most lumber yards....or a big box store....they can price you with an attic truss and give you demensions to had room on a given roof pitch.

 

[88rxn/a]

Ok, sorry about that. I'll have to get on my pc since I don't see how to do it on Tapatalk.
I live in ludlow,pa (northwest pa).
Thanks for the suggestion on the trusses.
I am trying to research as much as possible but I don't know how to word some of the things I need to know (for the search engine).
For instance, height from base gravel to top of cement...
I'm thinking a 4 inch thick pad, with radiant floor. I would like the garage slightly above ground level for easier drainage.


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[88rxn/a]

Also, if I went with attic trusses, how wide would the 8 foot tall ceiling be before the knee walls?

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[AVIVIII]

Do you happen to have a picture of the room?
Did you price the difference between gambrel and attic trusses? If it's a big cost savings I think I could live with a 5 to 8 foot sloped ceiling.

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No stairs up there yet, but here they are going on the building. I'll look for the truss engineering to give you a better idea.

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[MushCreek]

If you want a usable loft, consider a gambrel roof. I built a 28 X 48, and have a big loft with 8' headroom throughout a 20' x 32' area. Go to barnplans.com to get the juices flowing.

 

[John in OH]

If you want only second-floor storage and space for one guest room, I’d agree with some others here and investigate attic trusses. The width and the knee-wall height of the room created by the attic trusses will depend on the building width and the roof pitch …. wider the building and steeper the roof pitch, the bigger the attic room will be. I suppose that the room size may also be somewhat a function of the truss manufacture’s design as they may vary some from manufacture to manufacturer.

When you select the attic trusses, make sure you specify the floor loading (lbs. per sq. foot) that you want. Or, if you aren’t sure, discuss the intended use of the attic room with the truss manufacturer. Also, discuss truss spacing. You’ll want a truss designed and spaced to provide adequate support for the guest room furniture, drywall, insulation, bath fixtures, heating, etc. and also provide a solid floor, ie., not bouncy.

A few pics of the attic trusses in my 34’ wide shop, 6/12 roof pitch; attic room is 12’ wide with 6’ knee-walls:



You can see more pics in my build thread at: http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=98038

You also need to review the plans with the local building jurisdiction. Even rural areas usually have some safety/fire department requirements for living space over garages. For instance, in my VA county (very rural) there are requirements for fire retardation time on the garage ceiling and for fully external egress from the second floor room (ie., it can’t solely pass through the garage space).

Suggest you go to the Garage Gallery section of this Garage Journal site and look through the countless threads of building projects for ideas on layout, design, construction, landscaping, etc. The search engine here on GJ ***** … much better to use Google and search for via the format: site:garagejournal.com – subject …. For example: site:garagejournal.com – attic truss.

Lastly, make sure you choose a “handsome” building design. I’ve seen way too many garages that, though they may be functional, look like ****. Others are well designed architecturally with pleasing lines, attractive external materials, and colors. Spend some time looking at the gallery section of the Morton Building (or similar) website for ideas on building styles and cosmetic appearance options.