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32x40 Pole Barn Build Thread

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Kma4444

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So I spent three weeks in Denmark, working on race cars. Almost didn't get out of the shop at all. Pretty much all I can tell you about the country is that the electrical outlets are funny and the light switches all work backwards, bizarre!!!

So I got back and the concrete polishers were just getting started. I have found one way to stay off of new concrete, leave the country. SO I suppose it is plenty cured enough to polish up.
IMG_20110225_173810.jpg


Must have been eh?
IMG_20110225_173745.jpg


I really like it and it can't peel flake etc etc. Sure it lacks a bit of the pop of a beatiful epoxy job, but this is what I'm going with.
IMG_20110225_180535.jpg
 
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Kma4444

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So today, I had some hands available so I started with the enclosing of my fancy gazebo.
IMG_20110226_182738.jpg


Went pretty well I think.
IMG_20110226_182802.jpg


This is my skylight, I am going to leave this gap at the peak of the roof and cover it with a clear panel of some kind, still debating the cheap fiberglass or something a little fancier. But it will let quite a bit of light in.
IMG_20110226_182813.jpg


So that's where I am now, making progress again.
 

dlenkewich

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Im surprised, no rebar in the slab?

Doesn't seem like there was a whole lot of site prep or excavating, is that the regular way of doing slab work in your region?
 

theoldwizard1

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Interesting "splice" at the center of the trusses. Is the plywood just nailed to the 2x6's or is it also glued ?

How are those stubby 2x6's for the front overhang attached ? Just toe-nailed ?

Personally, I would want a 4' overhang in the front, which would probably require making half-lap joints on the front truss and running those 2x6s all the way back to the second truss and another set of half-lap joints.
 
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Kma4444

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The site didn't require a lot of work as far as leveling. So we tilled it up to loosen it so we could move it around. Then we leveled it and spread the 19 tons of gravel and compacted it. Ended up with at least 4" of gravel all around. I asked the concrete company and they said no rebar was necessary unless I was going to get heavy equipment on the edge of the slab. His comment was something like "It won't need rebar unless you are working on heavy equipment and driving it off the edge.

I used 4k psi with fiber and the concrete finisher said it was overkill, that I could park the loaded concrete truck on it when it was cured. He was almost amused that I used that. He said 3.5k would have been more than enough. But it was only like $9.50 a yard more so I feel like it was money I could afford to spend. So between the two I felt fine with the way I went.

The finisher felt like the site prep was quite good and that it would be very stable. Of course we have no frost heave here and it is nice stable ground. Of course, someone with more experience or preferences might do things differently, time will tell if my advice was sound.

You are probably right on the 4' front overhang, it would have been nice to have. I didn't think of that. The stubby 2x6's are notched to lie on top of the 2x6 truss rafter. They are nailed from the backside through the rafter. They are also nailed to the purlin which they lie next to. It's not as strong as what you mention, but it's only a 10" overhang.

The truss is spliced with the 2x6 that runs vertical and with the plywood gussets which are indeed nailed and glued. The plans called for the truss to be built that way without the plywood gussets. Like I mentioned earlier, if I was to do it again, I would buy trusses as it would have caused less problems with the building inspectors. That being said, I have no reservations with the design. A local engineering firm agreed that the trusses on 8' centers would have been fine, but it was cheaper to buy the materials and add 5 trusses to appease the inspector. I figured if I was going to spend the money, I would rather have the extra structure though it wasn't needed.
 
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theoldwizard1

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Do you have any idea what engineered/pre-made trusses would have cost versus having to go to 4' spacing. (I agrees. Looks way overkill to me, but I am not a structural engineer or a carpenter.)

I'll bet you could get pre-made "installed" pretty cheap by the manufacturer.
 
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Kma4444

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I didn't price the trusses. I probably wouldn't want to at this point ya know. I doubt there would be any significant difference over what I spent doing it with the extra trusses. Might very well have been cheaper. Would definitely been easier and quicker.
 

mjozefow

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Apr 9, 2009
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Lafayette, IN
19.8 tons of #57 gravel. $475 ish delivered. I was stunned at the ditch a dumptruck could back through. It was wet from rain the day before and he backed right through a ditch and right up a 4 foot high ditch.

How does one go UP a ditch? :headscrat

Kidding aside, looks like you are going to have a great new space!
 
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Kma4444

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Must have gotten carried away with the word ditch, a little proofreading wouldn't hurt now would it? HA!

Carried away, like me, today, carrying the steel siding in 15mph winds, yay.
 

acusmith

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Oct 15, 2011
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First day gj member. Jumped on this topic. Planning the same type of building. Thanks for all the insights in addition to the great photo essay.
 
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