40x62x16 colonial red and clay mist build

[DirtyMerty]

Hello all. I can't start off by saying "I've been lurking awhile" however, I have discovered this awesome forum a year ago when I was searching how to fix my pole barn which is over 35 years old and every 6x6 post is rotted at the end. That caused a snowball effect and also the realization that I need to start over. I am building a 40x62x16 building. 2480 square feet which is close enough to my 2500 max. After meeting with a few builders and dealing with financing I have chosen to go with Northland Building Inc. The colors I have chosen are Colonial red roof and wainscot with Clay mist sides and doors.

 

[DirtyMerty]

So, I sold the 32x48 pole barn on Craigslist for $300 and they came and took it down and hauled it away.







Best $300 ive made on CL. The guy who bought it thought it would turn out a whole lot better and salvage a little more lumber but as you can see he had to cut all the purlins and most of the girts because the nails were just to much. He could have takin a couple days and cut all the nails but because he lived 80 miles away and had the crew and trailers he just wanted to get it done, so out came the chain saw and hack hack hack. At least he was able to salvage most of the metal and trusses

 

[DirtyMerty]

with the building gone, the pad looks so much smaller. Looks like enough room for maybe a two car garage

Here is the new building. The original plan was to face the building the same direction on the property (front west, back east) but I am going to turn building 90 degrees and have the front of building facing north toward the road and make another driveway. The reason is because my current driveway is narrow and has a big incline which is hard to get any trailers up without scraping the rear of trailer. Also, we would have to make a swale or big drain in front of building if it stayed there. With the building turned 90 degrees, I will be able to have a mostly flat driveway going straight to the building which would be nice. So with that being said, I am not going to have the three windows on the side down low, I am going to move windows to gable end on south side and place them 14' high so nobody can see in building but I can still have natural light. Also, with the plans of a mezzanine going in the back of building, the windows would be a mezzanine level

 

[DirtyMerty]

I am adding a driveway that will be about 24 feet wide over the culvert and then expand to 40 feet wide and go straight to the building. the driveway will then go right (west) to the current driveway and will end up being a U shape driveway when connected to the house driveway

you can see we staked out the building pad, three stakes and a piece of rebar on the left coner so its hard to see

there is a lot of grading to do and some swales that need to go on each side east and west, this is looking north

west looking east

this is looking south toward the pond. the grade slopes downward quite a bit from the begining (north) of the pole barn. What you see on the stake is a marking of the grade/fill that needs to be done to get it nice and flat but still raise the building up a little bit

 

[Stuart in MN]

That's going to be a good looking building. Better hurry up, it's still nice out now but winter is coming soon.

 

[DirtyMerty]

My neighbor came over with the bobcat and removed all the posts in the ground that were cut off from the old pole barn. I was surprised to see that the longest post was just under 4 feet in the ground. Most of them were shorter than that and all different lengths

I am glad I went with the U shaped driveway connecting my existing driveway to the new pole barn driveway

The next day my neighbor came over with what was available from his sons excavating company, a CAT mini excavator with a plow on the front. He was able to get a lot done with this thing and did most of the driveway with it

 

[DirtyMerty]

South looking North, there is over 23 dump truck loads of crushed concrete. Over 300,000lbs. Doesn't look like much of a slope but its there



There you have it. 3 days and 7 grand later. Got a call from Northland and the building will be delivered November 2nd. They will break ground sometime around second week of November hopefully

 

[DirtyMerty]

The building was delivered on November 2nd as promised. Woke up to the sound of a diesel in my driveway on a cold foggy morning. Most of the building was delivered, still need doors and windows. He broke a hydraulic hose for the fork lift by backing over the hose that was hanging down, after a quick fix he was back in business. It was pretty neat seeing how the fork lift worked on the back of the semi, very well hidden and couldn't even tell it was there.


Then shortly after the trusses came on a roller trailer.

I was surprised to see that he put the building material on the pad site. The truss guy was surprised too. He said "not sure why he did that, must be close to retiring"

That was November 2nd. I was expecting to get a phone call that the crew would be starting sometime this week with no such luck. I called the project manager yesterday and left a voicemail, with no call back I called him this afternoon and asked what the deal was. He said that I would not see the crew for two more weeks I told him that it was pretty disappointing considering one of the reasons I went with this company was because they told my end of October/first week in November which would be perfect so I can cover my stuff before the snow fly's. My neighbor is getting a building in March from the same company because of me and he is getting the winter build discount. I asked the guy if I would get the winter discount now, he said that winter discount is if you build between January 1st and March. I am pretty understanding being in customer service myself and know that it would be hard to predict when a building would start but dang, 2 weeks off... just hoping there won't be 6" of snow and freezing temps, no one works well when its crappy out. This is a crew with 30+ years experience though and his best

 

[DirtyMerty]

In June we had a hail storm that caused some damage. With the damage came a new roof. The old roof was tan, the trim was brown and the previous owners painted the trim red right before they sold it. I like the red trim, so I decided to get a red roof to match the barn colors. The red roof was in ultra HD only (meaning thicker shingle and longer life) and on back order, not to many red roofs in this area which I like.




Some before and after pictures, I love the red roof and was happy with the choice. I will paint the house clay mist to match the barn next summer. House is stucco.

 

[DirtyMerty]

The week of November 27th I was on vacation from Thanksgiving, the weather was nice and I was getting antsy so I ordered 17 3/4 ton of traprock/class 5 for the pole barn driveway.

The truck driver tried to spread it up the driveway as best as she could. I then started to shovel and rake the trap rock throughout the driveway soon to relize that I got myself into a future back ache. My excavator neighbor saw me and came over with his John Deer tractor with a box blade on back and raked the whole driveway for me. Saved me a good two days of work and a sore back.


I got a phone call on the 29th from one of the crew saying they would be here to start on the 30th sometime around noon because the inspector could not get there until 3 to inspect the holes for posts. I called the Project Manager who has lacked on communication the next morning and let him know again how I would like the winter discount since we are a month behind schedule and a month away from the "winter discount". He was quick to agree with my request and compensated me $1034 for the winter discount

the holes were drilled and both eave sides of the building have poured concrete while the gable ends have pre cast cookies


they prepped the columns and nailed 2x6 pieces to each end on the bottom for extra strength to stay in ground. He said they are damn near impossible to get out of the ground once packed with earth.

 

[DirtyMerty]

The next day after the holes were drilled, I came home from work to this




With the walls up, the pad looks so much bigger. I remember when the old barn was gone how small the pad looked with the walls gone. This thing looks like a monster from the road

Got this cool pic at the end of the night with the moon. Good day

 

[TurtleValley]

With the walls up, the pad looks so much bigger. I remember when the old barn was gone how small the pad looked with the walls gone. This thing looks like a monster from the road

I know what you mean. It is a great feeling when you see progress like this.

it is amazing how much bigger the space inside feels with some height added from the structure.

I am in the same process as you right now with our 40X60 except steel and wood.

Your place is looking fantastic.

Subscribed!

 

[DirtyMerty]

A close up picture on the finger jointed 4 ply columns, they look purdy.

The next day, the had most of the roof done and East eave end complete. My neighbor to the North that is also getting a building from Northland in March, came over to check out the building a get ideas for his. He originally had 1 foot overhang/soffit and decided after looking at mine with 2 foot overhang and 16' walls that he wants 2 foot or 3 foot overhang. He also has 16' wall building. He also likes the colors. He was thinking of a brighter red and black wainscoting




Here is a picture from last year with the old 32x48 facing West

And here is the new barn facing North to give a little perspective

 

[DirtyMerty]

I am in the same process as you right now with our 40X60 except steel and wood.

Your place is looking fantastic.

Subscribed!

This is an exciting time! Better hurry before it snows to much. Thanks for following TurtleValley

 

[DirtyMerty]

So now you are caught up with today, yes it snowed and is about 40 degrees colder than a couple days ago. Typical for MN, which is why I wanted this started a month ago.

When I came home today, they had the West wall done and were finishing the South wall (back gable end). I decided to watch a little of the work and noticed the young guy they had screwing in the West wall had a confused look on his face and then talked to the lead carpenter who then took over to fix the broken screw (my guess). A few sparks from a cut off wheel, hits with a hammer/punch, dab of silicone and new screw later he was on the to the next deal. They left just before sundown so I went out there with a flashlight to see what they were "fixing". Found the screw with silicone

I then decided to look at the rest of the wall and found a couple scratches where it looks like the screw slipped which is understandable

this pic has ice in it so it looks worse v

this was the worst I found and probably looks worse in the pic but is still bad. Use the screw for size comparison

I checked the East wall which was the first wall and there was nothing to complain about. I do believe that the cold has an effect on someones work no matter what the job. Kind of a bummer and maybe I am being **** but I don't like scratches on a building that isn't done yet and cost big $$$. They could just use some touch up paint and I would be fine with that. Am I being too ****? I do have a 30 year paint warranty but with my luck it would rust there and they would say they only warranty chalking

 

[lakeroadster]

Yes, say something to them. If they know you're inspecting, they'll do a better job.

The problem with touch up paint is A) it's to cold to use it, and B) over time it will oxidize around the edges of the repair and look even worse.

The experience of the installers really will start to show when they start hanging steel.

Good luck to you on your build... it looks awesome.

 

[DirtyMerty]

Yes, say something to them. If they know you're inspecting, they'll do a better job.

The problem with touch up paint is A) it's to cold to use it, and B) over time it will oxidize around the edges of the repair and look even worse.

The experience of the installers really will start to show when they start hanging steel.

Good luck to you on your build... it looks awesome.

Thank You! I know you have had experience with imperfection on your build. I just hate being the guy to bring the bad news/pick things apart and I also don't like the idea of removing middle pieces to install new. They did a very good job with the rest of it. I've watched the senior guys work and you can tell night and day difference. I would have liked to just have the three experienced guys doing the whole thing but...You get what you pay for as far as employees go.

 

[Bib Overalls]

I put up my 30' x 40' shop doing everything myself with the exception of the concrete and the garage door. I'm **** by nature and lined up the screws with a string. First time I left the dog outside he scratched away on the tin trying to get in. Jinbo has been gone for several years. Every time I see the scratched I think of him and the great times we had together. My point - **** or not buildings, just like new cars, take on patina from the day construction started. It is going to happen. I agree with Lakeroadster, call it to their attention but don't get bent doing it.

 

[DirtyMerty]

I put up my 30' x 40' shop doing everything myself with the exception of the concrete and the garage door. I'm **** by nature and lined up the screws with a string. First time I left the dog outside he scratched away on the tin trying to get in. Jinbo has been gone for several years. Every time I see the scratched I think of him and the great times we had together. My point - **** or not buildings, just like new cars, take on patina from the day construction started. It is going to happen. I agree with Lakeroadster, call it to their attention but don't get bent doing it.

That's awesome you built yourself. I was looking into doing a building myself but glad I didn't. Putting the posts in the ground would have taken me a month alone being meticulous, and the screws... I think the string method is pretty standard, slick too. This building is like a new car, should not have scratches unless it was by me which I would kick myself for.

I called the project manager today and told him what I saw and sent him the pictures. Without hesitation, he said they will order a new sheet. I said "lets just wait until it's done and oh, theres more, the wainscot too". So, it sounds like they will take care of it in the future which is ok but I dont like the idea of taking pieces off the building once it's complete. Here is pictures of two of the five scratches I found on the wainscot.


They finished the South gable end and got the windows in. The pictures were taken with the dusk sunlight making the color look off, the door in the picture is what the whole building looks like but you get the gist. They also did the stringers inside. They weren't here when I got home like they usually are. It was a cold day

 

[850xpeps]

Why don’t people pre drill their sheets? So much faster and less eff ups and scratches later on. Also a much cleaner line that isn’t all over the place. I would be pissed. The kid couldn’t even put them in the centre of the flat.


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[DirtyMerty]

Why don’t people pre drill their sheets? So much faster and less eff ups and scratches later on. Also a much cleaner line that isn’t all over the place. I would be pissed. The kid couldn’t even put them in the centre of the flat.


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I hear ya. The screws they use have a self tapping end so it isn't really necessary to pre drill unless you can't hang on to a screw

They finished up the barn on Friday the 8th and were gone by the time I got home from work the last two days.



I am very happy with the look of the barn and even though it was a month late, I'm glad that I did not rush to get the concrete done and wait for the freeze thaw cycle. In the picture below you can see that the post holes settled from the rain we got. Also, with no garage doors for a while, that could let unwanted critters in like bats or birds. I've got plenty of experience with bats, when I bought my house I ended up finding 30 bats in my soffit, long story

 

[DirtyMerty]

The garage doors were installed on Wednesday. I am happy with them and they give plenty of light for the long winter since I will not be running power until the ground thaws out.

 

[gos5]

Beautiful build! What size are the doors. I'm looking to build a 36x42x14 in the spring and think I may need to 14 ft tall door to fit the 5th wheel in for storage. I'm wondering if I'll have to go to a 16 ft building to put a 14 ft tall door?

Thanks
Dan

 

[DirtyMerty]

Beautiful build! What size are the doors. I'm looking to build a 36x42x14 in the spring and think I may need to 14 ft tall door to fit the 5th wheel in for storage. I'm wondering if I'll have to go to a 16 ft building to put a 14 ft tall door?

Thanks
Dan

Thank You! They are both 12x14 overhead doors. Not sure how tall your trailer is but you can't go wrong with 14' tall door. I think it would be cheaper to go with a 16' sidewall building v.s. getting custom trusses to fit a 14' door. Not sure exactly what you would have to do but look into a taller building, no one ever complains of going to big.

 

[lakeroadster]

Looking good Merty.. Don't make any final payments until they fix those scratched up sheets. Power of the Purse.

Is that your gorilla nosed poncho?

 

[sean Buick 76]

Awesome looking build, I am very impressed!

 

[DirtyMerty]

Looking good Merty.. Don't make any final payments until they fix those scratched up sheets. Power of the Purse.

Yes! you are right, I was not planning on final payment until building is finished, even though final payment is only around $900 because they already took $1000 off for the winter build discount. They have not bothered asking me for any final payment

Awesome looking build, I am very impressed!

Thank you SeanBuick!

I still can't believe how quick the building went up and that my dream has come true. It is nice going in the building and smelling fresh lumber, also keeping the cars and other junk out of the elements. Next update will hopefully be electrical

 

[zmotorsports]

Good looking building. Nice size as well.

 

[Jeff Scott]

Your build looks great. We have the same color wainscot and trim.

As far as screw placement, my builder measured the location of the girts, or wall strapping 2x6's and transferred that to a pile of sheet metal and pre-drilled through the pile for each screw location. It worked well, screws are laser straight.

Good luck on the rest of your build!

 

[DirtyMerty]

Good looking building. Nice size as well.

Your build looks great. We have the same color wainscot and trim.

As far as screw placement, my builder measured the location of the girts, or wall strapping 2x6's and transferred that to a pile of sheet metal and pre-drilled through the pile for each screw location. It worked well, screws are laser straight.

Good luck on the rest of your build!

Thank you guys for the comments. I am subscribed to both of your projects and read them before I even started so don't be surprised if you see one of your ideas in here
I hope everyone had a good Christmas! I now have things to ask for on Christmas and Birthdays, stuff for the shop I got a home made sign with My last name on it for Xmas. Can't wait to start working in there, gonna be a long winter; two straight weeks of subzero weather already

 

[DirtyMerty]

Thank you guys for the comments. I am subscribed to both of your projects and read them before I even started so don't be surprised if you see one of your ideas in here [emoji481]
I hope everyone had a good Christmas! I now have things to ask for on Christmas and Birthdays, stuff for the shop I got a home made sign with My last name on it for Xmas. Can't wait to start working in there, gonna be a long winter; two straight weeks of subzero weather already

I have some updates. We got 15" of snow on April 14th, that was nice. One of the reasons I did not go with gutters, you can see the snow hanging off the edge of roof.

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[DirtyMerty]

I have some updates. We got 15" of snow on April 14th, that was nice. One of the reasons I did not go with gutters, you can see the snow hanging off the edge of roof.

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I decided to not go with a trench drain down the middle of shop causing slope where I would not want it. After talking to a friend with a shop, we decided it would be best to put a trench drain in front of each door. There is 12 feet of slop on each side of drain with drain being 12 feet from door. The neighbors came over and helped me install drains, daylight to east side of garage. I am blessed to have such nice neighbors. They also told me to stub up a 2" pipe for a future sink which I did. Good idea, never hurts to have options

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[DirtyMerty]

I decided to not go with a trench drain down the middle of shop causing slope where I would not want it. After talking to a friend with a shop, we decided it would be best to put a trench drain in front of each door. There is 12 feet of slop on each side of drain with drain being 12 feet from door. The neighbors came over and helped me install drains, daylight to east side of garage. I am blessed to have such nice neighbors. They also told me to stub up a 2" pipe for a future sink which I did. Good idea, never hurts to have options

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I installed a thermal barrier around the whole inside perimeter. About 15" down, just me a pick axe and trench shovel. That was a lot of work! I wouldn't want that job. I also stubbed out 3" PVC for future water line.

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[DirtyMerty]

I just installed the App for GJ. Apparently I am replying to my own posts, oops. Anyway, a friend of mine from High school rented me his Skiddy for a whole week and I did a lot of work around the yard and barn getting the swale in around the barn to get water away, it has rained a lot and with the slope and the thermal barrier I have not had anymore water issues.

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[lakeroadster]

Building is looking great.

I have some updates. We got 15" of snow on April 14th, that was nice. One of the reasons I did not go with gutters, you can see the snow hanging off the edge of roof.

Snow is not a problem with properly designed gutters and a roof with snow trim.

The advantage with gutters is controlling water and keeping it away from your building. They also prevent splash back.. water / dirt from splashing up onto the steel building.

 

[DirtyMerty]

Electrician neighbor came over and we ran 100 amp service from house to barn. Also, ran power to pond for future pond light, fountain ect.

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[DirtyMerty]

Got the floor leveled out and foam installed. Marked out a permanent spot for the two post hoist, straight in with enough room in front for tool box and mezzanine.

I decided to tape the seams of foam, probably a waste of time but peace of mind. I also used a 8ft 2x4 with a line every foot for marking out the barn floor for pex.
I went with Radiantec for my DIY kit and checking with Menards I could have saved $500 however, you don't get customer service, a pex map of exactly where to lay it and exactly how many loops you need to make it right. They have been helpful and I also like there manifold with pressure test port built into it.
I had to fudge there MAP a little bit because I didn't tell them where the drains or hoist pad was going, easy enough to figure that out on my own. I was amazed at how accurate the map was and how I used up each roll within feet.

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[DirtyMerty]

Another member on here Erodz gave me the 2x4 jig idea for holding my pex and 90 stubs in place, love how it turned out.
Holds 50 psi

Just me and my 16 year old daughter laying the pex, easy peasy. And that gets you caught up to today. Concrete gets poured tomorrow. Now that I have easier way of updating, I'll try not to wait so long.

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[DirtyMerty]

Building is looking great.



Snow is not a problem with properly designed gutters and a roof with snow trim.

The advantage with gutters is controlling water and keeping it away from your building. They also prevent splash back.. water / dirt from splashing up onto the steel building.

Thank you. I agree, probably would not have been that big of a deal just didn't want to deal with it at this time and save some coin. I have recycled concrete along the side of building that has splashed back dirt onto building as you can see which is a bummer but it is packing down and cleaning up real nice where the water falls. I will compact, lay poly and river rock around perimeter so I wont have that problem in the future. The swale I made directs all water away from building suprising well.

 

[lakeroadster]

Thank you. I agree, probably would not have been that big of a deal just didn't want to deal with it at this time and save some coin. I have recycled concrete along the side of building that has splashed back dirt onto building as you can see which is a bummer but it is packing down and cleaning up real nice where the water falls. I will compact, lay poly and river rock around perimeter so I wont have that problem in the future. The swale I made directs all water away from building suprising well.

Be careful with recycled concrete. The dust that comes off of it is a health hazard. http://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/news/10091075/Concrete-dust-big-threat-to-rebuild-workers

We used it as a base for our driveway, but covered it with crushed asphalt.