Composite pole barn columns? Need help ASAP

[DougWil]

Stick built with concrete or CMU foundation is not necessarily longer lasting. If you believe that, I'd love to show pics of my old home that by 40 years had a bowing foundation wall and crumbling CMUs.

That is because your foundation was under designed for the load and soil conditions combined with poor quality materials and workmanship.

Properly built concrete footings and structures are serviceable for hundreds of years.

 

[sberry]

I agree with 383. I see some wood structures with **** sitting on or in the ground from old buildings but cant recall a common pole barn with treated wood rot off. I understand it in dairy barns but there are 1000's of those still standing.
I am sure if one is a builder and out looking at them you may see some worse case scenarios but for 1 of those there is 100 still fine.
Missed connections and pulled nails is what is usually the failure, same for old barns, yes the post rotted off after the rain came thru the roof and ran down it.
I have seen a lot of ****** foundations last a long time and still in service.
I have generational issues and am starting to prep for some of it. I am going to remod a couple houses, get rid of all old glass and follow new codes, increase the insulation and fix some foundation. I am going to future proof some, my children are small and would like to see the infrastructure not need major upgrades till they are old enough to be self sustaining.
I got to fix the basement wall from my Father, oh well. When it comes to it going to remod right over and can eliminate the need for it anyway with addition. If you want windows now is the time, aint nothing like a pain in the *** to have to come back later, some of that never gets done.

 

[sberry]

But if it was easy to do or add wouldn't have an issue with tossing a couple grand at a better foundation or any improvements to materials. I did on mine, increased the framing loads a pinch. Cost 1500$ or so, same with metal gage and better insulated doors and springs.

 

[sberry]

I would trade the poles for 4 more ft of width though and maybe some doors or windows.

 

[jkeyser14]

What kind of posts are you using that rot off in 20 years? I work for a company that has been building post frame buildings since 1964, and haven't had a problem yet. When we celebrated our 50th anniversary in 2014, we found and took pictures if the first post frame barn that the company built in '64. The original posts are still fine.

I'm not saying that concrete won't last longer than wood, but there is no reason that a properly constructed post frame building shouldn't last a lifetime. Just remember that not all pressure treated wood is the same.

If money wasn't a consideration when I built my post frame shop I would have used Perma-columns, but I'm not losing any sleep at night having wood posts in the ground.

I have replaced a ton of pressure treated wood on decks and fences that were rotted or full of carpenter ants or even termites. Those decks were all 20-25 years old.