Finally...40x64x16 pole barn

[cj7jeep81]

I've been planning my shop build for the last several years, and have finally been able to start on it this year (after nearly a decade of being garage-less). Was originally going to be 40x40 (40' wide is about all I can do), but after seeing a 40x60 with the depth in the 60x length, I really liked it and decided to go that way.

It's a 40x64x16 (ish) pole barn. It will have perma-columns, and laminated 2x6 columns, 2" of insulation on all walls and roof, wainscotting, 2 14x14 insulated doors, 1 entry door, and two scissor trusses (for a future loft). It will eventually have concrete, but not sure when as that will be up to finances. Decided on 64' in length as the cost difference was very minimal (one more truss and a bit of metal basically).

Bought the materials from Wiggam Lumber, and getting some help on building it. My wife's cousin works construction, and him and a couple of buddies do some side work. Hoping to have it done in a month or two, but we'll see.

Cleared some land last summer to get teh full 64' depth. Most of it was just brush, but had a handful of trees to cut done (none bigger than 12 or 13" diameter). We dug out most of the stumps with my dad's Kubota with backhoe, but there were a few too big so I rented a mini-excavator to dig them out.

Once that was done, we used dad's tractor to scrape off all the top soil, and get a level pad. Then started with stone to smooth it all out. I think in all, I ended up with around 100 tons of stone to get a fairly level pad built up 4" or so above the surrounding grade.

Then it sat like that until last month, when I finally had everything lined up to start. Got all the holes drilled, and started setting some posts. Got two set one night, then started another weekend and the weather got too crappy to continue. Setting 20+ foot poles in wind is not fun. Last weekend we got the rest of the posts set, and some of the girts on. Might be able to work tonight, but will definitely work tomorrow and hoping to get some of the trusses set.

So here's some pics of all of that. Hoping now that the posts are set, we start speeding up as that was pretty time consuming/tedious.

 

[madoc1]

going to be nice. why the huge doors. also maybe the weather will improve. it certainly has here.

jim

 

[cj7jeep81]

going to be nice. why the huge doors. also maybe the weather will improve. it certainly has here.

jim

Yeah, weather is looking much better. Hopefully it doesn't turn into a monsoon. As for the doors, I was originally going with 12x12, but 14x14 wasn't that much more. Figured this gives me a little more room to back in a trailer (not the best approach angle from the driveway), and with the 14' height, allows me to not worry about where I place a lift/have the door open while a vehicle is lifted.

 

[junk]

Great thought on a lift regarding door size. Looks like it's moving right along.

 

[adamcc91]

Looks awesome, keep up the good work. I can't wait to see more.

 

[cj7jeep81]

Didn't get quite as far as we'd hoped this weekend. Scissor trusses turned into a bigger head ache to properly brace. Going to get a lift tonight to run up from the inside to brace properly, and hope to get the second (and thankfully last) scissor truss in place, then we can take off with the normal ones. Was just barely able to lift the truss up and over the end posts from the inside. No clue how we'd do this without the skid steer and boom on the front.

Also had another helper today. He doesn't like heights, but after a bit he was 10-12' up. We haven't attached our skirt boards yet (those will take a bit with having to pre-drill the concrete), but it looks like my finished height inside after 6" of concrete should be about 16' 10". Might be a few inches lower if we have to adjust the height of the skirt board, but that will give me plenty of headroom for the loft. With the scissor trusses, that's nearly 20' in the center of them.

 

[HemiRamOn22s]

Looks good im going to start the build on my 40x80 here shortly.

 

[cj7jeep81]

Framing is complete Getting that inspected today, and hoping to get a delivery of some of the metal/insulation today or tomorrow. Moving along pretty well now.

 

[Aaron P.]

perfect size in all ways....what have they used around the base of the timber uprights? can ya get a pic of this please

 

[cj7jeep81]

Those are perma-columns. It's a 5' pre-cast concrete post with a bracket (with rebar in the post) on top that the laminated 2x6's bolt to. Keeps the wood out of the ground, and allows them to use all normal wood (no pressure treated). Kinda pricey, but figure I'll be using the shop for the next 30 or 40 years, so it isn't much in the long term.

 

[Catadj78]

 

[NASMAN]

Those are perma-columns. It's a 5' pre-cast concrete post with a bracket (with rebar in the post) on top that the laminated 2x6's bolt to. Keeps the wood out of the ground, and allows them to use all normal wood (no pressure treated). Kinda pricey, but figure I'll be using the shop for the next 30 or 40 years, so it isn't much in the long term.

Do they sit on a footing, or are they just in the ground?
Build is looking good. Not easy in that kind of weather.

 

[Chevy-SS]

Looks great, How come you went with wood instead of a metal building?

 

[cj7jeep81]

Do they sit on a footing, or are they just in the ground?
Build is looking good. Not easy in that kind of weather.

They are just like normal posts. For mine, we dug a 48" deep hole, and compacted the dirt. Then put in a 4" thick by 12" diameter concrete cookie, and the post rests on this. Then 2 bags of concrete in the hole, and filling the rest with stone/dirt.

Looks great, How come you went with wood instead of a metal building?

Metal buildings aren't real common around here (at least that I know of). I'm familiar building this can, as are the guys helping me. Pole barns are very, very common around here.

 

[cj7jeep81]

Metal and insulation are going on. Have had a lot of rain, or windy days lately. And of course it was perfect this weekend, but wive's would not have been happy for people to be working. Supposed to rain every day this week as well, but so far weekend is looking decent.

West side of roof is complete, and started with the metal/insulation on the west wall.

 

[BearBite]

Framing is complete

I'm going to keep an eye on this build. I plan on building a similar size shop within the next year or so.

Looks great so far.

Have had a lot of rain lately.

Must be nice, we are in a major drought out here.

 

[cj7jeep81]

I'm going to keep an eye on this build. I plan on building a similar size shop within the next year or so.

Looks great so far.



Must be nice, we are in a major drought out here.

Final height inside should be 16' 8". We placed the truss carriers even with the top of the lowest post, which resulted in very little scrap for the posts, and more head room for my loft.

Yeah, we have had a lot of rain here. Supposed to rain all this week too, but they are calling for a decent weekend (but who knows what will happen by then).

 

[Z06Joe]

This is going to be massive. I too have hopes of doing a 60x40 in my back yard at some point. This will make a great reference for that!

Best of luck!!

 

[PipeLayaz]

Thats huge! Good luck with your build!

 

[cj7jeep81]

Got the metal done on the west wall, wainscoting on the south wall, and the roof completed this weekend. And of course, now we are back to rain. Going to take off tomorrow afternoon and start on some of the soffit and trim.

 

[pennsylvaniaboy]

so did you use 16' posts for your side and 20' posts for the center where they go up to the truss center?

 

[cj7jeep81]

so did you use 16' posts for your side and 20' posts for the center where they go up to the truss center?

We used 21' posts for the side walls (5' permacolumn, 16' of post), with roughly 4' of that in the ground. The gable sides ranged from 25' to 29' (they spec'd them for the height they would need to be at each point). We then just took the lowest post (which happened to be the southeast corner), and set the truss plates at the top of the post. Ended up cutting off very little of the posts, and was able to get an interior height of 16' 8.5" from what will be the finished 6" concrete floor.

 

[cj7jeep81]

Saturday was a beautiful, and very productive day. Got all the metal on the back (just need to finish screwing off a few rows). All the metal on the east wall was also installed, and all the soffit. Still need to finish up a little bit of trim on the three walls, but getting close. Sunday was a washout, or else we'd be almost done with the shell. Hopefully we'll get a couple nice evenings, and we would be able to finish the shell this weekend.

 

[bandtank]

Did you use uplift anchors/cleats/etc. on your permacolumns?

 

[cj7jeep81]

Did you use uplift anchors/cleats/etc. on your permacolumns?

There were holes drilled in the bottom of the column (one per column). From their website, it looks like you could buy their uplift anchors and bolt them on. My material supplier though just sent a bunch of 12" pieces of 1/2" rebar that we stuck through the hole to server the same basic purpose.

 

[bandtank]

There were holes drilled in the bottom of the column (one per column). From their website, it looks like you could buy their uplift anchors and bolt them on. My material supplier though just sent a bunch of 12" pieces of 1/2" rebar that we stuck through the hole to server the same basic purpose.

That's what I was hoping you'd say! I plan to do the same thing and I'm sure it'll work just as well for a lot less cost.

 

[INTMD8]

Awesome shop! I love the ceiling height

 

[cj7jeep81]

Thanks. Need to get some updated pictures, as all of the metal is on now. Just need to finish up a few pieces of trim, and the shell will be complete.

 

[cj7jeep81]

Pretty much done with the exterior. We got almost all of the trim done yesterday. All that's left is the northeast corner. The corner trim ended up falling right on top of a rib (not sure how we managed that, but oh well). Going to get that re-bent to miss the rib, then a few screws and it's done.

Concrete will have to wait, as I don't have enough money now to do it. Hoping for this fall, but next spring at the latest which is fine. For now, I'm going to get a load of stone, and get the grade right inside and packed down. That will give me a good base to work off of until concrete time.

Will also start on some electrical (at least the panel and lights) here soon.

 

[bandtank]

What kind of posts did you use? I see you said laminated, but maybe I missed the other part. Are the posts 3 ply 2x6s?

 

[cj7jeep81]

What kind of posts did you use? I see you said laminated, but maybe I missed the other part. Are the posts 3 ply 2x6s?

Yep, 3 ply 2x6's with the perma-columns.

 

[bandtank]

Yep, 3 ply 2x6's with the perma-columns.

Great. Thanks.

Your building looks great. I can only hope mine turns out that well.

 

[cj7jeep81]

Great. Thanks.

Your building looks great. I can only hope mine turns out that well.

Thanks, I appreciate it. Really like how the colors came out. Had been nervous, as it's hard to tell based on what's in your head, or with little samples. Went up faster than I thought it would with how we did it (mostly nights/weekends). Going to take a while to get all the electric done, but that's fine.

 

[cj7jeep81]

After almost a year, finally getting ready to do the concrete. I've tried to keep what I put in there to a minimum, but still have a decent bit of (heavy) stuff to move. Going to get all but the heavy stuff moved this week, and will move the rest next week with the skidsteer. Also going to run some conduit from my panel across the shop, so I'll have a 100 amp sub-panel on the east wall, which should help out with wiring.

Then next week will be the last of the stone, compaction, and ready for concrete.

Don't have any pics, but got some lights installed. Went with 4 4-bulb T5HO fixtures. I was really impressed with how well they light the building up. I planned on getting 2 more (which I need to do), but it's a great start. Once I get the last 2, I'll have 3 rows of 2 lights, basically evenly spaced.

 

[HunterDan]

Could you post some pics of the lighting? I finished the shell/concrete floor of my 40x48 over the winter, and am about ready for wiring.

Also, what did you use for insulation? Is that just the bubble stuff?

Looks great!

 

[cj7jeep81]

Could you post some pics of the lighting? I finished the shell/concrete floor of my 40x48 over the winter, and am about ready for wiring.

Also, what did you use for insulation? Is that just the bubble stuff?

Looks great!

I don't have any pics of the lights installed, but here is what I bought. They regularly go on sale for $100, which isn't too bad since it comes with bulbs.
http://www.menards.com/main/mainten...4427445305-c-7495.htm?tid=3335661679911752000

Basically I have one row of two about 16' in and a second row 32' in. I'll have the third row 48' in, so basically spread out equally. Each fixture is roughly 13' from the wall, with 13' between them. Hopefully that makes sense.

As for the insulation, it's a vinyl backed fiberglass insulation. Came in big rolls that were 4' wide, and 40' long (I think). Basically just wrapped all the way around on the walls and roof.

 

[HunterDan]

So with just those 4 lights, is it bright enough to work on things without extra lighting?

Also, could you let me know where you got the insulation? And did you put it on the outside of the purlins and put the metal right over it?

 

[cj7jeep81]

So with just those 4 lights, is it bright enough to work on things without extra lighting?

Also, could you let me know where you got the insulation? And did you put it on the outside of the purlins and put the metal right over it?

It's pretty bright. I'm going to wait until the floor is in to decide if I need more, but it's definitely workable.

I got the insulation from the company that provided my pole barn materials (small place near me). But this is pretty similar, only mine is only 2" thick.
http://www.menards.com/main/buildin...423324503-c-5780.htm?tid=-3264521507825448928

And yes, it went outside the purlins, and was held up with some nails with big washers (like you'd use for tar paper) with the insulation facing out. Then the metal on top with screws through both. It does make it take longer to put the metal on, but I think it will definitely be worth it.

 

[USAFpj]

CJ7- what siding color did you go with- looks like Taupe? Sometimes light grey, sometimes tan

 

[cj7jeep81]

CJ7- what siding color did you go with- looks like Taupe? Sometimes light grey, sometimes tan

That siding is clay, little darker brown than tan. Rest is gallery blue.