My official pole barn build thread...

[moneyisflying]

Once I got the 2x6's nice and dry, the table saw was able to rip them in half for some decent trim boards. They would not be good enough for a home finish trim board, but for my barn, they turned out perfect!

I ran out of time today to get any of them up, but I should be able to tackle that on Thursday this week.

 

[moneyisflying]

Well, yesterday market a big day on the build. I finally got all the big items done on the barn where I could start moving things in, and I did it before the big snow got here! I was lucky and yesterday it was actually 48 degrees F.

I like how the cheap trim boards turned out. I think they look pretty good and where a nice finish to everything.

The next step will be to start organizing and putting all my tools and other things away. I need to weld together a metal wood rack first I think because I am tired of having all my wood for my furnace just lie on the floor and make a mess.

 

[hake]

moneyisflying, I sent you a PM. Would you care to take a look at get back with me? I am looking to build a pole barn and interested in what advice you have with Naitional Pole Company.

 

[moneyisflying]

Just sent you a reply hake. Sorry for the late response. I don't get PM notifications sent to my email. I need to update my preferences.

More progress on the barn!

Will post up pics later!

 

[GLTHFJ60]

Subscribed!! Looking forward to seeing this finished out.

 

[moneyisflying]

Its been pretty cold, but working on making some of the stuff inside the barn has been much more comfortable with the wood burning furnace!

Took about an hour to get it from below freezing to T-shirt weather inside.

 

[moneyisflying]

Something I have been looking forward to for a long time in the barn has been some music! I got this Pyle receiver for Christmas from my wife. I wanted this particular one because it has the ability to play songs off of an SD card and USB port. I can basically load up endless songs on a card quickly and have easy usage in the barn. I also got a killer deal on a set of some really high quality used Paradigm speakers on eBay. I paid $70 for the pair and these were like $900 speakers brand new. They sound terrific! I am hoping down the line a bit more to adding 2 more speakers to have 1 speaker in each corner. I made the speaker shelves out of some left over 2x4's.

 

[moneyisflying]

While the tunes were rocking and furnace had the barn nice and comfortable, I was able to enjoy making this corner bench to put my drill press on. So far, I have only used it to drill metal and it has been a great piece. I am looking forward to being able to use it on this bench instead of the concrete ground like I have been in the past.

 

[lakeroadster]

Shop is looking great... except for the platform for your wood stove. Bump into it while moving things around, the stove falls off the cinder blocks, and the barn burns down.

Safety first... also, never place cinder blocks where you can see the holes.. no strength in that direction. And with the heat from the stove the cinder block could crack.

 

[moneyisflying]

Shop is looking great... except for the platform for your wood stove. Bump into it while moving things around, the stove falls off the cinder blocks, and the barn burns down.

Safety first... also, never place cinder blocks where you can see the holes.. no strength in that direction. And with the heat from the stove the cinder block could crack.

Meh. It's fine. I'm not hosting jousting tournaments in there. When this thing gets going it's EXTREMELY hot. I don't even really get near it. The barn is made from metal and concrete. Unless these items somehow can catch fire, I'm not in the least concerned.

Back in another thread that I started about the wood burning furnace I had a guy go on in some detail that because I had the furnace at all the whole place would burn down, it was just a matter of time. Even when I explained in detail how my insurance company knew full well about it and they said I was 100% covered he seemed to disagree. I know some people may have had some bad experience or just have it set in their minds that they always know best.

The barrel weighs like 15 lbs, maybe twice that with it loaded with wood. I have had a car on cinder blocks before. There's just not much weight for it to support. I have never seen cinder blocks affected by heat before either. If this is a thing, please feel free to share the info. I allays thought it shared the same properties as concrete. And honestly I got this setup idea from about 10 other people running the same wood burning furnace idea, so I figure if they are running it and are fine, I should be also.
I do appreciate the concern and input, but I'm totally confident that my current setup is more than sufficient for my barn. Now, if it was a wood barn, or I had a smaller space where I actually would worry about things getting knocked into it, I would have definitely gone a different route. But this fits my needs perfectly and I'm not concerned with its setup at all.

 

[rusty1]

...I agree with Lakeroadster,...I didn't like those cement blocks sitting that way as soon as I saw them, those blocks do crack no matter how they are stacked,...it won't be nice if they tumble,... I'd weld up an angle iron frame with a metal top to sit that stove on and paint it all flat black,..you could store some wood under the stove, your barn isn't all steel & concrete, you've got a wood frame, insulation and wood paneling,...plenty there that can burn.
...just my 2 cents, it's your barn, nice job on it.

 

[850xpeps]

Meh. It's fine. I'm not hosting jousting tournaments in there. When this thing gets going it's EXTREMELY hot. I don't even really get near it. The barn is made from metal and concrete. Unless these items somehow can catch fire, I'm not in the least concerned.

Back in another thread that I started about the wood burning furnace I had a guy go on in some detail that because I had the furnace at all the whole place would burn down, it was just a matter of time. Even when I explained in detail how my insurance company knew full well about it and they said I was 100% covered he seemed to disagree. I know some people may have had some bad experience or just have it set in their minds that they always know best.

The barrel weighs like 15 lbs, maybe twice that with it loaded with wood. I have had a car on cinder blocks before. There's just not much weight for it to support. I have never seen cinder blocks affected by heat before either. If this is a thing, please feel free to share the info. I allays thought it shared the same properties as concrete. And honestly I got this setup idea from about 10 other people running the same wood burning furnace idea, so I figure if they are running it and are fine, I should be also.
I do appreciate the concern and input, but I'm totally confident that my current setup is more than sufficient for my barn. Now, if it was a wood barn, or I had a smaller space where I actually would worry about things getting knocked into it, I would have definitely gone a different route. But this fits my needs perfectly and I'm not concerned with its setup at all.

You do realize concrete is affected by heat too? Lol put a torch close to concrete and stare at it. See what happens.

 

[TestBill]

Moneyisflying
Tanker driver (based on your picture)? Former B-1 and Buff driver here. Great looking building, thank you for the information. I really like the ripped 2 x 6's used as inside trim boards.
Bill

 

[lakeroadster]

...The barn is made from metal and concrete. Unless these items somehow can catch fire, I'm not in the least concerned..

Let's at least keep the conversation truthful. You've documented your wood frame building, exposed wooden trusses, 2x4's on the walls, foam insulation and wood paneling.

Lots of folks have wood stoves in their barns.. but not sitting on loose cinder blocks.. that's the issue, not so much the stove itself.

Seems prudent to at least band strap the blocks together and fasten the stove to the base.

So, after debating what to put up for walls, it seems with how I put up my 2x4's on my walls, that drywall would not be a good idea. So today I got some affordable wood paneling and started to put up the walls.

For real.. you're ok with it, as is?

 

[TurtleValley]

Great wood stove by the way. It is a feeling of accomplishment when you can put something like that together yourself and then feel the benefits of it in heat and savings. Everything you have done in your shop so far is very logical and straight forward and your stove installation is the same.


Getting this thread back on track...

Are you happy with the black ceiling rafter space now that you have it completed? I really like the look that you have gone with for that as it certainly draws your eye away from all those sticks in the rafters etc. and put your eye back what is going on in the room. My question is do you think it soaked up a lot of the light and could you estimate how much brighter you had go in lighting to make up for loosing any reflected light?

Again I really like it as it gives a theatre feel to your shop.

 

[ap2002]

very nice, subscribed

 

[sean Buick 76]

Looking really nice so far!!

 

[moneyisflying]

Thanks everyone. Got some more work done. Got my metal grinding table setup along with a steel guard to block any sparks from the grinding. This was a bit overkill as the small Sparks won't really do much on their own, but wanted to keep if from damaging my walls.

 

[moneyisflying]

I also got my main workbench and tool wall done. I got a killer deal on Craigslist on this steel workbench. Originally all I wanted was the vice that was on the top of it but the guy needed to get rid of it so I got the vice and the bench for $20. The wood top was in pretty rough shape, so I got a 3/4" sheet of wood and took the time to apply some stain and 10 coats of polyurethane to finish it off. I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out!

I also hung an LED light above the bench and wall to give more directed light.

For the wall I built a frame and added a sheet of plywood and used some leftover paint to finish it off.

 

[moneyisflying]

Moneyisflying
Tanker driver (based on your picture)? Former B-1 and Buff driver here. Great looking building, thank you for the information. I really like the ripped 2 x 6's used as inside trim boards.
Bill

Hey thanks Bill! It's a small world. Who knows, it's possible I gave you fuel over the AOR at some point.

Great wood stove by the way. It is a feeling of accomplishment when you can put something like that together yourself and then feel the benefits of it in heat and savings. Everything you have done in your shop so far is very logical and straight forward and your stove installation is the same.


Getting this thread back on track...

Are you happy with the black ceiling rafter space now that you have it completed? I really like the look that you have gone with for that as it certainly draws your eye away from all those sticks in the rafters etc. and put your eye back what is going on in the room. My question is do you think it soaked up a lot of the light and could you estimate how much brighter you had go in lighting to make up for loosing any reflected light?

Again I really like it as it gives a theatre feel to your shop.

Thanks TurtleValley. People can get sidetracked very easy when they see something they don't agree with regardless if it works or not. Thanks for keeping this on track.

To answer your question, after having the black up for a while now, I am still really happy with the appearance that it gives the barn. It really does keep the focus on the work area and it almost feels like the night sky is above me rather than a bunch of wood rafters. It did drop down the light reflection a bit though. Fortunately, I put the proper amount of light in the barn where every part of the barn has LOTS of good lighting.

I'm really looking forward to getting this a little bit further to be able to work on some projects out there and make use of this great barn!

 

[moneyisflying]

Been a while and due for an update.

I had a concrete pad poured outside my barn when they poured the floors. This was for a future addition to the barn that I am finally getting to now. I am making an overhang for shade to make a small outdoor shooting range. Yesterday I bought the lumber and concrete. With the help of my mighty 6 year old I dug the holes and put in the 4x4 posts and later concreted them in plance with some supports to hold them while the concrete cures.

More pictures to follow of the progress!

 

[rusty1]

...that barn would heat up so much better with a ceiling...

 

[moneyisflying]

...that barn would heat up so much better with a ceiling...

Well considering it's a 30x40 barn, and having temps go from below freezing to T-shirt weather in less than an hour, I'm pretty happy with that. Heck, my garage that does have a ceiling and is even better insulated with a powerful electric heater probably takes just as long to heat my garage from below freezing temps to T-shirt temps.

 

[solows10]

what about the savings?

 

[moneyisflying]

what about the savings?

I'm not sure I follow you. How is adding a ceiling that will cost my time and money be cheaper than leaving it how it is and not spending anything? I don't spend anything on the wood to burn. So fuel for the fire isn't costing me anything.

 

[jblnut]

Great looking shed and it's nice seeing people do their own work. Do it how you want it and you have no one to screw it up but yourself !!

We had a double 55gal wood stove in our old farm shop for as long as I can remember and never had any issues with it. It heated like a sumbitch and did so mighty quickly as well !! When it did finally rot out we built another one that is still being used. I will have to agree with the block feet not being the best material out there but most of the heat will be going up and away and not towards the block anyway. Our double stove had a cradle made out of angle iron with a shelf below the stove. We kept a metal poker rod and a shovel to clean it out on the shelf.

I heat my current little shop (24x24x10) with a woodstove and it can be a tricky deal to get it warm enough without sweating yourself out. Not having a ceiling isn't a bad thing by any means. I put a ceiling fan in a few years back and the heat evened out a tremendous amount. Although I read through the whole thread I don't remember if you have a fan or plans for one. If you don't, I'd think about it. I'm very glad I put one in !! Climp up in the rafters once it's comfortable down by the floor and see how warm it is up there. A fan would help it warm up that much faster.

 

[moneyisflying]

Great looking shed and it's nice seeing people do their own work. Do it how you want it and you have no one to screw it up but yourself !!

We had a double 55gal wood stove in our old farm shop for as long as I can remember and never had any issues with it. It heated like a sumbitch and did so mighty quickly as well !! When it did finally rot out we built another one that is still being used. I will have to agree with the block feet not being the best material out there but most of the heat will be going up and away and not towards the block anyway. Our double stove had a cradle made out of angle iron with a shelf below the stove. We kept a metal poker rod and a shovel to clean it out on the shelf.

I heat my current little shop (24x24x10) with a woodstove and it can be a tricky deal to get it warm enough without sweating yourself out. Not having a ceiling isn't a bad thing by any means. I put a ceiling fan in a few years back and the heat evened out a tremendous amount. Although I read through the whole thread I don't remember if you have a fan or plans for one. If you don't, I'd think about it. I'm very glad I put one in !! Climp up in the rafters once it's comfortable down by the floor and see how warm it is up there. A fan would help it warm up that much faster.

Thanks for the input! Yeah originally I had thought about a fan to spread the heat out because I wanted it evenly spread also. After I tried the wood burner out though, I noticed that the thing heats the whole barn evenly on it's own. The corners get just as warm as the center. Really the only place it's super hot is 5ft or closer to the furnace itself. After seeing that, I didn't feel a fan would do much at that point.

 

[moneyisflying]

Here are some more pics of the shooting overhang progress addition to the barn. I put in a lot of work yesterday. I got right up to starting to put the roof on and mother nature had other thoughts of me stopping as a thunderstorm came in. I had some leftover siding/roofing from when the barn was built so I am using that. I also had to take a break late afternoon as I had a mild case of heat stroke. It was the first 85+ degree day of the year. I drank a TON of water but it wasn't enough. Anyways, I'll have to finish it up when I get time again and the weather cooperates more.

 

[moneyisflying]

Well, today I was lucky enough and had a break in the rain to finish the overhang. For never doing anything like this before, I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out!

 

[Pipe Rat]

So whats the trick to saving from National Barn?

 

[rixtrix1]

Very nice and a great price! Thanks for sharing.

 

[moneyisflying]

Got some more progress today!

I got some fine crushed gravel to really finish off the drive way, spread around the perimeter of the barn and spread around my new shooting pad.

This really made a big difference in how it all looks and I'm glad I'll finally have a really smooth gravel surface.

 

[moneyisflying]

So whats the trick to saving from National Barn?

Sending you a PM.

 

[lakeroadster]

My experience with that fine crushed limestone when I lived in Ohio was it tracks like crazy...

 

[moneyisflying]

My experience with that fine crushed limestone when I lived in Ohio was it tracks like crazy...

I've only noticed it doing that with agressively grooved (usually off road) tires. So far, just my ATV leaves tracks. All regular vehicles do fine without leaving tracks.

 

[moneyisflying]

So, time for an update. I got a good deal on this 60 gallon air compressor for $100 on Facebook marketplace. I wired it up to my breaker box (220V) and hooked up a few air lines to different parts of the barn. I tested it all out and it's working great! Did some plasma cutting with everything setup also. This is a very nice addition to the barn!

 

[moneyisflying]

I used some PVC to mount the lines. Seems to work well.