Pole Barn Pole Depth

[jonnysteals]

I am curious aboutt he pole barn strucutre. I am considering a 40x50 pole abrn using 6x6 pressure treated poles. I was wndering how far do they get sunk in the ground so I know what size pole to order. My auger is 4 feet so I was thinking 4 feet. Is this sound normal to you; should they be deeper.

Another question is when the poles are at the side gable walls where the peak of th roof truss is should the pole be longers to give some lateral stability to the rood trusses. I am thinking it would be very benefitial to give the roof trusses some lateral stability so I wanted to order longer poles for the roof trusses gable walls.

Also one question about the concrete for the poles them selves. The concrete serves as a footing for the pole correct. The concrete is just there to keep the pole from sinking so the concrete should only cover the bopttom littl bit of the pole correct. It should not cover the entire underground portion of the pole correct.

Would it be better to use 6x6's or 3 2x6's nailed together so that the pressure treating reaches the center of the pole. They would be nailed and glued together but would it eb as strong as a 6x6. Thanks alot guys for all the help.

 

[mad57]

yes about 4 foot is all mine were maybe 5, and yes the gable ends are longer poles to help tye it together, and we only used a 3 and half foot concrete circle about 6 inches thick in the hole , pretty much poured them in a form and waited till they cured and then dropped them in the hole tamped them in and your done, other wise it will eventually rot the 6x6 if encased in the concrete in the ground. good luck your on the right track.mike.

 

[Mike in Ohio]

The depth of your post holes depends where your frost line is. I live in Canton, Ohio. My post holes had to be 18" in diameter and 36" deep. I had to have 10-12" of poured concrete in the holes.(not just dump a bag of sacrete in them like they do for decks around here). The post sit on top of the concrete.Some manufacturer will void the warranty on the treated lumber if you put it in the cement.
As far as leaving your gable end post long that makes it easier to plumb the first truss but most of your stability comes from the roof sheathing.
I have only seen the 3 6x6s nailed together when the walls were taller than they could get with available 6x6s. Good luck with your build. Mike

 

[jonnysteals]

yes about 4 foot is all mine were maybe 5, and yes the gable ends are longer poles to help tye it together, and we only used a 3 and half foot concrete circle about 6 inches thick in the hole , pretty much poured them in a form and waited till they cured and then dropped them in the hole tamped them in and your done, other wise it will eventually rot the 6x6 if encased in the concrete in the ground. good luck your on the right track.mike.

Your hole were 3.5 feet wide. Thats not good new for me. My biggest auger is 18 inches which is what I was planning on using. Its 4 feet by 18 inches and hooks up to the front hydralics on my buddies bob-cat. Yea I planned on buying a kit pole building but I am calling around today getting prices on the lumber so I can design and build it myself. i was thinking i would be able to save some money this way. Im still in the planning phase but trying to learn as much as I can now. Thanks again

The depth of your post holes depends where your frost line is. I live in Canton, Ohio. My post holes had to be 18" in diameter and 36" deep. I had to have 10-12" of poured concrete in the holes.(not just dump a bag of sacrete in them like they do for decks around here). The post sit on top of the concrete.Some manufacturer will void the warranty on the treated lumber if you put it in the cement.
As far as leaving your gable end post long that makes it easier to plumb the first truss but most of your stability comes from the roof sheathing.
I have only seen the 3 6x6s nailed together when the walls were taller than they could get with available 6x6s. Good luck with your build. Mike

Yea this sounds exaclt like I planned on doing but making the holes 4 feet deep. I plan on putting a few inches of concrete at the bottom and settign to posts on the top of the concrete. Yea just curious aboult the 3 2x6's. I would rather not do it because is gonna be a pain in the putt to make 20 posts but if They were better in terms of strength and design I would do it. i am only building this building once so i need to do it right. Thanks guys, any comments /suggestion on the building proccess woul be great. i really apprecuate it.

 

[danfromsyr]

just a note to those setting posts, a thought I've had..
there is a brush on post coat tar/preservative product..
but I've had the idea of "Icedam" roofing self healing membrane,
it's sticky on one side and is ~$60/roll at the homecenter.
I was planning to apply it to the base 1st, then apply it as a wrap to the bottom of the poles, it'll stick well to itself and keep water out/away from the wood. and really shouldn't be bothered by being in underground contact..

just an idea I've had..

Dan In NY

 

[Mattlt]

just a note to those setting posts, a thought I've had..
there is a brush on post coat tar/preservative product..
but I've had the idea of "Icedam" roofing self healing membrane,
it's sticky on one side and is ~$60/roll at the homecenter.
I was planning to apply it to the base 1st, then apply it as a wrap to the bottom of the poles, it'll stick well to itself and keep water out/away from the wood. and really shouldn't be bothered by being in underground contact..

just an idea I've had..

Dan In NY

I wouldn't. If you ever do get water between the post and the membrane, there's no way for it to come out. I would think this would be worse than no membrane.

 

[Jaxrunner]

The depth and size of the poles is determined by the soil type, vertical load, laterial load, height of unbraced length of poles, total height of the building, etc. 2'-4' sounds about right not doing any calc's. 6x6 seem to be too small unless you are planning on using a lot of poles. You might want to look at using telephone poles or dock piles. They are anywhere from 8"-12". The soil will be bracing the poles at the base and headers/trusses will be bracing at the top of the poles. I have some details if you would like me to email them to you.

The gable ends you will want to do some lateral & X-bracing if you are going to use trusses. If you are going to conventional frame the roof (rafters and ceiling joist) you will need to run the poles to the roof eck. I can email you details to help you with that as well.

As for as the concrete, It's not required but would help make a larger footprint in the ground. Concrete around the pole will help create a larger footprint to prevent settleing of the poles. You will want to drill a few holes about 4"-8" from thein the base of the poles and install rebar before setting into the concrete. The rebar will help bond poles to the concrete. Then concrete around the pole. Make sure you use ground contact Pressure Treated posts. Down here the south we see a lot of p.t. post for fences that decay at the concrete/soil line. It's from the moisture from the soil sitting on the concrete and no where to go.

Good luck with the project.

 

[krooser]

I set my posts 4' deep so I got below the frost line...EXCEPT where the poles encountered large granite boulders. In lieu of using dynamite here in town we just set the poles on top of the boulders... been 14 years and no problems yet.

My building was originally built around the early 80's... I bought it in '94 and disassembled it and reset it at my place. The treated poles that we removed from the ground, after 15 years in sand, looked like new. They are now 30 years old and I would imagine they will last another 30 years or more... don't worry about extra waterproofing unless they are in standing water...IMHO.

 

[ironman2424]

hey MIKE IN OHIO whats the deal with the law up your way. i go to new philly alot in a big truck and i get pulled over and checked almost every time. sometimes have to mail them money for bogus stuff. i was just wondereing if your state was broke or just plain greedy? i just sent them $70 for a seatbelt violation when i was wearing it 2 weeks ago.

 

[Mike in Ohio]

hey MIKE IN OHIO whats the deal with the law up your way. i go to new philly alot in a big truck and i get pulled over and checked almost every time. sometimes have to mail them money for bogus stuff. i was just wondereing if your state was broke or just plain greedy? i just sent them $70 for a seatbelt violation when i was wearing it 2 weeks ago.

GREEDY!!! especially if you have out of state plates.I drive a big truck local pickup and delivery and they seem to leave us alone. Or maybe they know we run decent equip. Was it a local guy or a state trooper? I live about 20 min north of new philly, the dot likes to sit at the end of my road with the portable scales and hassle the garbage trucks going to bolivar. One of these days somebody is going to get hit trying to get out on the main road.
Mike

 

[ironman2424]

it was a state guy. he was sitting one mile from my exit. i go to GE Betz alot. He popped me a mile from my get off. about 2am. Someday they are gonna pull over the wrong driver for bogus stuff, maybe 2 or 3 of them getting the heck beat out of them will stop some of that ****. Here in Arkansas every now and then they hassle the wrong drivers and they wind up on the asphalt in a hurry. that backs them off of drivers for awhile after that.

 

[Bevis]

I've set my 6x6 post 3.5' - 4' deep, and they have made it threw 1 hurricane and a TS with no problems.

 

[krooser]

hey MIKE IN OHIO whats the deal with the law up your way. i go to new philly alot in a big truck and i get pulled over and checked almost every time. sometimes have to mail them money for bogus stuff. i was just wondereing if your state was broke or just plain greedy? i just sent them $70 for a seatbelt violation when i was wearing it 2 weeks ago.

Ohio's been that way for better than 50 years...

 

[Pete H]

Hey Mike in Ohio, I just bought a pole barn kit yesterday, Im going to put it up south of Carrollton. You said your holes were 36" deep with 10" of concrete. Was the 36" depth before or after you put in the concrete? Wondering because my poles are only 14' long-its supposed to have 10' side walls and my site isnt perfectly flat-not a lot of room for error.

 

[jonnysteals]

Everycompany here in NJ sets their pole to either 42 or 48 inches witht the concrete below that. Hope it helps you