Pole barn support post removal for shop build

[vekster]

Just moved to a new place that has a pole barn that had been a lean to at the begining and then the left side was built onto it and closed in.
I am going to be pouring a floor, adding overhead door and sealing the place up to turn it into a work shop.

Now for my problems.

Because the structure started as a lean-to it has 2 suport posts right in the middle of the floor that i would like to do away with before pouring a floor.

From the front view you can also see the wall height difference from the left side compared to the right that may change any truss/rafter design.

Yes, i most likely will be employing the help of a structural engineer, however i would like some opinions and ideas before i pay the engineer.

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[vekster]

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[vekster]

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[Jeff Ivers]

Without knowing the dimensions of the building and the dimensions of the lumber used in a support function, this is kind of hard to assess. However, I believe you should be able to essentially covert the existing rafters to trusses with the addition of appropriate cross ties and diagonal braces and then remove the entire old front of the loafing shed and the two troublesome support posts.

 

[jkwilson]

If that's a 2X12 on the front side, you may be able to sandwich another one or two onto it and move the posts to the end or replace the end posts with larger ones preferably.

You may also want to add posts to the end of the secondary ridge beam that was added for the front part of the roof.

I doubt a structural engineer is going to touch that with the wide rafter spacing and flat pitch that far north.

 

[ishiboo]

I'm with jk... with that flat pitch I wouldn't really want to try rafter ties with a snow load. I'd replace with pole barn trusses.

Pouring a slab and enclosing is a significant investment, and you also have poles which do not appear to have a correct foundation, what's below that big ball of concrete? Just pole or does the concrete go all the way down? If the post footings are incorrect, I'd take it down and rebuild. Since there is no floor, no usable siding (KEEP the boards though! They do not appear to be old but they have weathered nicely.)

 

[Sureshot]

I would consider the cost to finish that building to what you want and compare that with how far that amount will go to building from scratch next to it or where ever you want. You could go a bit smaller also as you still have that building for cold storage. I suspect the time savings will outweigh the little built of salvageable building you have. Not that the building is junk. It was built for one thing, changed, and now being asked to do something it was never intended for.

I have been down that road of trying to make something out of a poor base and you just fight things at every turn and never end up with what you wanted.

 

[vekster]

I am totally for turning it into a chicken coup and storage shed and building a new shop from the ground up.
Problem is we just moved into the house and it needs a lot of work, so the wife says NO to the new shop. Therefore I need to fix this place up and get a floor in there so I have somewhere to work while I reno the house.

I figure a few thousand for the floor
2 grand for spray foam
and another 1000 bucks for materials to add a beam or rafters to get rid of the support posts.
Therefore for around 6000 bucks i can have somewhere to work.
When the house is done in a few years maybe i can build the dream shop but in the meantime i have somewhere to hang out and work out of the rain and cold

 

[jkwilson]

Unless you side it, birds and rodents will pick the foam out in no time.

It's a decent building for what it is, but you will get more in it than you think and end up making do with a building that costs as much as a new one would have cost that isn't close to as nice as a new one.

Around here with an Amish community, you can get a pole building with a single overhead door and a walk-through 20X24 for around $5000 without concrete, then ~$2500 for finished concrete. Doing it yourself would save a lot from that.

IMO, that is too close to not talk to a builder.


If you don't need to pull a vehicle in, check into custom yard barn makers. We have one locally who makes them up to 12X24. He makes them in a shop with jigs, scaffolding and air tools and he sells them at retail for less than the average guy can buy the materials. Weathertight, insulated and you can sell it or put it to a different use when you build your shop.

 

[rieferman]

That center beam sits on a couple posts now, it seems to me that spreading those posts as far apart as possible (to give you the openness you desire), and spanning between them with an engineered beam would be the least amount of surgery to the building.

As ishiboo says, if the posts are sitting on concrete that goes down into the ground to proper depth, that's a big win. If not, holding up a post at a time and fixing it isn't that hard nor is it expensive (I did that at my place).

Otherwise, the basic construction of it looks decent to me honestly. I do agree that you'll need siding though.

I saved my building and came out about $100,000 cheaper than replacing it because I did almost all of it myself. Plus, the character is something I liked. But, perhaps the biggest reason for me to save the building, was that I could pick away at the expenses out of paychecks rather than having to do it all at once and get a loan.

Btw, if you can get a good building for $7500 as noted above, and I mean a good one, take that deal before the builder changes his mind.

 

[justanengineer]

Problem is we just moved into the house and it needs a lot of work, so the wife says NO to the new shop. Therefore I need to fix this place up and get a floor in there so I have somewhere to work while I reno the house.

Personally, Id highly suggest focusing your workload on getting the house done and over with, then worrying about building/improving a shop. By the sound of it, youve got a full plate and an empty wallet ahead of you for the forseeable future (house projects are never quick/easy/on time/on budget). Yes its ugly and not ideal, but you can do vehicle maintenance and other "big" work in that building the way it is now, I grew up on the farm working in worse shops than that so trust me its not that bad. With a house reno, youre going to be needing a carpentry shop in the living room anyway, so theres your place to hangout/work/etc going forward.

Im not a PE much less a structural engineer, but to get back to your original question, I believe the cost and amount of work to get rid of those posts is going to make building a new shop a no-brainer.

 

[DoyleDee]

I'd keep it just like it is and build a new building right next to or around it.. you will gain extra room and value for little cost. My shop isn't the best or biggest, but for the 6K that I had in it to get it weather tight and closed up, I couldn't beat it. (that is of course with me doing 90% of everything- I had the pad poured and broom finished but I did the slab prep)

That's my .02