WordMan
ALLIANCE MEMBER
In a year or two I hope to begin building my "ultimate" garage. What are the pros and cons of going with a pole barn vs stick built?
Pole Barn vs Stick Built
- Thread starter WordMan
- Start date
jack stand
Well-known member
If you're finishing the interior and heating, cooling and insulating the space, post framing loses its cost advantage unless you get into a traditional frost wall type foundation.
Last edited:
sz0k30
Well-known member
Can't help with your original question, but your 25' with is too narrow. You can barely put a short box crew cab pickup in there without any benches, much less have any room to walk around it.
Jakemedic
Well-known member
My post frame is insulated better than a traditional stick built. I used 8’ wide rolls of R19 and then applied vapor barrier. Thermal break every 8’ versus every 16” really made a world of difference. I also did full foundation and had the Amish construct the shell. The rest was up to me. I hope for your sake building material prices drop from where they are at. I am impressed with your plans, although I agree with other poster, 25 is an odd depth. My builder said increments of 4 was most cost effective. Have fun!
speed bump
Well-known member
This has been covered dozens of times but some quick highlights that stick with me.
Pole barn pros:
Less concrete work.
Typically less lumber
Typically faster to build
Can be cheaper
I would argue its easier to add doors and windows down the road
Pole Barn Cons:
Depending on where you are and your pole treatment they can/eventually will rot and you will need to replace them
Due to the nature of how they are built you need to be more conscious of high winds because you don't have as robust of an outer layer
Generally you have a higher chance of leaks. because you are putting metal on purlins and don't have a second layer of protection (IE roofing underlayment or vapor barrier.
Stick framing pros:
Typically much stiffer
Traditionally opens you up to more finish options
Typically considered easier to finish the inside
Stick Framing Cons:
Requires more foundation, either a monolithic slab or stem walls
A lot more quality lumber is required (more expensive).
Time to construct is often longer
Personally I like the pole building construction theory but when I build mine it will integrate some other pieces.
Pour sono tubes and use brackets. This gets the poles out of the ground (which right now is roughly the same price due to lumber cost) and lets me tilt up the walls like you do in traditional framing.
Tyvek the outside before sheeting. This makes the structure slightly more air tight.
Pole barn pros:
Less concrete work.
Typically less lumber
Typically faster to build
Can be cheaper
I would argue its easier to add doors and windows down the road
Pole Barn Cons:
Depending on where you are and your pole treatment they can/eventually will rot and you will need to replace them
Due to the nature of how they are built you need to be more conscious of high winds because you don't have as robust of an outer layer
Generally you have a higher chance of leaks. because you are putting metal on purlins and don't have a second layer of protection (IE roofing underlayment or vapor barrier.
Stick framing pros:
Typically much stiffer
Traditionally opens you up to more finish options
Typically considered easier to finish the inside
Stick Framing Cons:
Requires more foundation, either a monolithic slab or stem walls
A lot more quality lumber is required (more expensive).
Time to construct is often longer
Personally I like the pole building construction theory but when I build mine it will integrate some other pieces.
Pour sono tubes and use brackets. This gets the poles out of the ground (which right now is roughly the same price due to lumber cost) and lets me tilt up the walls like you do in traditional framing.
Tyvek the outside before sheeting. This makes the structure slightly more air tight.
rburke65
Well-known member
MikeinKy
Member
I have built several personal use shops. My current one is 40 ft deep and 44 ft wide. I have room for my crew cab dually and have room to work around it. I also have room for a couple of cars on the side. My lift is to the left side of the 16 ft door.. Speed bump has the right ideas. I think 30 ft deep would be a minimum. My last one was 36 x 48 with the door on the end, which was a mistake.
Jakemedic
Well-known member
You will save thousands of dollars by completing the inside yourself, including electric. I had a quote for 3600 just to run my feed and sub panel from a nice electrician with overhead and employee costs Which I understand. I did the entire wiring project for around 1200.00, and it passed inspection.
Serious question here. Is the floor plan like that for practical purposes or or a design feature. If it's for practical purpose, you may find it's not much more to make it all the same dimension as the bump out.
I see that bump out using (I'm no post frame guy) two more posts for the outside corners, two additional inside & outside corners for trim. More labor to erect that detail, dump 2 window (front and side) and replace one with the man door. The cost sayings of those windows will pay for the extra concrete (5'x44' @4"=2.72yds/ 5"=3.4yds) that you'll need.
I see that bump out using (I'm no post frame guy) two more posts for the outside corners, two additional inside & outside corners for trim. More labor to erect that detail, dump 2 window (front and side) and replace one with the man door. The cost sayings of those windows will pay for the extra concrete (5'x44' @4"=2.72yds/ 5"=3.4yds) that you'll need.
sz0k30
Well-known member
Those dimensions are so small that they are really hard to read. You must really like odd dimensions. Looks like you changed the 25' to 26' that's good, but the 30' to 33'? Make it 32' or 34'.I updated the depth...
Don't do 8' ceilings, you'll be stuck with 7' tall doors. Go with atleast 10" sidewalls. It allows you to put in an 8' tall doors.
The other down side with 8' ceilings if you do anything with a sheet of plywood, drywall or something similar, you're going to be hitting you ceiling lights unless you go with recessed lighting.
So then you get to the point of an extra 2" between roof lines, might as well go 12' across the entire thing, less roof seems and it'll bring labor costs down. Probably break even on material cost. Extra 2' on side wall for entire building versus shorter section with angle cuts for those short walls between roof lines.
Again, if you want it for design, completely different story.
Whatever you do, you've put some thought & design into what you have.
The other down side with 8' ceilings if you do anything with a sheet of plywood, drywall or something similar, you're going to be hitting you ceiling lights unless you go with recessed lighting.
So then you get to the point of an extra 2" between roof lines, might as well go 12' across the entire thing, less roof seems and it'll bring labor costs down. Probably break even on material cost. Extra 2' on side wall for entire building versus shorter section with angle cuts for those short walls between roof lines.
Again, if you want it for design, completely different story.
Whatever you do, you've put some thought & design into what you have.
Good thoughts.
I think 12' ceilings all across will look too industrial. 10' ceilings so I can use 8' doors makes sense, though. Spending a little more to have it look nice, too, is okay. I already planed on running the peak on the tall section front to back with the peak on the other sections side to side, so the money is already spent, there.
Running the ridge perpendicular to the rest of the place had crossed my mind to suggest.
No doubt it's going to look nice when done.
No doubt it's going to look nice when done.
If you go with stick frame you would end up with a foundation pour. You could do a 12" stem wall and build in standard 8' on top of that in the lower portion. This will give you approx. 9' ceilings and will allow an 8' door and allow normal dimensional lumber and sheets which, in today's world may pay for the stem wall cost.
I did stems walls on the foundation and stick build because around here, pole barn building isn't really done. It seems to be a more common in more rural areas....but I like the stem wall for not having to worry about the framing touching the concrete where water may be.
I did stems walls on the foundation and stick build because around here, pole barn building isn't really done. It seems to be a more common in more rural areas....but I like the stem wall for not having to worry about the framing touching the concrete where water may be.
racecougar
Well-known member
I went with what I'd consider a "blend" of the two when I had my shop framed. This utilizes a stem wall with a full foundation, and it nets you 6" thick walls with girts placed in the commercial orientation. This makes insulating a snap, as it's as simple as sticking R-19 batts straight into the cavities (batts are the same size as the cavities, so no cutting necessary except for around the windows/doors). Installing the interior sheeting is simple as well. Thanks to the commercial girt orientation, no additional girting/framing is needed; just slap up the sheets. Another plus side, the panels are pre-made off-site/near-site. This has two big "pros" attached to it: higher quality assurance and quick/simple erection of the building.
Panel frame design: https://bblusa.net/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/BBL_PanelFrame.pdf
R-19 batts: https://www.homedepot.com/p/Owens-C...s-Insulation-Batt-23-in-x-93-in-E54/303690817
You can see the design and insulation process in the photos below as well:
Panel frame design: https://bblusa.net/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/BBL_PanelFrame.pdf
R-19 batts: https://www.homedepot.com/p/Owens-C...s-Insulation-Batt-23-in-x-93-in-E54/303690817
You can see the design and insulation process in the photos below as well: