Standard construction or pole barn

[rwilly]

Hello everyone, I apologize if this has been brought up before, but I didn’t see any discussions on this topic.

I want to build a garage that will be approximately 26’ X 40’.
It started out as a carport then the more I thought about it, it gets more and more refined.
I want all wood construction, concrete floor, possibly go with metal roofing. It will have sheathing for the roof. I don’t really want to go any higher than 8-9’ on the walls for asthetic reasons. 3 bay doors, with man door on side. 2X6 construction.

I lived in a metal sided pole building for awhile and never really liked it, whereas my neighbor has a wood sided pole building that I think is very nice.

Would there be any benefit in a pole building versus stick built?

Thanks, Ron

 

[MagKarl]

It all comes down to how much you want to spend.

The foundation cost difference is pretty significant. Get quotes and compare.

 

[matt_i]

Imo, properly prepared and executed the concrete foundation is probably good for 500 years. A pole building, not so much. I personally think a stick frame (studs) building is easier to insulate and wire.

Whatever you choose, my strong recommendation is to choose an exterior that's maintenance free. Life is too short to be painting buildings.

 

[larry_g]

Some of your answer depends on the intended use of the building and the interior finish. A place to get stuff out of the weather is different than a completely heated and air conditioned work space. So tell us where your going with this and the reason your erecting a building in the first place.

lg
no neat sig line

 

[Rc_Guy]

We wanted a one level home with a big garage, we like the metal outside as well so we went with a polebarn house, in floor heat in both the house and garage.

We could have put brick on the front lower part and vinyl siding above that but we wanted maintenance free because we will most likely retire in this house.

 

[TractorJeff]

First off, you said you want wood construction.
You are only going 8 or 9 feet high.
This to me is 2 x 4 construction.
I would guess you are thinking of insulating and finishing which on a pole building means buying lumber for studs anyways.
Instead of building it twice.
Go stick frame and be done with the rough in!
As far as sheathing and steel roofing, its done all the time.
For that matter, you could go steel on the sides if you could find an aesthetically acceptable pattern/style that fits your property.
RC GUY - NICE Build!

 

[rwilly]

All valid points.

I’m looking to have a place that has “warmth” to it.
I don’t want an industrial, warehouse feel when I walk in.
Metal exterior would be fine as long as I sheath the whole place.
The previous pole building I lived in did not have sheathing and I hated it.

Looks like I got more thinking to do. I appreciate all your input.

 

[joe_padavano]

I've built both pole and conventional construction outbuildings on the farm. The pole construction is far less expensive, at least for the outer shell.

 

[wesst]

My garage was built using pole construction method and does not have an “industrial” feel to it. My wife wanted to match the exterior finishing of the existing home, and wanted to save the trees.

I will add I do not believe I saved any money going with pole construction in my case as we had to double up on the Perlins to ensure the siding would remain straight. As mentioned before, I still had to build wall framing on the interior, however I believe the electrical has been much easier due to the “gap” between behind the wall framing. Insulation is about the same for me regardless of build style.

 

[lakeroadster]

All valid points.

I’m looking to have a place that has “warmth” to it.
I don’t want an industrial, warehouse feel when I walk in.
Metal exterior would be fine as long as I sheath the whole place.
The previous pole building I lived in did not have sheathing and I hated it.

Looks like I got more thinking to do. I appreciate all your input.

The exterior / interior appearance has nothing to do with "Standard Construction or Pole Barn".

The appearance and it's appeal to your tastes has to do with how the building is finished.

As others have said, foundation cost is the big advantage of a pole building. You'll save a lot of money over the traditional "footers & foundation wall" style construction.

The only design that comes close with respect to pricing to a pole building would be a monolithic foundation, with a stick built frame.

You can specify the pole building to have book shelf type girts and then sheathe the inside with whatever you like... plywood, OSB, drywall, steel, whatever. This eliminates the bulk of the interior stud wall retrofitting.

And you can use perma-columns and never have any structural wood in the ground.

End result will be less expensive than a conventional stick framed building and will look exactly the same when finished.

 

[Rc_Guy]

All valid points.

I’m looking to have a place that has “warmth” to it.
I don’t want an industrial, warehouse feel when I walk in.
Metal exterior would be fine as long as I sheath the whole place.
The previous pole building I lived in did not have sheathing and I hated it.

Looks like I got more thinking to do. I appreciate all your input.

Our polebarn house has 2X6 walls framed between each post with OSB and Tyvek on the whole outside of the house only, as well as purlins and OSB on the roof before the steel was installed.

The garage outside walls have purlins and house wrap and the steel installed.

We had this built last summer and moved into it September 10th last year, we still get people that hear about our house driving by a couple times and stopping at the end of the driveway looking at it, every now and then someone will drive in the driveway and ask about it.

I no the look is not for everyone but I think our colors look nice here in the trees, we have 6 acres loaded with oak, birch, pine, and cedar trees

 

[TractorJeff]

Stick built on a monolithic slab is very comparable price wise to pole building with interior framed/finished walls!

 

[yucholian]

I am in Monroe, just down from you. Definitely go with stick built. My last shop was a pole building and I could feel a lot of breeze inside, not sealed well. Of course it can be sealed well, just need a lot of work. Just built a new one stock built and it’s not drafty at all even on a windy day, just a shell at this point.

 

[James-W]

Pole barns are OK, there is nothing wrong with them. But personally, if I had a choice, I would go with a regular wooden building.

 

[ptgb]

If code allows, how about a hybrid? Stick built on pole barn foundation. It is very common here. My 24x32 was built this way 5 years ago and has been a perfect compromise between the two. Plus, your foundation is the form for the concrete floor. Here in NE Ohio.... without concrete or any inside finishing... 10K. Add 5K for concrete (including 10 foot front skirt).