When is a pole barn, not considered a pole barn?

[purpony]

My father has a 40x60 pole barn so I know what one is, but at what point is a pole barn no longer a pole barn?

Can a pole barn have plywood sides and be vinyl sided or this this type of siding to heavy for a pole barn girts frame? Can it have overhead garage doors?

How much cheaper is it to build a pole barn then a standard construction garage?

 

[Brad1234]

I think that any building that starts with the poles stuck in the ground & the rest of the building is constructed off of the poles its a pole building. I don't know cost but I would assume a conventional pole building with steel siding & roof would be quite a bit cheaper. A quick way to get an idea would be to stop at Lowes, Home Depot, Etc & get a price on each package. May not be exactly what you want but it will give you an idea of price.

 

[Justanoldguy]

As Brad said.
If it has Poles then it's a pole building.
Plenty strong enough to carry anything a convention build would.
And cheaper as well.

 

[Kev442]

+1
A "pole" building is built with square posts around here. Everything else is details.

 

[BioHazard]

Yep, basically it's just a self supporting roof. The rest is up to you, and you don't really have to worry about anything structural once you have the main roof up.

 

[pgreen]

My 40x60 pole building has vinyl siding, 8" of insulation, drywall (in progress), OSB ceiling, shingle roof, etc.

So....yep....

 

[Todd.Brock]

What is the average life span of the posts in the ground? I would shy away from a pole barn for this reason possibly.

 

[s_ontario]

50+ years ask a electrical pole or telephone pole their age

we have pole barns around here that are used electrical / telephone poles they just take the poles to a saw mill and have one side cut straight corner post will be squared on two sides

 

[BioHazard]

What is the average life span of the posts in the ground? I would shy away from a pole barn for this reason possibly.

I have a (small) pole barn and it was mostly built from reclaimed lumber aside from the posts, which are 4x6 pressure treated in concrete. It was built in 1997, I'd say the posts are 100% the same as new. The roofing and siding will wear out far sooner...

 

[Doozer75]

When is a pole barn, not considered a pole barn?

When it burns down. That was too easy.

--Doozer

 

[Todd.Brock]

Fair points. The telephone pole outside didnt talk back for some reason...I just wonder about drywall, and crazy finishes you sometimes see on huge shops here that are based on poles in the ground. It seems if I was putting a large shop fully decked out with an apartment upstairs, kitchens, etc... It just doesnt seem to make sense to use poles that will eventually rot. With my luck I would have the acidic soil of the century and rot through in 10 years!

 

[falcon428]

The biggest savings with a polebarn compared to conventional framing w/ footers is the cost of the foundation. You have footers and poured or block walls to figure for conventional framing, unless you do a monolific pour, but you still end up with more concrete expense. Pole barns go up quicker, slightly less materials for basic frame (less material and labor), but if you are going to really finish one out then conventional framing cost start to equal out.

If you want to do a pole barn and are really conscerned with post rot, look into Perma-columns, they are a concrete based/ laminated upper post. I personally went with footer/poured wall, and conventional framing for my shop. It basically comes down to budget and personal preference. I would do pole barn for the livestock barn or cold storage for equipment to help keep cost down.

 

[BioHazard]

It seems if I was putting a large shop fully decked out with an apartment upstairs, kitchens, etc... It just doesnt seem to make sense to use poles that will eventually rot.

Unless you build everything out of solid concrete, everything rots if you don't maintain it.

The telephone pole outside didnt talk back for some reason...

Try cutting one open and counting the rings.

 

[Todd.Brock]

I was just curious really. I know they have been up for hundreds of years in fields all over the world in some form or fashion. Old growth timber stuck in the ground and they work obviously. It seems cost is a factor which makes sense. I meant more for the second home, with kitchens, apartments, etc. If you are going to that expense, it seems poured walls and stick built would be a more conventional way... But... there is more than a few dozen ways to skin a cat!

 

[jktruck150]

Right down the street from me, a guy was building a pole barn, or so I thought. It had 6x6 posts, a metal roof, metal sides, but as I looked closer, He was building a house. I didn't think it was allowed, but he has a 3 car garage, and a full house in side. It must have passed inspection! Drywall, insulation, everything. Looks pretty cool (just not in its current location, would have been better on 5+ acres, but he has it on a lot. I can't say if its any cheaper/easier than a stick build, other than there was no footer or block wall. They just framed the posts and made a level poor all through the pole 'building.'

 

[Rickstir]

Whenever the tax man gets a look at it!

 

[SteveU]

What is the average life span of the posts in the ground? I would shy away from a pole barn for this reason possibly.

My barn was originally built in 1973 & collapsed from snow load in 2000, the poles were solid & the ones that didn't snap off were reused & are still standing to this day. I have sandy soil which helps with drainage here, maybe it would be different in a clay soil.

 

[workerbh]

Post-frame (Pole Buildings) buildings typically feature large, solid-sawn wood posts or laminated columns instead of the 2x4” studs found in many wood-frame buildings. Loads are transferred to the ground through the posts, which are typically embedded in the ground or surface-mounted to a concrete or masonry foundation. Many people simply think of a “pole barn” when they try to imagine a post-frame structure. Although the post-frame design was originally perfected by engineers for large agricultural buildings, the design has proven so efficient and versatile that barns now constitute only a fraction of the post-frame industry. Yes, a post-frame building doesn't have to have the steel cladding, but can be finished off with vinyl siding, brick, stone and can have any other roofing material like shingles. At Walters Buildings, many of our customers ask us to build their garage to match their house, so we us the same cladding material as the house such as stone wainscotting, etc.

 

[Andy Griffith]

Whenever the tax man gets a look at it!

Yep, though my 'building' is an AG building. Not a 'shop', not a 'garage', not a storage building, only a lowly AG building. And yes they do differentiate between a 'Barn' and an 'Ag building'. I learned real quick that terminology is important when dealing with the taxman.

 

[cabriolet]

About 15 years ago I built a 30x40 " pole building" using 6x6 pressure treated timbers, conventional roof trusses. It was insulated, sheetrocked, had vinyl siding, heat, electricity, garage door, etc. etc. I did conventional stick framing in between the wood posts and then sheeted the outside and roof with OSB prior to shingles and vinyl siding. I have since sold that property but the building is still standing and doing fine. If I was to do it again I would use Tube Steel columns and steel studs instead of the wood posts and 2x4's.

 

[BioHazard]

The way my small pole barn is built, the main posts are actually on the inside, about 4' away from the walls. This can be annoying, although it allows a great place for built in workbenches. On the other hand, the poles are entirely inside my building, so as long as I keep the roof up, they should stay in like new condition....forever....theoretically...

I definately agree much of the savings is in the foundation. Concrete/excavation costs these days are astronomical!

 

[Daniel Dudley]

A pole barn on a foundation with sills and a few extra wind braces is a timberframe.

My main garage is on a monolithic slab, and stick built. The bonus addition is a shed roofed pole barn. Right now it is gravel floored, but eventually I will pour a slab, and then I will build walls right on the slab.

If the poles ever rot, the wall will be there and sitting on concrete.

 

[Justanoldguy]

It seems if I was putting a large shop fully decked out with an apartment upstairs, kitchens, etc... It just doesn't seem to make sense to use poles that will eventually rot.

I have a 3 storey home built on poles. 14 of them.
They are 4ft into the ground and fully encased in concrete.
Been there 25 years and still look like they were done yesterday.
They will probably outlive my grandkids..
What is it that you think is going to go wrong?

 

[WVBrady]

I have a 3 storey home built on poles. 14 of them.
They are 4ft into the ground and fully encased in concrete.
Been there 25 years and still look like they were done yesterday.
They will probably outlive my grandkids..
What is it that you think is going to go wrong?

I was curious about that too, and found this (this is just a partial list of the comments):

http://www.diychatroom.com/f14/pressure-treated-posts-set-concrete-9218/
"Should all posts be set in concrete?
We recommend that all posts be set in concrete in accordance with local conditions and standard building practices. Posts that are not set in concrete will eventually lean due to wind and weather. Check your local building codes through your city or county government for further details." - http://www.millsteadinfo.com/faq.aspx

"The post can be placed atop a concrete pier, bolted to a steel anchor, or it can be set in the concrete. Placing the post into the concrete pier adds strength, but it is more susceptible to rot." - http://canada.contractors.com/trade/...e_install.html

"Posts that weren't properly treated or set in concrete typically rot away at ground level." - http://home.howstuffworks.com/how-to...wood-fence.htm