Pole barn opinions

I'm reading into this, but are your posts just backfilled and not set in concrete? Or on bigger footings? You have to just about be on bedrock to expect the bottom of even an 8x8 post to support the walls and roof, and maybe snow load of a building that size. Just doing some quick math, with 20 posts, assuming 6x6 posts: 36 sq inches x20 posts is only 720 square inches (5 sq ft) of support for the entire building load.

My builder built my covered attached deck that way and it sank 1.5 inches in 2 years. I dug up the posts and poured a 24" diameter footing under the posts. It is no longer sinking, nor is it trying to pull apart from the house. steve
In clay (one of the worse soil types) a 1 foot by 1 ft concrete pad will hold 1500 lbs. But a 6x6 post set on the clay will only hold 375 lbs. Now you see why most codes require a 2 ft by 2 ft concrete pad under the post for a pole barn as that will hold 6000 lbs.
 
In clay (one of the worse soil types) a 1 foot by 1 ft concrete pad will hold 1500 lbs. But a 6x6 post set on the clay will only hold 375 lbs. Now you see why most codes require a 2 ft by 2 ft concrete pad under the post for a pole barn as that will hold 6000 lbs.
Good advice. Make it right the first time using the best materials.
I'm going out on a limb and say people wanting advice on how to build a pole barn has never built one or paid someone to build one.
My advice is get minimum a of 3 estimates. Then ask to see a pole barn he built and talk the the person how he liked the pole barn.
I learned what I wanted in my second pole barn. I would make minor changes if I build a 3rd pole. After watching my pole barns being built
I would never think I could build a pole barn. It takes a crew of 7 experienced people. A bobcat to drill post holes and lift the trusses 16 ft and metal for roof. Laser level to get purlins on level. Nailers.
I know a farmer who broke both legs trying to build his pole barn without having experienced help and the right tools.
There are a few people in my county who started building a pole barn and never finished it.
Get estimates and make sure you can afford it.
I'll bet there are many previous posts on YT of people wanting opinions on how to build a pole barn,
 
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Good advice. Make it right the first time using the best materials.
I'm going out on a limb and say people wanting advice on how to build a pole barn has never built one or paid someone to build one.
My advice is get minimum a of 3 estimates. Then ask to see a pole barn he built and talk the the person how he liked the pole barn.
I learned what I wanted in my second pole barn. I would make minor changes if I build a 3rd pole. After watching my pole barns being built
I would never think I could build a pole barn. It takes a crew of 7 experienced people. A bobcat to drill post holes and lift the trusses 16 ft and metal for roof. Laser level to get purlins on level. Nailers.
I know a farmer who broke both legs trying to build his pole barn without having experienced help and the right tools.
There are a few people in my county who started building a pole barn and never finished it.
Get estimates and make sure you can afford it.
I'll bet there are many previous posts on YT of people wanting opinions on how to build a pole barn,
I passed out from dehydration in July heat building my pole shed. Fell 14 feet and fractured 4 vertebrae in my lower back. Layed on the ground for a hour before my grandson found me. Was out of work for 12 weeks that the lost wages would have paid for the shed not to mention the doctor bills and pain I still feel years later.
 
On my last few pole-barn projects, I've welded four drops-pegs to a piece of 10" x 10" or so plate and set it in the concrete for each post. Then I get some tall L-brackets made by my local fab shop and weld them to the embeded plates one the concrete's set. Your brackets need some height and heft to resist moment on a pole-style building and need to be of sufficiently thick steel. The little saddle-style brackets you get at building supply stores don't cut it. A local fab shop can make the brackets pretty cheaply - last ones I did for a 24' X 70' pole barn ended up being $18 each.

The handy thing about doing it this way is you have some flexibility to shift the brackets around a little bit to get them all in-line before you weld them down. Much easier than having to line up all the posts perfectly when setting them in the ground. If you're using 6X6 posts and the 10" x 10" plates mentioned above, that means you have up to 2" in every direction to move them around and get them perfectly in-line. I usually use footing-tubes or sono-tubes, then pour a pad around them later (if at all). But you can do it on a pad as well, as long as your pad has a deep enough grade-beam beneath the posts.

I don't have a flat surface to write on right now so this is a pretty crude sketch, but something like this is what I do (click on link below). Brackets are usually turned 90 degrees to what I have shown. I show on a concrete grade beam, but the same idea applies to using footing tubes.

View attachment 97724
I like the oversized embed idea at the post locations. That would sure simplify the slab pour. Can't tell by the sketch if your grade beam goes to frost depth, or is a simple thickened slab. We used similar grade beams on my son's building, (with the bottom just below dirt grade) and put a drill pier below each post to frost depth. (Bobcat with auger)
 
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I passed out from dehydration in July heat building my pole shed. Fell 14 feet and fractured 4 vertebrae in my lower back. Layed on the ground for a hour before my grandson found me. Was out of work for 12 weeks that the lost wages would have paid for the shed not to mention the doctor bills and pain I still feel years later.
john
It sounds like we agree. Seek professional help when building a pole barn.
I feel pain when I have to open my wallet and pay for something.
Pinching a wallet nerve is better than pinching a nerve in your spine.
Not all spinal surgeries are successful.
 
I'm reading into this, but are your posts just backfilled and not set in concrete? Or on bigger footings? You have to just about be on bedrock to expect the bottom of even an 8x8 post to support the walls and roof, and maybe snow load of a building that size. Just doing some quick math, with 20 posts, assuming 6x6 posts: 36 sq inches x20 posts is only 720 square inches (5 sq ft) of support for the entire building load.

My builder built my covered attached deck that way and it sank 1.5 inches in 2 years. I dug up the posts and poured a 24" diameter footing under the posts. It is no longer sinking, nor is it trying to pull apart from the house. steve
5x5 post 9"x 3' hole filled with concrete. I should have gone with a perimeter beamed slab with steel anchors for welding to a steel framed structure. My neighbor did that and it ws $45k. Mine was wooden framdd at 15k with a 50x15' lean-to (roof extension, same 3/12 pitch plus 6K for a floating slab. I wanted wooden frames for attaching light weight objects for convenience....not to mention the price difference.
 
how many years will you get from the wood? I have no termite experience, but I would think that getting 10 years out of the roof would be good to go. if termites are fast eaters I wonder, could you make your posts out of concrete and rebar?
Termites live in moist soil. They come out of the ground to forage daily and return. Untreated wood in contact with the ground will be the target. The higher up you go the less chance due to their living routine.
 
Suggest considerings the snow loading , in Ohio you will get the snow of the decade of heavy snow and down they come , , considering cost , depend on policy , weather conditions .
Had a guy from Indiana delivery asked , why so many trusses ? Well we get heavy snow. He said we don’t put them that close . Just a thought on the design for the extra weight .
 
Some thoughts use pressure treated for ground or near ground contact. You probably will never beat a concrete slab. I assume you do not want to go that route. Dig out the topsoil and put in good gravel and drainage. Some people use coated phone/light poles or other creosote material and put them in the ground much like a fence pole. Look around your area and see what others have done.
"Beam reinforced" concrete on clay soild due to its enormous consistency change from wet to dry seasons.....beams just like home builders use. As I said before I had a floating "3 rebar reinforced, 5" flat slab poured after the building was constructed and due to soil shifting, even though I had a prepared pad of "Select Fill" (sand-clay mix wet and packed.....what buildings use) the sub soil shrank beneath the Select Fill taking it with it..

Where I worked one of the 2 story buildings was modified to make a different work space. This involved cutting through the concrete slab (floor) to lay utilities for the new function. The support colums were bored 30' deep and about 3' in diameter and concrete encased with the slab attached at time of construction. No such thing here as "bedrock". Depending on the location the black dirt sits on top of shale at varying depths.

One day I was in that area and the areas where the concrete floor had been cut away were about 2-3' off the ground due to the soil underneath, including the Select Fill inspection required-pad, all standing on the supporting structures for the support columns......a workman could easily crawl between the slab and the fill....building was about 20 or years old at the time.

We had a community (COOP) water well tower erected and the Civil Engineer that supervised the drawing preparation and all, mentioned in his report that the soil "was unfit for dwellings and roadways"..........he was right on.....only thing this soil is good for is dry summer crops like cotton and milo.
 
If you are doing a full footer I would surely go with a framed wall, not a ‘pole barn’.

Pole barns are the thing because they save the cost of the footer. They are more awkward to insulate, hang shelving on, and so much else. If you are doing the footer, skip the pole and go with framing.

If you want a cheaper to build pole building but no wood in the dirt, go with the perma column type of building. Concrete pier in the ground, wood pole on top of the pier. It costs a bit more than pressure treated wood but is an in between price.

Paul
 

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