Pole barn specifications

[Aaron]

Looking to build a pole barn for machinery and possibly lumber and small squares (if there is room :lol: ).

Bought 27 - 16' (17"x6") bridge stringers (for poles) made of treated Douglas fir. All straight, true and solid - not bad for 60+ years old and $650 for the whole bunch.

Looking at doing a building up to 80 feet long. Not sure on width, but previous threads mentioned 40' being the common truss size.

It would run length-wise north-south and be open on the east side with eavestrough running the sides and emptying into a downspout to 4" tile underground that would carry it to a nearby ditch.

How deep should I put the poles? Maybe Carlos and CRR can chime in and give some tips with their experience with frost and poles. I am thinking 6' with a 1/2' or foot of crushed rock on the bottom, leaving the stringer 5' in the ground. Maybe that is way too deep, but I hate pole sheds that heave.

Also what spacing between poles? I was thinking 12' but is that enough? We can get some massive snow loads on roofs (3'+) here and some 60+ mile winds at times. What should the pitch be on the roof?

The base would be limestone gravel, about 6-8" thick on a clay hill. Roof and sides would be steel.

Any other tips, chime in. I'm a rancher, not a carpenter. I can put a post in the ground, and buy material, but the labour for the rest is being hired out. :cowboy:

 

[Angus Cowman]

For post spacing alot of that depends on your header that you put between the poles that the trusses set on

as for width 40 is common and anything over 50ft get alot more expensive because of the extra cost to build the trusses to be able to freespan that much weight

Roof Pitch I would say if you are in heavy snow country you would need no less than a 3.5/12 pitch or a 4/12

the best think would be talk to someone from your area that builds barns or a local building supplier

good luck

 

[hillsdown]

Aaron our support poles are 6' down so 5' is not unrealistic.

 

[Aaron]

Aaron our support poles are 6' down so 5' is not unrealistic.

Any heaving taking place?

How big did you drill the holes in respect to the poles and how did you fill them?

I was thinking 6 feet originally. :cowboy:

 

[Kingfisher]

Aaron our support poles are 6' down so 5' is not unrealistic.

Any heaving taking place?

How big did you drill the holes in respect to the poles and how did you fill them?

I was thinking 6 feet originally. :cowboy:

Hi Aaron. Thanks for all you do here. Your posts are @17 feet long? You aint going to have much sticking up once you sink em.............what are you going to do for height on this 80000ft long barn your building? I'm with you on the length..........you can allways use the slab and build the next 40ft the way you really wanted it! But I aint sure what you intend to do with the poles if you sink most of em in the ground.........I think you need to poar some footing if the the 60 year old lumber is that nice.........get your height at the right price while you can.......

 

[hillsdown]

Aaron our support poles are 6' down so 5' is not unrealistic.

Any heaving taking place?

How big did you drill the holes in respect to the poles and how did you fill them?

I was thinking 6 feet originally. :cowboy:

Aaron we used 3&3/8s 20' steel guns and we drilled 6' holes with our 12" auger and then filled them with cement . It has held up very well, no shifting at all.

 

[Aaron]

Aaron our support poles are 6' down so 5' is not unrealistic.

Any heaving taking place?

How big did you drill the holes in respect to the poles and how did you fill them?

I was thinking 6 feet originally. :cowboy:

Hi Aaron. Thanks for all you do here. Your posts are @17 feet long? You aint going to have much sticking up once you sink em.............what are you going to do for height on this 80000ft long barn your building? I'm with you on the length..........you can allways use the slab and build the next 40ft the way you really wanted it! But I aint sure what you intend to do with the poles if you sink most of em in the ground.........I think you need to poar some footing if the the 60 year old lumber is that nice.........get your height at the right price while you can.......

The posts are 16 feet and a couple inches, long. At 6 feet deep, it would leave 10 feet sticking out

I don't need a lot of height. The new baler is the tallest piece of equipment I have at 9.5 feet and could have a building of it's own if it didn't fit. Certainly don't need 16 foot high walls.

I'm not a big fan of concrete floors in anything but shops and houses. Too hard on my knees and hips after standing on it a couple of hours.

 

[Kingfisher]

Hi Abomb Height is cheap....you don't have to have concrete footing and have a concrete floor. You need crete footing with the wind up there for the money it can not be beat. Poor some creted and then anchor that lumber to it and take the extra height for free.

 

[Aaron]

Hi Abomb Height is cheap....you don't have to have concrete footing and have a concrete floor. You need crete footing with the wind up there for the money it can not be beat. Poor some creted and then anchor that lumber to it and take the extra height for free.

Never thought about footings. Those poles weigh about 800 lbs a piece, so I wonder what sized-anchor you'd need for them?