Does anyone have advice about building a new pole barn on my property?
Asked by
LuckyGuy (
43690
)
September 10th, 2018
My 50 year old, 30’ by 40’ ( 1200 sq ft ~ 120 sq m ) pole barn was crushed by a massive tree about a week ago. The tree broke the main ridge beam and 5 out of 6 of the trusses. The tree has been removed and I managed to get almost everything out of the barn with only ~$2000 worth of damage to the contents. While it is still standing the building has been condemned and the insurance company has totaled it – meaning full replacement.
I now have to look into finding a replacement.
The barn had a concrete floor so the next structure will need to be larger about 2 ft larger in both directions 32’x42’ (135 sq m).
I will not do the work myself. I have contacted 2 companies: Morton and Hansen and one of them responded immediately with a custom kit.
Does anyone here have experience with such a structure? Do you have any tips or recommendations?
I really need to get this done before the snow!
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8 Answers
So you intend to keep the current concrete floor?
Yes. I am going to keep the floor and replace everything else. The walls are 10 ft high with the peak at 15ft. This will not be insulated.
My existing barn has corrugated, 24 gauge, galvanized steel panels that I measured at 0.025” to 0.028”. It was strong and solid.
The kits use 29 gauge which is only 0.0135” Half the thickness! Really? Is that the standard now?
The slip in standards since your barn was built is shameful. I remember my disgust when a two by four was no longer required to measure 2”x4”. My own impulse would be to carefully evaluate the floor as an indicator for the stability of the ground. Have you researched the availability of kits using steel of the same gauge as your barn? I wonder about the expense and feasibility of a structure built with cinder blocks. I’ll bet standards have been crimped with the block as well.
Would it be possible to salvage some of the undamaged siding and trusses from the old barn? If it is, then it would help offset the cost of the new one, which would of course help to pay for the upgrade in the siding so it matches the old one.
Have you considered a metal building? They can be finished many different ways on the exterior. They are sturdy and I think cheaper than other building materials from what I understand.
My first thought with barn building has always been talk to the Amish.
I am real sorry about the damage. Glad you weren’t in there!
The building I had was a metal pole barn and I will replace it with the same basic construction.
Someone told me about using cast concrete footers instead of poles and concrete. They sound great but I have not found them yet.
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