Had to raise the Roof

[RickV]

I have a 30'x36' Pole Barn that I had built for my first 5ver. At the time I didn't think about clearances. The Pole Barn has 13' 4" of clearance. When we got our 2nd 5ver there was still clearance but it was getting pretty close. We decided to upgrade after 7 years to a even bigger 5ver because we spend about 5 months on the road every year. Almost every 5ver we liked was at or near the clearance of the Pole Barn so I talked with some friends about the possibility of raising the roof to 14'+. We came up with a plan on how to do it. In the meantime we bought our new Alpine 3790FK a few weeks ago and I just parked it near the Pole Barn until we got everything ready to "Raise the Roof". So earlier this week we did it. I was unsure whether or not bad things would happen but we did it anyway. All went well and now the new 5ver can fit under it with about 6" to spare even with it on the Trailerlegs, length is another thing. I am leaving in about a month for our 5 month tour when I get back I will be adding another 30'X12' to the back of it. Here is a link to all the pictures if you are interested in how we did it.
https://1drv.ms/u/s!ApPAHyJGqfJSgoRN...RaoJw?e=VLNmdp

[Javi]

Cool, wish I had room for our 5th wheel at the house.

[RickV]

Originally Posted by Javi

Cool, wish I had room for our 5th wheel at the house.

We live out in the Sticks in Flyover Country on 4.5 acres of Oak trees. Left the Big City about 25 years ago.

[wiredgeorge]

My BIL has been into Home Depot recent and I thought he was pulling my leg regarding the price of a 2x4x8 stud. Insane lumber prices. Good job!

[RickV]

Originally Posted by wiredgeorge

My BIL has been into Home Depot recent and I thought he was pulling my leg regarding the price of a 2x4x8 stud. Insane lumber prices. Good job!

I bought 6 PT 12' 4x4's, 7 PT 8' 2x6's, 3 8' 2x4s and a bucket of screws cost me $341 at Lowes (that is a oxymoron ) we used 10"x1/2" carriage bolts Lowes wanted $3.75 a piece for em, needed 44 of em. Found em on Amazon same brand and everything for $2.00 each. Is there some price gouging going on?

[Gegrad]

Originally Posted by RickV

I bought 6 PT 12' 4x4's, 7 PT 8' 2x6's, 3 8' 2x4s and a bucket of screws cost me $341 at Lowes (that is a oxymoron ) we used 10"x1/2" carriage bolts Lowes wanted $3.75 a piece for em, needed 44 of em. Found em on Amazon same brand and everything for $2.00 each. Is there some price gouging going on?

Next time, check your local Tractor Supply Store. They sell 'em in bulk by the pound, around $2.50/lb, and there are like 7-8 per lb. And half the time the TSC clerks mess the scale up and barely charge you. I got like 30 3/8" x 6" carriage bolts for my kids playhouse for like $10. Ha.

[Sarge2]

Amazing job... my hats off to you Great Idea..

[JRTJH]

Rick,

Nice job on raising the roof... Now, when you get the rear extension "mastered", I've got plans to extend my pole barn 24' so I can get more "stuff" in it...

Once you're done with yours, while you still have all your tools handy and haven't forgotten how you did it, how about heading up here and fixing mine ???? I'll have a keg of cold beer and lots of brats on the grill <G>

[RickV]

Originally Posted by Gegrad

Next time, check your local Tractor Supply Store. They sell 'em in bulk by the pound, around $2.50/lb, and there are like 7-8 per lb. And half the time the TSC clerks mess the scale up and barely charge you. I got like 30 3/8" x 6" carriage bolts for my kids playhouse for like $10. Ha.

Next Time?

[RickV]

Originally Posted by JRTJH

Rick,

Nice job on raising the roof... Now, when you get the rear extension "mastered", I've got plans to extend my pole barn 24' so I can get more "stuff" in it...

Once you're done with yours, while you still have all your tools handy and haven't forgotten how you did it, how about heading up here and fixing mine ???? I'll have a keg of cold beer and lots of brats on the grill <G>

I will put it on my calendar. Actually you would need the whole crew of Old Geezers as my Nephew called us, he Said "Not bad for a bunch of Old Geezers."

[flybouy]

Very impressive!

[jasin1]

Originally Posted by RickV

I have a 30'x36' Pole Barn that I had built for my first 5ver. At the time I didn't think about clearances. The Pole Barn has 13' 4" of clearance. When we got our 2nd 5ver there was still clearance but it was getting pretty close. We decided to upgrade after 7 years to a even bigger 5ver because we spend about 5 months on the road every year. Almost every 5ver we liked was at or near the clearance of the Pole Barn so I talked with some friends about the possibility of raising the roof to 14'+. We came up with a plan on how to do it. In the meantime we bought our new Alpine 3790FK a few weeks ago and I just parked it near the Pole Barn until we got everything ready to "Raise the Roof". So earlier this week we did it. I was unsure whether or not bad things would happen but we did it anyway. All went well and now the new 5ver can fit under it with about 6" to spare even with it on the Trailerlegs, length is another thing. I am leaving in about a month for our 5 month tour when I get back I will be adding another 30'X12' to the back of it. Here is a link to all the pictures if you are interested in how we did it.
https://1drv.ms/u/s!ApPAHyJGqfJSgoRN...RaoJw?e=VLNmdp

Looks great! I noticed you have hurricane straps on the trusses.. do you get a lot of wind where you are? I guess a structural engineer could determine sheer strength of the joint but I wonder if you should put steel plates/ brackets just to make sure that isn’t a critical joint in high winds?
I am not at all criticizing your workmanship so don’t think that... I just wonder about things when I’m bored

It does look pretty robust though and adding the second 2x6 on the outside of the beam may very well be stronger then the original design .. my hats off to you!

[RickV]

Originally Posted by jasin1

Looks great! I noticed you have hurricane straps on the trusses.. do you get a lot of wind where you are? I guess a structural engineer could determine sheer strength of the joint but I wonder if you should put steel plates/ brackets just to make sure that isn’t a critical joint in high winds?
I am not at all criticizing your workmanship so don’t think that... I just wonder about things when I’m bored

It does look pretty robust though and adding the second 2x6 on the outside of the beam may very well be stronger then the original design .. my hats off to you!

It was originally built to code. We are in North Central Florida by the time any Hurricane gets near us it is weak, we get afternoon thunderstorms that are worse. I live on 4.5 acres of Oak trees we cleared enough to built our house, a detached garage and eventually the pole barn. Any wind we get is at the tops of the trees it is a natural wind break. Sometimes that is good but in the summer no wind makes it even hotter. That is why we bail from home from mid May to the beginning of November.

[jasin1]

Originally Posted by JRTJH

Rick,

Nice job on raising the roof... Now, when you get the rear extension "mastered", I've got plans to extend my pole barn 24' so I can get more "stuff" in it...

Once you're done with yours, while you still have all your tools handy and haven't forgotten how you did it, how about heading up here and fixing mine ???? I'll have a keg of cold beer and lots of brats on the grill <G>

Watched a guy on YouTube a while ago build a pole barn roof on the ground with his 80+ year old father.. it was nice seeing them work together.. the son showed great respect for his dad and let him have a part in the day to day decisions and be the foreman...( the dad probably built many things in his lifetime) ..anyway they built it on the ground and winched it up with tractor supply off-road winches attached to the poles.. don’t know how safe or practical it was but I like when someone thinks outside the box

[JRTJH]

We've got two pole barns now, plus a 3 car garage attached to the house and two "Shelter Logic" portable "tents"... DW is talking about putting a 14'x20' "portable cabin" down by the lake. She wants a "she-shed" to play house in the summer time, away from the vacuuming and mopping at the main house.

What she hasn't realized is that by "building another building" she's increased my mowing and snow removal while reducing her mopping.....

The original pole barn is 36'x44' and located directly behind the house. When we had the cabin on this property, it was easy to drive into. When we tore down the cabin and built the house, the new structure limits access to the pole barn, so there's no way to get anything large into it. I use the tractor front end loader to move the boat and such into it for the winter, but I'd like to have that space to increase my workshop and park the boat in the new addition at the other pole barn...

When I built the last pole barn, it was "just to store the fifth wheel (at the time we had a 28' Springdale) and the boat. I built a 28'x32' building, which at the time was "big enough".... Since then, I've added a significant amount of toys (a snowmobile trailer with 2 sleds and the Slingshot with its trailer) to the inventory as well as "much needed tractor implements", the utility trailer and the flatbed trailer for the tractor that are currently sitting behind the pole barn in "Shelter Logic tents".... It's my goal to add a 28'x24' addition on the back of that pole barn.

Honestly, between paddle boats, kayaks, canoes, rowboats, docks, floating decks, picnic tables, benches, fire pits, grills and screen rooms, I could easily move what's down by the lake into that space and fill it "to the rafters'.... Maybe I need to consider a bigger addition ??? LOL

Without being "too obvious", if I don't resist the "she-shed" I think the "she in the shed" won't argue too much about my pole barn addition.....

[RickV]

Originally Posted by jasin1

Watched a guy on YouTube a while ago build a pole barn roof on the ground with his 80+ year old father.. it was nice seeing them work together.. the son showed great respect for his dad and let him have a part in the day to day decisions and be the foreman...( the dad probably built many things in his lifetime) ..anyway they built it on the ground and winched it up with tractor supply off-road winches attached to the poles.. don’t know how safe or practical it was but I like when someone thinks outside the box

We used 6 10 ton jacks. I bet the roof don't weigh half as much as the new 5ver. Plus we only lifted one side at a time. There was no resistance on the jacks as they were pumped

[John R]

Did you remove the sides first. Been trying to find someone to raise the roof of my pole barn so far no takers.

[RickV]

Originally Posted by John R

Did you remove the sides first. Been trying to find someone to raise the roof of my pole barn so far no takers.

There weren't any sides. If you want to PM me I will give you my phone number and can explain how we did it. Too much to type.

[Hankster]

No price gouging, fasteners are one of the highest margin items in a lumberyard. They help offset the low margins typically seen on commodity lumber. It mY not seem so, but lumber especially on contractor jobs is typically below 20% margins. Hard to operate a business on 20%. Opex is usually around 17%

[digitalpa]

The small picture on the post listing scared the hell out of me. I thought it was going to be a crash story. Whew! Nice remodel job.