Building a pole barn for storage.

JT22 · 03-14-2014, 01:35 PM

Hello,

We're researching building a pole barn for our toys ( TT, horse trailer, tractor, etc). From prior experience, we've learned that you
can never build it big enough!

Besides that fact, any other advice on the specs? I plan on building it for a larger coach, never know what we may grow into.

I would appreciate input on plans.
Thanks

HappyCamperMN · 03-14-2014, 01:41 PM

Here in the midwest, there are plenty of places to consult with. I'm thinking of the smaller, non-mega-mart lumber yards (i.e. not Home Depot, Lowes, etc...). Though you might have luck talking to those places as well. Essentially, you shouldn't need to design from scratch. Even if you don't buy from them, talking to them, and getting an estimate will probably help educate you on the subject.

If you're planning for the future, take a look at the large end of 5th wheels / travel trailers / motor homes. Width is probably pretty consistent. 5th wheels are generally the tallest.?.?

Good luck!

Randy_K · 03-14-2014, 02:28 PM

My first stop would be checking building codes for your area.

JT22 · 03-14-2014, 04:09 PM

Question on specs. I'm been advised to go 15' on clearance, to ensure ample room for a 5er and a garage door.

My question ... any advice on the ideal width for the RV bay? 8.5' width for the coach plus 4 feet on both sides? We'll be incorporating header trusses for the addl width here. Being able to open slides and move around the coach is a must.

schwalbach · 03-14-2014, 04:33 PM

I built a 50 by 70 with a 24X14 door on one 50 foot end, this allows anything that can go down the road for height and length to go in- I park a horse trailer (5th wheel) and camper side by side, if I need to, hooked up, all inside, wired the building with power to plug in fridge for either, machinery goes in other half of 50 foot in back half and 25x30 foot car garage with loft above for off ground storage. works beautiful, if you want pictures let me know.

I can have slides out at any time and even awning out to dry inside.

**JRTJH** · 03-14-2014, 04:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JT22

Question on specs. I'm been advised to go 15' on clearance, to ensure ample room for a 5er and a garage door.

My question ... any advice on the ideal width for the RV bay? 8.5' width for the coach plus 4 feet on both sides? We'll be incorporating header trusses for the addl width here. Being able to open slides and move around the coach is a must.

We built our pole barn last year and the contractor gave us some advice similar to yours. He advised us to stay with even heights. His reasoning was that the sheet metal and the post beams come standard cut in 8,10,12,14,16 and 18 ft lengths. To build 15' tall would require either special ordering the metal (added cost) or extra labor to cut the longer lengths to fit (also added cost). I was thinking that by building a 13' building I could build cheaper. Turns out that a 14' building is actually cheaper for these reasons.

If you're planning on a horizontal sliding door, you can clear the entire height to the rafters. If you're planning a roll-up garage door, add at least 18" for the overhead tracks.

Don't forget that if you're drive approach to the building is not level, you must also add for any "elevation growth" while backing the trailer into the building.

Width of the door is a personal choice. I went with a 12' wide 14' tall door. I'm glad I did. When backing into the building, there's about 2' on each side of the door opening. Two feet seems like a lot, but subtract 4" for the awning on one side and 4" for the slide awnings on the other and suddnely, you're down to about 18" clearance. It can get "real tight real quick" if you have to make any adjustment other than a straight in approach.

Any attempt to back in at an angle critically decreases that "spare space". If I try to center the trailer on the door opening, then adjust over about a foot, I'm only about 6" away on the front of the trailer by the time the back is where I want it. Sure, it's easy to just pull out and back in closer to the edge, but if you've only got a 10' door, you can't get closer to the edge, you'd already be against the door (or close to it) if you try to move over one foot.

It's nice to be able to determine how far away from the wall to park the trailer. I've got 12' to play with (actually 4' that I can put on either side). If I had a 10' door, I'd pretty much have to park the trailer in the same spot and couldn't adjust it to accommodate other things inside the building space.

I do also agree the FIRST place should be the local building/zoning office. You may be pleasantly surprised that some requirements are simplified for post beam construction and it's possible that you may be zoned such that you can't build where you want. It's always nice to know exactly what you "can" do before you decide what you "will" do.

hankaye · 03-14-2014, 04:56 PM

JT22, Howdy;

Here is a starter link to Pole Barn Builders;
https://www.google.com/search?q=pole...rchBox&ie=&oe=

Also don't forget that some of the length of the support poles will be
stuffed into the dirt at least a foot or 3.
You will have some very stringent codes to follow to ensure the first
Hurricane doesn't blow it into the next county or State.
Good luck.

hankaye

JT22 · 03-14-2014, 04:57 PM

Thanks for your input. This is the info that I'm looking for. Please send any pictures if you could.

JT22 · 03-14-2014, 05:11 PM

Thank you for your response. Excellent point regarding the door height and the options. Only reason I was looking at 15' clearance was to not limit ourselves down the road, in addition to re-sale ability.

I'm fortunate that with our property setup I'll be able to build pull thru bays. No need to back in.

schwalbach · 03-14-2014, 05:58 PM

if you look at the attached picture in the background you can see the 50 end door configuration

JT22 · 03-14-2014, 06:32 PM

Thanks for the pictur

FTWingRiders · 03-14-2014, 10:23 PM

I'm building a 44x44 timber frame right now. There is a 20x44 bay with a 14x14 door for the 325srx, and a 24x36 3 bay for toys and work shop. I've already filled it 3 times over in my mind.. LOL!!!

For the record, I'M not building it, it's being built for me.. these guys are good!!

Big Papa 2014 Fuzion · 03-15-2014, 03:03 AM

That is one of the best I have ever seen, I would love to have something like that...

JT22 · 03-15-2014, 03:53 AM

Hello FTwingriders,
Your barn looks awesome! What is that white stuff on the ground?

In Florida, we don't see that stuff.
On that note, question to address ... being in Florida what is the priority on enclosing the pole barn I'm going to build ( for the record as well, I 'm contracting out the shell of the barn)? In our horse barn we don't have a rodent problem....don't have to winterize the coach .... so is it really a priority to enclose it? I'm hoping to put the majority of my budget here to the shell itself ...then finish it off as needed.
Thoughts on enclosing a pole barn in FL? Here is an example of one I found in this forum that looks appealing and very functional.

SAD · 03-15-2014, 05:16 AM

I have a all steel, red-iron freespan 40x50.... Has two 14'H by 12'W doors and the RV can drive straight through... Also a 16'H by 8'W "2 car" garage door on one end.... Has a 50' long porch along one side so I have a great spot for patio furniture and my smoker.

Pic just about the time construction/assembly was done:

I would recommend playing around with any one of the many "planner" apps available on the internet... Used: http://www.cbstructuresinc.com/resou...ut-planner.php

This had plenty of icons to represent the junk i'd put inside... And I could size them... Drag around and arrange however I'd like. Also the ability to save them and review them later.... Could also export to JPG file to save to my own computer. I did not buy my building from these guys either.

Bought my building locally and subbed out my own building assembly and concrete and electrical "prep" (i.e. meter pole and panel in shop - I did all the wiring inside the shop myself)

Here's my layout:

SAD · 03-15-2014, 05:17 AM

To give you an idea of the construction type, I used these guys for my building:

http://lucasmetalworks.com

SAD · 03-15-2014, 05:25 AM

Link to the album for my shop build. It has 99 pics in it... Hopefully the album link works.

https://picasaweb.google.com/1027061...eat=directlink

So far, I've only posted links to individual images on forums. I'm curious as to the visibility of the album to viewers who have the link to the root of the album.

Festus2 · 03-15-2014, 07:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SAD

Link to the album for my shop build. It has 99 pics in it... Hopefully the album link works.

https://picasaweb.google.com/1027061...eat=directlink

So far, I've only posted links to individual images on forums. I'm curious as to the visibility of the album to viewers who have the link to the root of the album.

SAD -
The above link worked just fine at my end. Great set of photos showing all the steps from A to Z.