# Lost and overwhelmed planning a pole barn



## karliejaye (Nov 19, 2011)

I think I am getting way ahead of myself and thus panicking :hide:, so I need some advice. 

We are planning on building a hay shed/tack room/pole barn. 16' x 40' with a poured concrete pad. I am so grateful a family friend has offered to do the pour at next to nil. Now I have to decide if we are getting a builder to do the rest or taking up another family member on the offer to help construct if we buy the big posts (he has a supply of lumber, just not the big pieces). Catch is, he wants to build with center supports. 

We are trying to sort out what will work better, center supports, or trusses, which is cheaper, when we need to get the posts in in relationship to when the concrete will be poured for the pad, et cetra. The pour will happen around the end of June/early July (since he is out of town and is vacationing in the area then) so I have a short time line of figuring this out.

Sorry for the long story, any advice? Any experience building pole barns? FYI, this year we are leaving sides off and just constructing the support and roof.


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## PaintHorseMares (Apr 19, 2008)

Trusses are a PITA and much more expensive. You shouldn't need any poles inside the structure. I'll post pics of the pole barn we built ourselves when I'm back home.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## PaintHorseMares (Apr 19, 2008)

PaintHorseMares said:


> Trusses are a PITA and much more expensive. You shouldn't need any poles inside the structure. I'll post pics of the pole barn we built ourselves when I'm back home.
> _Posted via Mobile Device_


Here is the simple pole barn plan that we started with. You can modify as you wish... pics still to come...

http://www.lsuagcenter.com/NR/rdonlyres/A2EAE6C3-628A-41E5-BB9E-0A9ED132896A/14361/6107HorseBarn.pdf


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## Saddlebag (Jan 17, 2011)

I know with a house one can go a max of 24' with 2"x4" trusses. Mine is 16 x 40. 12x16 holds approx. 200 sq. bales. One stall that's 16x16 is easily shared by two horses and that leaves 12x16 for tack and grain. Mine is partially in the pasture so the horses can go in and out at will. A door from the stall also opens into the yard.


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## PaintHorseMares (Apr 19, 2008)

Here are some pics of our simple pole barn/shelter (28' x 30'). We added the center posts to the design only because we'll be adding a loft.










The shelter part is 10' x 30'.


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## natisha (Jan 11, 2011)

Trusses will leave the space open so there are no poles to work around, which can be a pain when moving stuff in & out.


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## stevenson (Sep 12, 2011)

if you ar just making a hay cover , mine is 17' by 40' so the squeeze can fit. 
we have 3 outside poles on each side, and a slant roof. we use c channels for the roof with tin. We dont get snow , so I did not have to have a peak for snow load. ours is what is called a clear span.


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## karliejaye (Nov 19, 2011)

Thank you all for your advice and experiences. I think we are going to go ahead with the center-pole design, since it is a bit less expensive, and we have help that is very experienced working with it, but not with trusses.

My main concern now is deciding if we need to place the poles before pouring the pad, or put ties/brackets into the pad and then secure the poles on top of the pad. 

Thanks again for all the advice! I am still feeling overwhelmed, but more excited to get rid of the giant tarp we have been covering hay with. I'm tired of crawling under there every other day and now I have lost 9 bales to mold


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## Corporal (Jul 29, 2010)

If you intend to use the trusses as a place to store, please make sure that it is built to hold 2x the amount of weight that you put up there. I have an old barn with a loft, AND a 4-car garage AND a tool shed AND an additional storage building the size of a one-car garage. You fill up fast and then look for more storage. 'O'


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## PaintHorseMares (Apr 19, 2008)

karliejaye said:


> Thank you all for your advice and experiences. I think we are going to go ahead with the center-pole design, since it is a bit less expensive, and we have help that is very experienced working with it, but not with trusses.
> 
> My main concern now is deciding if we need to place the poles before pouring the pad, or put ties/brackets into the pad and then secure the poles on top of the pad.
> 
> Thanks again for all the advice! I am still feeling overwhelmed, but more excited to get rid of the giant tarp we have been covering hay with. I'm tired of crawling under there every other day and now I have lost 9 bales to mold


You want to set the poles (probably 3 feet deep) before pouring the floor. You want those poles to be carrying all the weight.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## karliejaye (Nov 19, 2011)

I am getting super excited! We got HOA approval, and a county agricultural exemption so we can begin! We did opt for trusses, so the inside will be more open. Also ended up going for 24x36 so I can more easily have multiple stacks of hay of different kinds, which I have been longing to do.
Last revision, we decided NOT to pour concrete...I don't know what I was thinking originally, I KNOW cement holds moisture and leads to worse mold problems them 3/4 crush does.
So, we have it leveled and marked, a hole digger is going to come and drill (through rock) the holes so we can set the posts with gravel next week! 

I have been looking at Simpson Hangers for attaching all the trusses and girts and headers and purlins, has anyone used these pieces of hardware before? Would you recommend them or not?


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## Saddlebag (Jan 17, 2011)

Talk to your local building store. They will best advise you. Where ever you plan on stacking your hay you might not wish to enclose it too tightly there so the breezes can draw the moisture out of it. I used one inch spacers to set each 1x6" board. It allows the breezes thro yet keeps out the weather. For the horses, chose a NE corner which will be coolest during the heat of the day. My two like to share one stall, the larger that is 16x16.


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## karliejaye (Nov 19, 2011)

It is not going to have walls at all for the first year, and even when they go up, they will be spaced. 
Also, this is strictly the hay shed, since the horses already have their run-in 

We have an awesome building supply store here that is locally owned. That's where we are getting all our lumber. Their prices are awesome, but I have never found them very friendly to ask questions of...hence coming here to see if any of yall have had experience with Simpson brackets/hanger.


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## Chevaux (Jun 27, 2012)

What do the Simpson hangers look like? We use something called hurricane straps in our buildings. They are sort of "U" shaped; nailed/screwed to the vertical wall and then the horizontal pieces slip into the bracket - it's a fast and easy way to put up horizontal boards, they are very secure and not that pricey.


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## PaintHorseMares (Apr 19, 2008)

karliejaye said:


> We have an awesome building supply store here that is locally owned. That's where we are getting all our lumber. Their prices are awesome, but I have never found them very friendly to ask questions of...hence coming here to see if any of yall have had experience with Simpson brackets/hanger.


Simpson is the company that makes all the brackets/hangers you find in all the major building supply stores. They have a bracket/hanger for almost anything and we use them all the time. The price per piece is not much, but it will add up quickly with all you need. When we built our pole barn, in the end, I think hardware (bolts/nails/screws/brackets/etc) probably totaled about 1/3 the cost of materials. I don't even remember how many thousands of screws we used for the metal roof and siding.


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