Pole Barn

[ddickey]

Looking at buying some land and it has a pole barn already on the property. It has the sliding door type and I know it is probably a shell but was wondering if anyone has converted one of these types into a normal insulated shop. Are the sliding doors easily replaced with a normal door?
Thanks

 

[mickri]

IIRC I believe that Pontiac428 has a thread on constructing a pole barn for his new shop. Do a search for it. He should chime in here.

 

[mickri]

IIRC I believe that Pontiac428 has a thread on constructing a pole barn for his new shop. Do a search for it. He should chime in here.

 

[ThinWoodsman]

I built a shop *in* my pole barn. The barn has four bays (four sliding doors), each about the size of a one-car garage. One of the bays had a concrete slab, and there is a loft covering one half of each of the bays.

I used the concrete bay as the foundation for the ship. I framed proper walls against the two exterior walls, added another interior wall the length of the bay, and built two hinged wall panels (open like doors but generally remain closed and latched) behind the sliding barn door. Also built a ceiling for the half of the bay not covered by the loft. The walls (fixed and hinged) all have rockwool insulation, and I stacked rockwool insulation on the loft and roof of the shop - bought me some headroom inside the shop, and the insulation was too heavy to be held up by those little wires.

Worked out great.

In regards to using the *entire* barn, if I didn't already use it for other things, I would pour a concrete pad (insulated, unlike the one I have now), and then do what I did on the single bay: construct walls and a roof to make climate control possible. In regards to the sliding door, I would probably do something similar to my current setup make one bay a movable/removable wall behind the door, then just make fixed walls behind the rest. Door for non-machinery entrance and exit can be cut or built into any wall you fancy.

Does the pole barn you are looking at have a decent loft?

 

[ddickey]

I don't know. Still looking for options. I transfered to a different plant now I need to sell where I'm at and move where I'm going. I start Monday. Thinking about an apartment in a shop and be done with it.
Here is the property for sale with the barn. Seems very expensive though.

13026 Huber Ave NW, Annandale, MN 55302 | Zillow

13026 Huber Ave NW, Annandale MN, is a Vacant Land home that contains 1212 sq ft and was built in 1973.It contains 3 bedrooms.This home last sold for $137,000 in October 2020. The Rent Zestimate for this Vacant Land is $1,436/mo, which has increased by $1,436/mo in the last 30 days.

www.zillow.com

 

[ThinWoodsman]

Yeah, a bit pricey for only three acres.

Barn looks decent, much nicer than mine. Probably a couple grand in insulation, another five or seven hundred lumber and hardware, and whatever the concrete pad costs, and it would make a great shop.

That MN winter is gonna get you, though. The walk-in door will need a mud or cold room added to it, of course. Any windows will have to be either doubled-up or replaced with triple-pane. And you have to either build a wall behind the sliding doors like I did, which is the cheap way, or replace them with something like a roll-up door.

 

[pontiac428]

Looks like the only thing that property is missing is a cabin and a big 3-phase electric service!

I had to frame the inside of my pole building with 2x6 in order to create 24-inch bays for insulation and to provide something to fasten OSB sheeting (and the electrical) to, since the spans are 12-14' apart. That was easy to do, I ran most of the studs horizontally and added material wherever needed to make it sound. Then I was able to add R-21 batts for insulation. I'm waiting for COVID -19 to slack off so I can get my inspection and finish the job, but the 70% of the insulation that I have in has really quieted the building (and that works two ways!).

As far as the door goes, it would be as easy as framing in the type of door you want. Pole construction is easy to customize, so the slider isn't a deal breaker at all. You could install a small insulated roll-up without much headache.

Edit: My 40x24 building (2 floors with 13' ceiling below) cost about $2k to frame, insulate, and sheet.

 

[ddickey]

Also looking at building a shouse or an aprtment inside a shop. It's just me and I don't need a lot of living space, in heat floor would be a must. With the cost of housing up here I don't think it would be much more to build something. I'm looking into it.
Any opinions on building up or stay on one floor and build on a larger pad?

 

[LEEQ]

It will require some minor carpentry/steel work to remodel the door hole to make ready for the roll up door. Not a big deal. You can probably rob the steel you need from the slider door. One thing that would be nice but could probably be lived without is the recess in the concrete for the door to sit down into. That helps keep water out. As to insulation, good news. They make it for pole barns. It is fiberglass faced in plastic on both sides on wide rolls. It will fit between posts, so no extra framing. The local steel supplier for barns should have or be able to get it. Spray foam is another option. If you want to put an apartment in, just put girts (horizontal boards) on the inside of the posts after insulating. Sheetrock can be run on that and it is the most economical way to work around the post frame construction and mate it to residential framing. Only interior side of the exterior walls will need this. The rest of your walls can be framed normally (stud walls.) All of that being said, I am not a fan of post frame construction for residential use. Stud walls are built to be sheathed on both sides while pole barns are not. That essentially means you have to go inside and spend money on lumber and labor to make it ready to be sheathed on the interior. I equate it to paying to build the same wall twice. I know what you are contemplating is totally possible, but I would get a rough estimate on the remodel. Don't forget adding such services as sewer/septic , water, electric, ect. If you can get a good local contractor your needs and dimensions they can probably give you a rough price by the square foot without putting much time into a bid. This will help you decide on the financial feasibility of your property and plan to make it what you need. Hope that is of help

 

[BGHansen]

My shop is in a 40 x 96 barn; shop is in the front 40 x 32 of the barn. I framed 2 x 4 walls that set in between the poles which are on 8' center. Flushed the 2 x 4 walls with the inside of the 4 x 6's. Did it on 24' centers and insulated with 6" fiberglass insulation stapled to the 2x4's and 4x6's. The walls are 7/16" roof sheathing, nailed in place (much to my chagrin, in hind site screws would be better for access). My ceiling is barn steel. It's screwed to the bottoms of the trusses, 12" of fiberglass batts on top of that with about 4" of cellulose on top of the batts.

I have an interior divider wall at the back of the shop which is framed 2 x 4, so just 3 1/2" wide batts there. Also have a slider between the back of the shop and the rest of the barn. This is framed with 2 x 4's on edge, so 3 1/2" batts there too.

My weakest point is at a 16' slider to the outside which is a typical barn door; 2 x 4's on the flat, so only 1 1/2" thick. I used 1" and 1/2" styrofoam between the horizontal stringers before sheathing the inside surface. I can see light around the door and frame at the ends as the tie-down is in the middle so the door flexes some.

I plan on adding either a 125K or 200K BTU overhead propane heater this summer, so will do some work on the 16' door. My first thought is to frame a new door with 2 x 6's on edge which will require shimming the track out from the side of the barn. Otherwise, the center of gravity will be WAY biased to the inside of the door; it'd have to be pushed out to slide it open. Will also need to add some weatherstripping to the ends to seal up the gaps, though it is a barn, not a house. Some leakage should be expected.

If you are starting with a shell and have the budget, I'd seriously consider a heated floor. I walked into a buddy's shop with one in the winter, just a WONDERFUL experience! My feet were toasty, heat rose from the floor so everything was warm, no blower to listen to or blow dust around, etc. At a minimum I'd look at getting styrofoam under the slab if one hasn't been poured yet. Otherwise, get some nice boots for winter shop use.

Have fun, if it's a comfortable shop, you'll enjoy it more in the winter. Otherwise, you'll be like me and just longingly look at the shop from our house when it's below 20F out!

Bruce