Down to the details on pole barn for farm use

40 x 64 x 14....approx $22,000 installed no concrete, 1" overhang, 2 doors, windows in front (in Ohio)

Pretty set on ridge light....do you recommend also a vent in the rigde light or just the light? If I went with under eave light, it would be on the north...is this OK?

What is the best and most economical roof insulation or vapor barrier? The foam insulation sheets? Or the aluminum bubble wrap in rolls?

Some 6x6 poles are 28 feet long...some builders plan to use 3 ply laminated 2 x 6...some dont...hear it may be hard to get long poles that are straight? Any experience on this? Is it worth the extra for laminated posts?

Is there any value to 2x4 purlins every 2 feet or 2x6 purlins every 3 feet.

Is it typical to pay sales tax in ohio on the barn used for farm use?

2x4 purlin spacing 30" on center, max and usual - but I often used 24" if my insulating material was a 2" on center product such as 4x8 rigid insulation. The foil bubble wrap works well for an anti-condensate material - if heating, I would apply a ceiling to the bottom chord of the trusses. The trusses need to be designed for this however.

Any questions, please ask.

Good Luck,

Bill

I would not go with ridge light if you mean to use plastic or fiberglass panels. They won"t hold up in the weather very long. When they fail they either split along a roll or fold line or pop around a nail head. They get dirty and dull and fairly soon are a pain to clean. Side lights along a north wall are OK, especially if that"s the only other place. You won"t get as much sun on the north side and if you don"t do a tight job you"ll get cold air blowing around it in the winter.

For those long poles I am assuming you need pressure treated wood in ground. Finding good structural solid wood PT that long is difficult. Over the last several years I have become aware of how low the quality of a lot of PT solid wood I"ve found. I"d recommend laminated triple 2X6"s. You can use PT for the part that is in ground and when the get above ground you can use regular wood if it is not exposed to the weather. I have a Morton barn built about 8 years ago that way and it has stood up to at least 3 named tropical storms without any problems. Glulams would be about your strongest option. I"m not sure if glulams are available in PT now,(they weren"t when I built) but if they are I"ll bet they are expensive.

On all of my buildings we used 2x4 purlins on 2" centers. You use more screws or nails but you get a lot better roof hold down than with 2x6"s on 3" centers. (That"s an issue down here near the Gulf.) Also the roof flexes less in the wind and if you need to get on it for any reason.

Sorry, I can"t offer any experience with roof insulation; never used it. Hope this is some help. Good luck with your building.

Don"t like anything but tin on the roof, the "clear" stuff breaks down in the sun/hail long before the tin does.

--->Paul

I bought a Wick 51 x 70 x 16 with walk door, 20' split slider and opening for a 16x14 overhead door for $25,153 winter before last. I"ll put down concrete some time on parts of it.

You will need a ridge vent. Fiberglass panels have much shorter life than steel panels so they tend to die young.

Gerald J.

Is that $22k erected? What kind of doors? Overheads? sliders? Are you planning on eventually making a shop out of this building?

I've been kicking around the idea of putting up a building myself, probably about that size. I'm thinking about erecting it myself - possibly attaching it to my present shop so I could have all my tools in one place. The first thing I have to do is bring in a lot of fill - I will probably do that this year. Even if I don't build a building, I could use the extra parking spots.