a question for the Builders on here.

[2-Stix]

Get a bid for each type.

 

[Whaledriver]

Something else to consider is attic trusses. I have a 28x30 shop with a 14x30 room above. Total additional cost was only 2k more 5 years ago. I did a pole barn build. I was the GC and saved a boat load of cash. Finished the inside as I had time and cash. Had the gables and under roof spray foamed. R19 in the walls with an insulated slab. Never goes below freezing with no heat, I live at 7900' in CO. Finally installed a gas heater this year. Wishes.....should have installed a water line and shitter when I did the gas and electric trenches. Should have done a heated slab since I ran ng to it. Also should have done a 18ft wide door instead of 16

 

[Divide93]

Mono slab and 2 by 6 with a trussed roof! That is all I would do, but I was a concrete dude for 40 years , so a slab is a no brainer for me!

 

[Nine Banger]

Scissor trusses look cool in an open barn.

 

[elkliver]

Something else to consider is attic trusses. I have a 28x30 shop with a 14x30 room above. Total additional cost was only 2k more 5 years ago. I did a pole barn build. I was the GC and saved a boat load of cash. Finished the inside as I had time and cash. Had the gables and under roof spray foamed. R19 in the walls with an insulated slab. Never goes below freezing with no heat, I live at 7900' in CO. Finally installed a gas heater this year. Wishes.....should have installed a water line and shitter when I did the gas and electric trenches. Should have done a heated slab since I ran ng to it. Also should have done a 18ft wide door instead of 16

How tall did it end up being? I assume you had trusses engineered with a vaulted ceiling? (If thats the rights phrase)

 

[riversidejeep]

I’ve seen too many posts in the ground rot- treated, tarred, whatever, they can fail.

I think the decision hinges on whether you want a lift. If so, its nice to have an I beam with a winch mounted on a trolly and that benefits from a steel framed building.

Balloon framing with dimensional lumber on a slab with trusses is the easiest, just make sure to sheet it and add strongwall sections to keep it torsionally strong.

I have had a thought about the poles in the ground and the rot situation for a while, I've been a remodel contractor for 35 years so I've seem my share of rot and ground contact. For a while the local utility company had crews go around to the power poles and drill them with a 1 1/4" auger bit at a super steep angle starting about 10" above ground level going down probably 18-24" without exiting the other side then fill it with some oil or chemical and plastic plug it. Seems if the pole barn guys did this initially then refilled every 5 years or so they would last forever.

 

[Beendare]

I have had a thought about the poles in the ground and the rot situation for a while, I've been a remodel contractor for 35 years so I've seem my share of rot and ground contact. For a while the local utility company had crews go around to the power poles and drill them with a 1 1/4" auger bit at a super steep angle starting about 10" above ground level going down probably 18-24" without exiting the other side then fill it with some oil or chemical and plastic plug it. Seems if the pole barn guys did this initially then refilled every 5 years or so they would last forever.

Admittedly, I do not have a lot of experience with Pole barns...so I'm the last guy to ask about those. I have done some foundation repair on some homes built on failing Telephone poles that my uncle built back in the 1970's.

I have seen some old pole barns- so they must last a very long time if done right.

 

[Whaledriver]

How tall did it end up being? I assume you had trusses engineered with a vaulted ceiling?

Overall 8ft for attic area. I did 14ft main floor height. Overall building is 27' I believe.

 

[ben h]

I have had a thought about the poles in the ground and the rot situation for a while, I've been a remodel contractor for 35 years so I've seem my share of rot and ground contact. For a while the local utility company had crews go around to the power poles and drill them with a 1 1/4" auger bit at a super steep angle starting about 10" above ground level going down probably 18-24" without exiting the other side then fill it with some oil or chemical and plastic plug it. Seems if the pole barn guys did this initially then refilled every 5 years or so they would last forever.

I work in the utility world and the treatment used on utility poles is considerably different than something you'd pick up at your local lumberyard. The American Wood Preservation Association (AWPA) is the standard by which wood is treated to depending on its application. I don't know all the details, but I doubt you could buy (or want to buy) the same level of treatment for a building that could be occpied by people than you could for a utility pole. I've been involved on some rebuld projects that were specifically to remove poles from service because the preservative used was so caustic that it was a liability to have them in the utility's inventorty. They were very tight lipped about getting rid of the poles because it was basically a hazardous material.

 

[riversidejeep]

I work in the utility world and the treatment used on utility poles is considerably different than something you'd pick up at your local lumberyard. The American Wood Preservation Association (AWPA) is the standard by which wood is treated to depending on its application. I don't know all the details, but I doubt you could buy (or want to buy) the same level of treatment for a building that could be occpied by people than you could for a utility pole. I've been involved on some rebuld projects that were specifically to remove poles from service because the preservative used was so caustic that it was a liability to have them in the utility's inventorty. They were very tight lipped about getting rid of the poles because it was basically a hazardous material.

Heck I think that good old drain oil out of the tractor would do the job just fine, soaking from the inside out.

 

[Elkdreamer]

My experience is poles set in concrete can rot out relatively fast. Poles set in gravel can last much longer. FWIW

 

[ben h]

Heck I think that good old drain oil out of the tractor would do the job just fine, soaking from the inside out.

No need to re-invent the wheel here or take un-necessary risks. The AWPA has been looking into the best ways to preserve wood for 100+ years with millions of data points and members with assets in the billions of $. You can leverage their knowledge and just do whatever they recomend for your application. That being said, it's not going to last "forever" so lifecycle costs need to be part of the decision matrix.