Pole Building questions....Minnesota

[foggy1111]

I am planning to have a 30 x 40 x 10 high buidling put up this spring to store my tractor and implements as well as winter storage for my runabout boat....so I want to keep it vermin and insect free.

I am trying to keep this building low cost, but not at the expense of a poor building. The building will not be insulated and I wont have any electrical service (but I have a small generator for electric needs). I plan to put in a 4" concrete floor (w/ rebar) and a small apron and am doing the mouse-proof lower perimeter and a ridge light down the center. I am going with one 8x16 insulated overhead door and one walk door.

My questions have to do with overhang and venting.

1. If using a ridge lite...what is the proper way to vent this ridge and still keep it insect resistant? Use that "brillo pad" stuff?...or ?

2. I got a price on a building with 1 foot overhang with aluminum perforated soffits....along the side walls only The guy says my cost is about $1200 more due to my overhang and soffit request. I wonder if the overhang is necessary and wonder about other ways to provide some ventilation...yet keep out insects, bats and birds. Ideas?

And....In case your wondering my price for an erected building is about $13,000...less the concrete and site prep (some of which I will do myself). I have done no arm bending yet....cause I am uncertain about the venting and overhangs I need.

 

[JoeL4330]

taller door?

 

[timswi]

I am planning to have a 30 x 40 x 10 high buidling put up this spring to store my tractor and implements as well as winter storage for my runabout boat....so I want to keep it vermin and insect free.

I am trying to keep this building low cost, but not at the expense of a poor building. The building will not be insulated and I wont have any electrical service (but I have a small generator for electric needs). I plan to put in a 4" concrete floor (w/ rebar) and a small apron and am doing the mouse-proof lower perimeter and a ridge light down the center. I am going with one 8x16 insulated overhead door and one walk door.

My questions have to do with overhang and venting.

1. If using a ridge lite...what is the proper way to vent this ridge and still keep it insect resistant? Use that "brillo pad" stuff?...or ?

2. I got a price on a building with 1 foot overhang with aluminum perforated soffits....along the side walls only The guy says my cost is about $1200 more due to my overhang and soffit request. I wonder if the overhang is necessary and wonder about other ways to provide some ventilation...yet keep out insects, bats and birds. Ideas?

And....In case your wondering my price for an erected building is about $13,000...less the concrete and site prep (some of which I will do myself). I have done no arm bending yet....cause I am uncertain about the venting and overhangs I need.

I have a 30x48 pole building with a 12 foot ceiling. There should be no issue with bugs in the ridge vent. These are not sealed tight enough to keep all bugs out, but I have very few in mine.

Go with the 1 ft overhang all the way around, and if you can, have the roof pitch come down on the door side to lessen the water that can collect in the trim and around the door.

I'd skip the re-bar, use fiberglass concrete. Mine's 5" thick, one continuous slab with cut joints. No cracks after 6 years...Alot better than messing with bar and wire.

I also have an 8x16 ft door..Put it in myself...easy. The cost is almost twice that of the 7x16..But the extra height is nice. Also have a man door and 4 sliding windows.

How much of the building does that 13k include?

 

[foggy1111]

taller door?

JoeL....did alot of agonizing over this height...but the 8 foot door and 10 foot ceilings are going to work out fine for me....like I say, gotta keep the cost down.

I have a 30x48 pole building with a 12 foot ceiling. There should be no issue with bugs in the ridge vent. These are not sealed tight enough to keep all bugs out, but I have very few in mine.

Go with the 1 ft overhang all the way around, and if you can, have the roof pitch come down on the door side to lessen the water that can collect in the trim and around the door.

I'd skip the re-bar, use fiberglass concrete. Mine's 5" thick, one continuous slab with cut joints. No cracks after 6 years...Alot better than messing with bar and wire.

I also have an 8x16 ft door..Put it in myself...easy. The cost is almost twice that of the 7x16..But the extra height is nice. Also have a man door and 4 sliding windows.

How much of the building does that 13k include?

I'm going to put both the walk and overhead doors on the gable end...and do without overhangs on this gable (end) wall.....gotta $ave somewhere.... and I don't use the building that often.

On concrete....everyone has opinions....but this is Minnesota....and in my experience REBAR is the only way to go. BTDT

The 13 K is complete less concrete (2.25 psf plus rebar) and some gravel base expense.

I know everyone has different views on building attributes....BUT....Can we just stick to vent questions? LOL

 

[foggy1111]

I have a 30x48 pole building with a 12 foot ceiling. There should be no issue with bugs in the ridge vent. These are not sealed tight enough to keep all bugs out, but I have very few in mine.

Go with the 1 ft overhang all the way around, and if you can, have the roof pitch come down on the door side to lessen the water that can collect in the trim and around the door.

I'd skip the re-bar, use fiberglass concrete. Mine's 5" thick, one continuous slab with cut joints. No cracks after 6 years...Alot better than messing with bar and wire.

I also have an 8x16 ft door..Put it in myself...easy. The cost is almost twice that of the 7x16..But the extra height is nice. Also have a man door and 4 sliding windows.

How much of the building does that 13k include?

Timswi....did you put soffit on your overhang or any means to keep insects out along the eves?...or just open along the corrugations?

Also, I am not doing any windows as this building is in a remote area and I am trying to reduce security issues....and I don't have any electricity for lights....hence the full-length ridge lite.

 

[timswi]

I know everyone has different views on building attributes....BUT....Can we just stick to vent questions? LOL[/QUOTE]


OK, Sorry..Thought I gave you my experience on that, since I have pretty much the same set up.

I'll shut up now.

 

[BarryinMN]

Staple in screen mesh and skip extended soffits. Won't look as good but still functional. Soffits reduce weatherbeating on the siding & windows. I have a cuppola in the middle of the ridgelite it does not seal airtite but I have never needed to open it either. Building is brown sidewall & white roofing. Menards. When not - if - the bats & birds find their way in I just run the tractor for 15-20 mins & they leave & do not return.

I second the door size problem. When you add a second machine that small door will jam you up. 2 lane access is more than 100% better.

 

[timswi]

Timswi....did you put soffit on your overhang or any means to keep insects out along the eves?...or just open along the corrugations?

Also, I am not doing any windows as this building is in a remote area and I am trying to reduce security issues....and I don't have any electricity for lights....hence the full-length ridge lite.

Sorry, I may have mis interpreted your response..I got a little snarky...My apologies.

I put vinyl vented soffits all the way down the 48 ft length. Moves a lot of air with the ridge vent...Helps cool it down, especially if you have no windows.

I have a 1x4 facia board running below the roof. This is covered in aluminum which holds the soffit panels.

If you're using shingles, this is needed to keep the roof from overheating in the summer.

I'm in an isolated area too...I thought long and hard about the windows. Had no problems, but the lack of cross ventiliation made it hot on the floor. I use this as a shop though.

 

[foggy1111]

I know everyone has different views on building attributes....BUT....Can we just stick to vent questions? LOL

OK, Sorry..Thought I gave you my experience on that, since I have pretty much the same set up.

I'll shut up now.[/QUOTE]

OK...upon re-read I spose that sounded pretty harsh. Sorry Timswi...and thanks for your input. It's just that by the time you guys are done with me I will have an 80 x 150 x 20 with 8" concrete and floor drains and 400 amp service. LOL

 

[timswi]

OK, Sorry..Thought I gave you my experience on that, since I have pretty much the same set up.

I'll shut up now.

OK...upon re-read I spose that sounded pretty harsh. Sorry Timswi...and thanks for your input. It's just that by the time you guys are done with me I will have an 80 x 150 x 20 with 8" concrete and floor drains and 400 amp service. LOL[/QUOTE]


We're cool...Is the builder using trusses, or is he stick building the roof. There is some labor involved on having the 1ft overhang, but I really can't see 1200 bucks. The soffit material is really cheap...Don't remember what I paid for it, but I'm the cheapest person I know, and it didn't bother me any.

I guess it all depends on what you want the finished product to look like. I vinyl sided mine to match the house along with the white sofit & facia and doors....

As far as the door, there are times when double doors would be nice, but when you have to bring in a big trailer, or want to fix something in the middle of the floor, the 16 footer is pretty nice.

 

[framer]

Typically here in ks.we don't ventilate pole barns if your not going to finish ceiling no reason to ventilate building metal buildings are not completely air
tight unless insulate.Over hangs are good to keep water away.Framer

 

[foggy1111]

Sorry, I may have mis interpreted your response..I got a little snarky...My apologies.

I put vinyl vented soffits all the way down the 48 ft length. Moves a lot of air with the ridge vent...Helps cool it down, especially if you have no windows.

I have a 1x4 facia board running below the roof. This is covered in aluminum which holds the soffit panels.

If you're using shingles, this is needed to keep the roof from overheating in the summer.

I'm in an isolated area too...I thought long and hard about the windows. Had no problems, but the lack of cross ventiliation made it hot on the floor. I use this as a shop though.

I'm going with a metal roof and a full length ridge lite...instead of shingles. I too have concerns with it getting a bit warm and / or humid ...therefore the need to do the venting right.

I likely will have a work bench and plan to bury a big I beam (on end) in the concrete floor to mount a vise to for some occasional confused:??) maintenance work. I know I will wish for some cross ventilation on a hot day....but I am just going to tough it out. Being an absentee land owner...I worry about vandals and theft.

 

[foggy1111]

Typically here in ks.we don't ventilate pole barns if your not going to finish ceiling no reason to ventilate building metal buildings are not completely air
tight unless insulate.Over hangs are good to keep water away.Framer

Yep....the overhangs sure look nice and will keep the foundation from washing out better. When time permits...I plan to put river rock around the perimeter of the building too...in order to keep erosion down. I think I pretty much have decided to go the sidewall overhang and soffit route. Maybe I just need to negotiate the price for it a little more.

 

[timswi]

I'm going with a metal roof and a full length ridge lite...instead of shingles. I too have concerns with it getting a bit warm and / or humid ...therefore the need to do the venting right.

I likely will have a work bench and plan to bury a big I beam (on end) in the concrete floor to mount a vise to for some occasional confused:??) maintenance work. I know I will wish for some cross ventilation on a hot day....but I am just going to tough it out. Being an absentee land owner...I worry about vandals and theft.

If you're not going to be around there...I agree with you..The big garage door should help quite a bit.

As long as you have sofit vents and a ridge vent, you should be fine. That's what they do on houses.

With power, you could do a power vent, but that doesn't sound like it's in the cards for this project.

Can't do much else, or you'll end up with critters.

I'm not sue how much sweating the metal will do up there in the tundra..I know that my decking under my porch drips like crazy during rapid temp changes...If the bottom of the metal isn't insulated, this may be possible. I'd check into that. Water coming off of metal makes a mess on machinery.

 

[foggy1111]

If you're not going to be around there...I agree with you..The big garage door should help quite a bit.

As long as you have sofit vents and a ridge vent, you should be fine. That's what they do on houses.

With power, you could do a power vent, but that doesn't sound like it's in the cards for this project.

Can't do much else, or you'll end up with critters.

I'm not sue how much sweating the metal will do up there in the tundra..I know that my decking under my porch drips like crazy during rapid temp changes...If the bottom of the metal isn't insulated, this may be possible. I'd check into that. Water coming off of metal makes a mess on machinery.

You brought up a good point earlier on cross ventilation....and I may rethink my walk door to help out in that area when working in the garage.

Yes (from an earlier post) the builder uses trusses and full length metal roof sheets.

I am building near a pretty sizable wetland....so I'm sure humidity and sweating could be an issue in the hot summer months.

From a critter standpoint.....I'm more worried about my boat and upholstery getting chewed on, sXXt on, and such...than about the tractor or machinery. Its a pretty nice boat (23' Cobalt ) and I just want to preserve it as best I can while stored in the building over the winter months.

Bedtime....thanks for the feedback.

 

[timswi]

The sweating issue i fear is that the exposed metal roof panels could drip all winter long ...(Cold & snow to direct sun=sweaty metal roofing on the inside).

This can turn the building into a rain forest in the winter...Doubt it would be much of an issue in the summer...Isn't here anyway.

Just hate to see you walk in there in april and find everyting soaked, rusty and stained.

The roof venting may cut this down...Might want to check with some people experienced in such things...That's a pretty hard problem to fix once it's installed.

Don't want to cause undo concern, but it happens at my place, albeit on a much smaller scale.

 

[MarkV]

Not sure how they could do soffit venting without a soffit and wonder how effective a ridge vent is alone. I would also think the overhang would be more important in snow country than down here in the south.

Hope you have better luck critter proofing than most. I have never seen a building that can keep mice out.

MarkV

 

[DUMBDOG]

Will need some venting to prevent sweating, either the ridge vent or even a vent on the ends that are screened to keep the bugs out.

I know that you do not want to talk cement, but in North Dakota, I went with 4 inch concrete with fiberglass, with cuts, without a problem after eight years. I even parked a 20K pound backhoe along side a 12K pound motor home in 24 X 48 foot section without a problem.

 

[foggy1111]

After a bit more research, I am definately going with the 1 foot roof overhang and perforated soffits and a ridge lite with vents under each side. I just dont know yet about the ridge vent.....one guy claims the "brillo pad" venting is all I need.....and another is recommending some thicker plastic vent material that I need to research a little more.

I have looked into "mouse guard" and will have that installed at the base and am putting filler 2x4's on the corner posts to fill any voids there. Also foam
filler strips on any openings to minimize any big openings. One can hope.

Will need some venting to prevent sweating, either the ridge vent or even a vent on the ends that are screened to keep the bugs out.

I know that you do not want to talk cement, but in North Dakota, I went with 4 inch concrete with fiberglass, with cuts, without a problem after eight years. I even parked a 20K pound backhoe along side a 12K pound motor home in 24 X 48 foot section without a problem.

Well....I probably "overspoke" on concrete....sorry. Yep, I know many have had success with fiberglass....I attribute much of it to soil compaction and type and good preparation....and maybe a little luck. I have also seen some bad fiber glass results with much of the problems showing up at the joints heaving from freeze thaw.

As an example: my daughter put in part of her drive with rebar....as I recommended (and its held up great) and then saved a few bucks on the balance of the drive by going with glass (and it heaved at every joint )....and she's sorry they didn't heed my advice on the entire driveway. Many around here wont mess with FG anymore.....and I'm one of 'em. My.02 worth.

 

[DUMBDOG]

What ever makes you comfortable is the best thing.