Pole Barn Design-Over Building?

[yooperdave]

What is the function / purpose of the knee braces? Seems like extra work.

If the trusses are located at the same spacing as the columns, only a girt is needed at the eave.

Just wondering.

Yooper Dave

 

[rambler]

What is the function / purpose of the knee braces? Seems like extra work.

If the trusses are located at the same spacing as the columns, only a girt is needed at the eave.

Just wondering.

Yooper Dave

I was wondering the same. This over-design is missing out on the benifits of a pole building.....

Wonder if he has a Menards (like a Lowes or Home Depot -upper-midwest region) near him - They have a building calculator kiosk in each store, go play with the design & it prints out materials & price list. Would be a cool starting point.

--->Paul

 

[kennyd]

What is the function / purpose of the knee braces? Seems like extra work.

Lateral stability. And they look nice

 

[yooperdave]

Lateral stability. And they look nice

Knee braces up that high provide very little lateral resistance. I doubt the columns can accept the axial load from the braces induced into their side creating a weak-axis moment.

Those brace(s) need to extend down to the kick-board - that will provide effective lateral stability.

Post and beam construction is somewhat similar - but the members are substantially larger, and able to resist the imposed moment.

Yooper Dave

 

[kennyd]

Knee braces up that high provide very little lateral resistance. I doubt the columns can accept the axial load from the braces induced into their side creating a weak-axis moment.

Those brace(s) need to extend down to the kick-board - that will provide effective lateral stability.

Post and beam construction is somewhat similar - but the members are substantially larger, and able to resist the imposed moment.

Yooper Dave

OK, Thanks...

I will let my builder and county inspection department know they are wrong and the braces are not needed.

This is why is never posted a thread on building my building...to many opinions..Not say you are wrong.

 

[yooperdave]

OK, Thanks...

I will let my builder and county inspection department know they are wrong and the braces are not needed.

This is why is never posted a thread on building my building...to many opinions..Not say you are wrong.

The good thing here is you save $125/hour of structural engineering consulting fees in a relaxed format.

I will say I am concerned for the safety of the public. People expect a building to be safe - it is assumed.

Yooper Dave

 

[bitternut]

My barn has an upper floor and is over 25' to the peak. It was kind of scary standing in the upper floor with a stiff breeze. I asked the Amish guy that built it about how shaky it was and he said he builds all his barns like mine. I ended up running 2x6 diagonal braces from the skirt board to the top plate. Every girt was securely nailed with ring nails. No more wiggle even in real strong winds. I had a couple people get scared on windy days before I fixed things. Braces are your friend, use them.

 

[Duffster]

My barn has an upper floor and is over 25' to the peak. It was kind of scary standing in the upper floor with a stiff breeze. I asked the Amish guy that built it about how shaky it was and he said he builds all his barns like mine. I ended up running 2x6 diagonal braces from the skirt board to the top plate. Every girt was securely nailed with ring nails. No more wiggle even in real strong winds. I had a couple people get scared on windy days before I fixed things. Braces are your friend, use them.

It still needed braces even after the building was sheeted?

 

[bitternut]

It still needed braces even after the building was sheeted?

Sure did. The outside of the barn is covered with 1 x 10 pine board and batten so there is not a lot of support there. Also the barn sits kind of in the open on a small knoll at the end of a long valley that runs the same direction as the prevailing winds. The long side of the barn is more or less perpendicular to the wind direction. There is no wiggle at all now.

 

[rambler]

Lateral stability. And they look nice

I agree they look nice.

I rarely look at who is posting; my fault. I thought it was the original poster with a revised design for his future building.

If looks count, then that's different. For a covered pole barn often the idea is to have a good building, and make it cheap but sturdy.

Assuming it is tinned as most pole barns are, your supports aren't visible from outside. So the pretty - which I agree - gets lost.

As to support, I'm sure they offer some, but seems like a lot of wood & cutting & working up high; when the same support could be added with a few metal straps or top to bottom 2x4 angle bracing. The proportion of your andgles appear to be more for looks, than for good support.

Nothing wrong with your design if you are paying the bills and you pay extra for 'looks good'. That's cool.

For those looking to build a sturdy but inexpensive storage building, there would be simpler (ie cheaper) ways to build that.

I have a machine shed that was dragged ontot he place I guess in the 1940's, and added onto 2x, with the roof lifted once. It is built out of 2x4 for a lot of the support, and _not_ on 24 inch centers. Sort of 1/2 pole building, 1/2 stick built. It would _never_ pass a building inspection. The interior poles are set on piers that are 6 inches or a foot deep. And so on.

Somehow it keeps taking the MN winters here. And it has some of those top supports in it. They help, but they are too small, too weak.... But it keeps standing.

So, I'm not meaninb to be critical of your building! I guess I was looking at different angle than you were, and sorry if I came off wrong.

--->Paul