24' x 50' Shop Build in VA

[jcook5003]

Hey Guys-

The day is finally here, I've started construction of my new shop. I'm tearing down an 80 year old 20' x 80' pole shed and rebuild back a 24' x 50' x 12' sidewall building. It will contain a 24' x 30' shop and 24' x 20' farm equipment storage area.

Here are some light plans I quickly drew up today of the building.



Foundation:




I've built several pole barns for people and never have been a fan of placing wood in the ground. I use perma-columns on a prior build and without equipment found them hard to set with just two guys. I've decided this time around to monolith pour the floor and 2' x 2' x 2' footings under each post and use dry set brackets anchored to the floor. I will then be using steel trusses on 10' post centers with vertical 2x6 purlins. This photo should clear it up.



Here is the existing building that will be torn down. Having a friend bring his backhoe down to help with this process.





I'm confident in my ability to build a strong building, but I've never insulated a pole building before. I'm still trying to decide the best way to insulate the roof to prevent "rain". I'm thinking of using that bubble radiant barrier over the purlins, then install the metal over that. I'm also considering house wrapping the entire shop before I install the wall purlins. Then insulate the walls later down the road. Opinions? Thoughts?

Should be fun guys, stick around and watch me work really hard in the dog days of summer. Thanks for checking it out.

 

[joefromga]

The older building looks good. Why are you tearing it down?

Spray foam insulation works quite well.

 

[Ed of all trades]

I had a friend that used those trusses and the birds loved them and pooped all over his equipment. Something to think about. Ed

 

[Deere Dude]

I wish my main barn looked as good as yours. Oh well, just a dream.

 

[jcook5003]

The old shed looks better from afar than it is up close. Posts are almost all rotted off at ground level, and several rafter bearing beams are heavily bowed, the purlins over the rafters are getting pretty rotten. It's over 90 years old. It had one heck of a run.

Spray foam is an option but it's very expensive. I've also heard it can still sweat, but maybe that's an internet falsehood. I probably cant afford it right off the bat, has anyone successfully used the reflective bubble wrap type insulation over purlins to prevent roof sweat?

Also does anyone use house wrap on a pole barn under wall purlins?

 

[MF283]

I tore down an old 30x80 years ago & built this, still want to add to the other end. While it's not inslated & dosen't sweat much, i'd love a CHA unit on it.

Ronnie

 

[Birdhunter1]

Spray foam is an option but it's very expensive. I've also heard it can still sweat, but maybe that's an internet falsehood. I probably cant afford it right off the bat, has anyone successfully used the reflective bubble wrap type insulation over purlins to prevent roof sweat?

Also does anyone use house wrap on a pole barn under wall purlins?

My uncle used the bubble wrap on his and he does not have raining condensation issues. I used 1/2" pink polystyrene foam board on my walls and roof and don't have the rain issue either. I have heard of people using house wrap and I don't see why it wouldn't work.

 

[jcook5003]

View attachment 475269

I tore down an old 30x80 years ago & built this, still want to add to the other end. While it's not inslated & dosen't sweat much, i'd love a CHA unit on it.

Ronnie

Looks great. I know logically downsizing sounds crazy, but it just makes sense for me at this point.

 

[EddieWalker]

I'm a big fan of those trusses too, but have never used them myself. I've been wanting to use them when I build my hay barn. Where did you get yours from , what size and if you don't mind, what did they cost? My plan is to put my posts on 12 foot centers and go with 2x8x20's for purlins so I can overlap them. I've also thought about going with 8 foot centers and using 2x6x24's so I can have each purlin on three trusses.

There are two types of spray foam. Open cell, that holds tons of moisture, and closed cell that does not allow moisture into it. Closed cell is also what's used for boat docks. That is what you want if you are going to spray your barn. I's pricey, but just an inch will make a huge difference.

The bubble insulation will stop the condensation from coming down into the room, and it will have a small affect on the overall temperature of the building, but not a lot. What the bubble insulation does is make the space for condensation that forms smaller. With good venting, the air will remove most of of it and what little that does remain will fall down onto the bubble insulation. Odds are that you will never know it's happening.

House wrap is to stop air from getting through your walls. Cold or hot air being blown from the wind eliminates the effectiveness of insulation. Metal siding is considered to be an air barrier. While not 100%, there is no need for house wrap. If your metal is going to be sitting on flashing, or directly on top of your slab, adding house wrap does create the risk of trapping moisture between the metal and the wrap. Without airflow, condensation will form in there and may lead to rust or mold.

Since you are not putting posts into the ground, to make up for the amount of support that gives you, I would consider diagonal bracing in the corners from the top corner of each wall to the bottom of the next post to it. Standard purlins and metal will stiffen up the building quite a bit, but since the screws on the metal are only snugged up and night tight, there is some potential for movement. Diagonal bracing will lock it all together.

My current shop is 24x30 and it's proven to be a good size for working on projects and storing my tools. When we have thunderstorms coming, I can fit my longbed, extra cab truck into there with room to walk around it. My next shop will be bigger. We put more and more stuff into there as the farm grows, and even with lean toes on both sides, there is never enough room for storing stuff under roof.

With 12 foot walls and a 4:12 pitch, you can easily go out another 12 feet and have 8 foot walls if you want to in the future. I park my Kawasaki Mule, my riding mower and my log splitter in there.

 

[jcook5003]

I'm a big fan of those trusses too, but have never used them myself. I've been wanting to use them when I build my hay barn. Where did you get yours from , what size and if you don't mind, what did they cost? My plan is to put my posts on 12 foot centers and go with 2x8x20's for purlins so I can overlap them. I've also thought about going with 8 foot centers and using 2x6x24's so I can have each purlin on three trusses.

Mine came with engineered shop drawings just like any other truss laying out spacing and connection details. Mine are designed for 10' centers to maintain my counties 30 pound snow load and 90 mph wind load. I knew going in I would need some bracing to get the moment load at the connector out. I think I have a good plan in place for it.