30X40X10 Pole Barn

[hepnerj]

Ok gents her is your chance. All of you who HAVE built......

1.. What would you have done differently??

2.. Doors, what type did you use and why?? Am thinking of roll-up doors for mine. 3 of them in the 10X9 size.

3.. Windows?? I will not have electricity. It is on a remote spot of my property. Will use Solar panel and batteries.

4.. Concrete floor.. 4" enough? Will be using it to store an older MF 50HP tractor, 1 ton Dump truck and assorted implements.

5.. Did you get a "kit"?? if so who from and would you recommend them??

Thanks in advance

John

 

[firefighter9208]

I have a 24x36 that I built in 2003. I suggest you go with 12' or 14' side walls. That way you can put in a 10' door. My door is 9'and I can't always get everything in there that I want.

I did the sliding doors in this barn since it is used for livestock. Right now I have my corn picker stored in there. I had to lift up on the tongue with my front end loader to back it in, because the elevator is almost 10' tall.

Chris

 

[bpattie]

John,

I will just throw in a thought on the door style and adding light. I will let the experts on concrete address the thickness issue. Windows are good, another thing you may consider is adding maybe a 2-3 foot section of opaque panel along the top of a few walls. It is amazing how much light that allows to enter the building, and putting in a few windows as well. in regards to the doors, rollup a good, I have also used sliding doors, they are probably less expensive and also work well if you have snow to contend with. Also, the height, just be sure to consider allowing sufficient height for whatever you want to allow access to the barn. Will anything need to back in that is higher than the 9 or 10 foot door height you are thinking about. It is always better to have a little extra height than what you think you may need and easier to accommodate when you build as opposed to latter, and also if you are going in and out with snow on the ground that will eat into the available clearance.

 

[mjarrels]

You are a local to me... Use Stoneburner off route 42 (high street in Harrisonburg). They do a fantastic job at a reasonable price.

mark

 

[hepnerj]

LOL.. you read my mind.. Stoneburner is putting a quote together as we type.

Thanks for the suggestions and such. Tallest thing have is a sickle bar that in the upright postion is ~8 feet..

 

[FxdGrMind]

Lots of things are 10' tall, When designing my 24x36' pole barn I wanted 11' rafter bottoms and I'm so happy today that I did! You will not regret higher ceelings.

2nd the thought of the 2' upper section (semi see through) filler for lighting! That's what I have and it's great!

Roll up door is nice for "Automation" as in remote opener, but for full use of the space a Lateral opening door on roller bearings (hanging) would be better access. It's all in how you want to enter it. You decide. A hanging or other type "Barn" doors will require some way of locking, where as the automatic door is somewhat locked when down by it's self. I use latches on the inside and a side (people) door with dead bolt for security.

If you are going 4" cement floors you may want good re-enforcement. 4" seems a little thin for dump truck and tactor. Put in 10 yrds pee gravel base then 6" WET cement over it so have 8-10 inch equivalent. nice and solid!

Cheers

 

[whitedogone]

Build BIGGER
10' door
2' upper section (semi see through) filler for lighting west side
plan on 5" min of concrete
Use foam or bubble wrap on roof

 

[Steve C]

Ok gents her is your chance. All of you who HAVE built......

m??



Thanks in advance

John

1.. What would you have done differently??

My first barn was 34 x 48 x 10, it came with a house I bought. I had to use my garden tractor to get my boat in there because it was to tall when hitched to a normal vehicle. My motor home had to sit outside and be serviced outside....

12 foot tall should be a minimum, my new barn is 40 x 60 and has 14 foot side walls. I have never heard anyone say "I wish my barn was shorter" but I have heard many people say that they wished their barn was taller. Going up is the cheapest way to get a lot more cubic foot of building for very little money.

2.. Doors, what type did you use and why?? Am thinking of roll-up doors for mine. 3 of them in the 10X9 size.

Get good quality insulated roll up doors with good weather strips. Make one of the doors at least 12 foot wide, 14 or 16 is even better and 13 foot high. I would rather have one 12 foot wide door than 3-10 foot wide doors. Backing up a 8 foot wide boat or trailer through a 10 foot wide door is hard enough in broad daylight with a straight approach, but try it on a dark night when it is raining and your mirrors are covered with rain drops and you back window is fogged up and perhaps you aren't lined up perfectly straight with the door and you won't like it very much. You will wish for a 20 foot wide door.

3.. Windows?? I will not have electricity. It is on a remote spot of my property. Will use Solar panel and batteries.

At least 4 that open 2 on each side for ventilation and ambient light in case you want to spend some time out there.

4.. Concrete floor.. 4" enough? Will be using it to store an older MF 50HP tractor, 1 ton Dump truck and assorted implements.

4" is enough if installed correctly........

Dump Truck???...See note #2

now my stuff will fit through the door.......at least the stuff that I still have...

 

[Robert_in_NY]

The barn we built for ourselves (have actually built a few of them over the years) we made 40x64 but it was on a slope so we have a 24x64 main section with 10' high by 16' wide overhead doors on each end as well as a 3' man door on each end. The lower side is about 30" down from the upper sections floor. It is a 16'x64' with 8' high by 9' wide overhead doors on each end. There is a retaining wall seperating the two sections and we have walled up a good portion by building shelves between the 4x6 posts then putting rough sawn lumber up on the one side to back the shelves and give us walls to hang tools on on the other side. There is also a loft above the 16'x64' section that you access from the 24'x64' section. It made use of otherwise wasted space. there is 12' of plywood deep in the loft the entire 64' so that gave us a ton of storage.

We didn't put any windows in except for the man door on the side by the house. We didn't want people to be able to see inside too easily. Instead we used translucent panels the top 2' the entire 64' on both long walls so if we do wall off the entire divider there will be plenty of light during the day in each section. We have not poured the floor yet as we needed to run electric out there and couldn't do it till we redid the house service. That was finally completed about 10 days ago so now we are going to run the service line from the house to the barn and wire it up. We did run a tile lengthwise the barn at the retaining wall and it has outlets on both ends and a drain out the center going through the 16' sections floor. This keeps the 16' section very dry (again, we are on a slope so water is always an issue). Once the old barn is demolished we will tile along the outside to help elimiate the rest of the water that comes near the barn.

One thing we wish we did different was make it taller. At the time we went with 12' side walls on the main section as we figured 10' high doors would be big enough. Then I got into haying and bought kicker wagons that are 11' tall. I also bought a combine that is 11' tall so none of them will fit in that barn. Our next barn will be at least 14' high side walls but possibly 16' high.

We used metal for the siding and a 50 year asphalt shingle for the roof. It is quiet and looks nice and I like asphalt roofs better then metal for various reasons.

And 40x64 is no where near big enough.

 

[buckeyefarmer]

I see someone mentioned stoneburner for your area. I also vote for at least 12' high. I put in 10x10 doors, I wish one was wider. I used commercial Clopay garage doors, with windows in the door for light. On the back side of the barn, the windows are frosted so you can't see thru.

I'll be driving thru your town tomorrow...

 

[PA hayseed]

Ditto on the higher walls. As a guy with doors too short for my newer tractor with canopy, I can't emphasize enough going higher. As a result I have to put the canopy on after removing the tractor from the garage. It may be that one day you will come a across a fabulous deal on a piece of equipment that won't get through smaller doors, or trade in your tractor. going higher costs more in the short term, but costs far less if your equipment needs change.

Other than that, you can get windows fairly cheaply if you look at the right places. I like windows for the light and the ventilation. Sometimes you just need a crack on either side, sometimes you will have every door and window open. You can always put film on the glass if your concerned about prying eyes. As far as security goes, if they want in they are going to get in so I wouldn't be concerned about windows. Opening the garage door isn't always the best option.

There are far too many concrete posts on this site for floors for me to offer anything meaningful.

One thing to consider before building is drainage. If you ever have water there, in or around the garage, consider a floor drain or several. I would also consider heat sources - future tense. You may eventually want to run a furnace or stove and it is always better if you plan for the possibility now. When they pour your slab, you may want them to stub through the floor for any other possible entry or exits for your garage. I had them stub in two corners for me, one I ran power through, and the other I have for water.

I have roll up doors, and came across a cheap but good door opener. Sure is nice in winter not to get off, go open, get back on, get in garage, get off and close the door. Course you guys don't really have winter there...but that is another thread.

Good luck.

 

[ronjhall]

12 to 14' high walls are better. Mine is 10'. Wish I had gotten 14' many times. A 10' wide door gets real small if trying to back a trailer or large implement into barn. My doors are on one end and side. Put the doors at least 4' off the walls. This give room to work or get around item put in barn through large door. A 30 to 40' wide barn does not allow a lot of room inside to maneuver tractor and attachments. Putting doors off center allows of more storage on one side.

 

[LBrown59]

Lots of things are 10' tall, When designing my 24x36' pole barn I wanted 11' rafter bottoms and I'm so happy today that I did! You will not regret higher ceelings.

2nd the thought of the 2' upper section (semi see through) filler for lighting! That's what I have and it's great!

Roll up door is nice for "Automation" as in remote opener, but for full use of the space a Lateral opening door on roller bearings (hanging) would be better access. It's all in how you want to enter it. You decide. A hanging or other type "Barn" doors will require some way of locking, where as the automatic door is somewhat locked when down by it's self. I use latches on the inside and a side (people) door with dead bolt for security.

If you are going 4" cement floors you may want good re-enforcement. 4" seems a little thin for dump truck and tactor. Put in 10 yrds pee gravel base then 6" WET cement over it so have 8-10 inch equivalent. nice and solid!

Cheers

The worst thing about 10 12 and 14 foot ceilings is they cost a lot more to heat and cool.

 

[bpsooner]

I recently had a 30x50x10 barn built. I was looking at roll up doors but I decided on a 20 ft split slider on the side and a 12ft split slider on the end. It was actually cheaper going with the 20 ft slider than 2-10ft roll up doors. I also had three sky lights installed. I liked the light that they provide. The 10 ft walls work for me but if you have large farm equipment or may in the future I would go higher with the walls. The 10 ft limits you for future uses....

 

[CinderSchnauzer]

We often think we will live forever at our current spot, however, with a view to future resale to the widest possible market, I'd suggest minimum 45' length - 50 would be better and minimum 16' ceilings with 14' doors - at least one 12' x 14' if not both.

Many Class C motor homes or 5th wheels will not fit a 10' door. Most Class A motor homes are at least 12' high if not higher and many are 40'+ with rear ladder & mirrors. Take a look at the clearance needed for OTR truck / Tractor with sleeper cab etc. Independent Truckers are always looking for a place where they can work on / store their truck / trailer. Many trailers are 53' to the nose so if you went 55' - 60' and ever wanted to sell - you'd have a wider potential market.

Even if you don't sell you'll never regret having the extra height. If you go 16' or greater ceiling you can have an area with 8' ceiling and storage / office / mezzanine above, still with approx 7' headroom.

 

[Spudland_Dave]

We often think we will live forever at our current spot, however, with a view to future resale to the widest possible market, I'd suggest minimum 45' length - 50 would be better and minimum 16' ceilings with 14' doors - at least one 12' x 14' if not both.

While what you say makes sense (it did to me for the longest time) but this past spring we were talking to a family friend who is an appraiser by trade about building a garage/shop....what HE told us was that if you go TOO big you're pouring money down the drain because the amount of people willing to PAY for the super garage....so essentially its costing more to build on your end but you'll never get it back on the back end.
Bigger IS better, but too big is bad...If you go TOO big you could actually DECREASE the value of your home & property....

Rule of thumb from him was to build something similar as the properties in the area... If all your neighbors have 80'x160'x16' garages...that would probably be best for value...

 

[CinderSchnauzer]

The OP didn't actually give us much to go on regarding, size and location of his property, demographics of surrounding area or intended use. As I interpret his original information he is talking 10 walls and therefore when he mentions a door 10 x 9, to me that means 10' wide and 9' high.

My point, which has been mentioned by others, is that a 9' high door can be quite limited in what passes through. It would be a lot less expensive to consider future uses and build higher (or longer) now than to jack up the building later to add a 4' or 6' extension to accommodate future needs. Not just for farm equipment, but for boats, trailers, motor homes, trucks etc. that one might want to get into the shed for storage or repairs.

 

[cjfling]

Since the OP says he will not have power at this barn, I wouldn't waste my money on roll up doors. Without power you wouldn't be able to use it with an opener. I put in one 18x13 slider on each end of my 38x64x14 barn. If you want the door to be in the center on the barn, I'd put in a split slider. I didn't put any Windows in mine, but I have electricity. Since it's in a rural location, I wouldn't put in windows. Make it harder on the thieves/burglars. In your situation, I'd consider the previously recommend acrylic panel 2' from the roof on the side walls. With that and the door open, that will give you a lot of light for a storage barn.

 

[Robert_in_NY]

Since the OP says he will not have power at this barn, I wouldn't waste my money on roll up doors. Without power you wouldn't be able to use it with an opener. I put in one 18x13 slider on each end of my 38x64x14 barn. If you want the door to be in the center on the barn, I'd put in a split slider. I didn't put any Windows in mine, but I have electricity. Since it's in a rural location, I wouldn't put in windows. Make it harder on the thieves/burglars. In your situation, I'd consider the previously recommend acrylic panel 2' from the roof on the side walls. With that and the door open, that will give you a lot of light for a storage barn.

One advantage of roll up doors is they are easy to open. Heck my 5 year old daughter can open our barn doors without any trouble. Plus you can mount to doors anywhere you want as long as you have 12" of clearance above. I have 4 over head doors on my barn and no power. Two doors are 16' wide x 10' high and the other two are 9x8. Its nice to be able to undo the latch and with just a slight lift have the doors up and out of the way. But their not for everyone and every application.