Backfilling pole barn, need advice

[jyoutz]

Sounds like you would be pretty disappointed in a majority of pole barns here across the midwest then.

Putting the skirt or band boards right into the ground is how it's done. Mine were done with full ground-contact rated, tongue and groove 2x6s. Three courses of them, two are below grade, the top one is above.

Back-fill the building exterior, fill and compact inside as needed, then you pour the slab inside and it's already all formed up by your skirt boards. So what if they get a little rotten over the years, they aren't structural in any way.

As with any building, you need to make sure you have good drainage away on all sides. Then the ground-contact skirt boards ought to last 50+ years.

Sounds to me like a termite smorgasbord.

 

[KennyG]

Sounds to me like a termite smorgasbord.

Oh, you poor southerners. Up here in the north, termites are rare and they will not attach treated wood.

 

[jyoutz]

Wood decay fungus occurs everywhere and will affect treated wood over time as the treatment chemicals leach from the wood. And some species of subterranean termites do occur in northern states.

 

[deezler]

Sounds to me like a termite smorgasbord.

Thats why i said "across the midwest" - we don't have that problem. And also, like I said, who cares if some of the skirt boards underground rot away slowly. The slab inside the building still meets up with the portion of skirt boards that are above grade. And if you're smart, you pour a concrete rat wall around the perimeter before pouring the slab, to make sure that critters dont undermine the slab. I went down 24" on my rat wall.

 

[jyoutz]

This is an interesting link that shows the distribution and hazards for termites across the continental US. It also shows the different species of termites and where they’re found.

Termite Distribution in the USA – Danger Zones & Species

Understanding the Termite distribution map and danger zones in the USA is important for homeowners, especially when you move to a different state!

stoptinythreats.com

Of course wood decay fungi can exist anywhere that soil is moist during the warmer periods of the year.

 

[KennyG]

Termites are pretty rare in the upper Midwest. New houses do add termite protection but most people don't bother for other structures. We have to be more concerned with carpenter ants. However, treated wood discourages both of them and no one worries about protecting it.