POLE BARN ATTIC WORK

[JimRB]

I used scaffolding when I built my barn. No concrete floor at the time. I had wheels that let me move it around without have to take the whole thing down. Of course when it was tall I had to roll slowly. My dirt floor was pretty even though. We were having to reach 20 feet when installing rafters.

 

[kawman14733]

i would buy /barrow or rent a aluim walking plank, or i would lay the rung of a ext ladder down with a 2x10 on top of that. i fell 10 feet broke my back in 6 places along with my wrist and neck. 8 years later im still paying for it. and feeling it too

 

[Depmandog]

I would rent a rough terrain scissor lift if at all possible. Other than that, an aluminum pick board. They have them in sizes up to 20' plus.

I would strongly suggest wearing a safety harness and tying off when you are up...regardless of what you use.

When I wired my barn (no conduit) I drilled a hole through a baseball, passed a nylon rope through the hole and pitched the ball up over the rafters, then taped the romex to the rope and pulled my wires. Of course I still had plenty of trips up and down the extension ladder but it saved quite a bit of time.

Good luck and be safe.

 

[smstonypoint]

Why use a step ladder here?

You can use an extension ladder.

More stable, easier to move, cheaper, and more useful.

My thinking was the step ladder would allow the OP to "work" between the trusses should the need arise. An extension ladder would definitely be cheaper.

Steve

 

[JerryK]

I ran a lot of conduit in building steel back in an earlier life. An extension ladder is fine, but a pain to move from place to place, and about useless if anything has to be done between the trusses. You can drag a step ladder along as you run the conduit. We used to use roll around crank up, hydralic, or air lifts [outlawed] back before the self propelled scissor lifts became availible. If you want something very safe and want to get the job done quickly, rent yourself a four wheel gas/diesel/or electric JLG boom lift. [JLG is actually a brand name, but that is what we called them.] Remember, money may be important....but the ground is hard...and it gets harder as you grow older... If I remember correctly, JLG stands for John Lewis Grove, one of the Grove brothers, that broke off from the Grove company that makes Grove mobile cranes...and went into the boom man-lift business..... NICE units..!!!

 

[wedge40]

In one of OP's reply's he mentioned wanting to get up there for other things from time to time.

NOTE TO SELF: This is why I would not put trusses 8' O.C. 4' max.

I think that would have been 5 more trusses. $500bucks?


Wedge

 

[ray66v]

In one of OP's reply's he mentioned wanting to get up there for other things from time to time.

NOTE TO SELF: This is why I would not put trusses 8' O.C. 4' max.

I think that would have been 5 more trusses. $500bucks?


Wedge

Don't forget all the time, labor, and materials to put up all those purlins to span the roof trusses, and ceiling.

I always use 2' centers, have yet to regret it.

 

[buckeyefarmer]

We dont have concrete poured yet or I would be using scaffolding. I need these boards in place for future use anyway for in the future for after we install the ceiling

lay some plywood or osb on the ground, and roll the scaffold on it. I wired my barn before concrete floor by using step ladder.

 

[300UGUY]

I'd just get a step ladder. I've known a couple of big guys that have taken falls. Not pretty. One slip, and you may never be able to do much of anything.

 

[Kyle241]

A 2x10 or 2x12 will be very bouncy across an 8ft opening. I'm only 155lbs and I would not be crossing that 20ft above the floor. You will need to beef up the boards, double them or use other materials if you need to leave them up there. Now if you're talking a 4x12, that would work and be rock solid but very heavy to get up there. You could also put the lumber on edge, e.g. a couple 2x6's but that only leaves you 3" or so to stand on - not enough as you could easily mis-step. Good luck and be careful whatever you decide.