pole barn height?

[NoTrespassing]

Hi folks,

I'm just getting started designing a storage shed. I'm going with pole barn construction. It will be either 24 x 60 or 30 x 60. I need to do some measuring before I decide. The longest thing I will park in it will be my L3710 Kubota with the loader and 6' rotary cutter on it. The tallest thing I would put in it is our stock trailer that is slightly less than 8' tall I think.

Unfortunately, the way I'm going to have to build it, the doors (3 of them) will be on the long side of the building. I have no choice in that matter and I realize the headers will be taking all the roof load. I will deal with that.

My first of many questions is, how tall should I make the long walls and how tall should the overhead doors be? What should I consider when making this decision?

I've got some building experience having put up a small horse shed and a 16 x 24 pole barn but this will be much more than I have taken on.

Thanks for any response,
Kevin

 

[Bully]

I would say if you think you'll need 8.ft, chances are that will turn into 10 ft. Also, the length of a stock trailer, only until you get that 5th wheel that you don't think you need right now. make sure that you leave enough room above the header for the door hardware or roll up mechanism. Gary.

 

[beenthere]

I'll stick my neck out and estimate you will need to have 2' headers over the doors so you can figure what door height you want (I would go with 9' height) and then calculate the ceiling height (or 11' to accomodate the 9' door height).

Go to some pole building plan sites or University Ag building sites and you should find some plans to help you make these decisions.

Depth of the headers to carry the load of the roof weight will be the controlling factor, IMO.

 

[rswyan]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( It will be either 24 x 60 or 30 x 60. )</font>
I'd go with the longer depth ... you can never have too much storage space. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( Unfortunately, the way I'm going to have to build it, the doors (3 of them) will be on the long side of the building. I have no choice in that matter and I realize the headers will be taking all the roof load. )</font>
I'm in a similar situation myself - looking at putting up a 42' x 72' with three overheads and couple of man doors. The parcel it's going to go on is long and narrow, with the building being sited with it's long dimension running with the long dimension of the parcel (so as to leave adequate room on the front of the building for the approaches. I want to go with 12' wide doors to make it easier to pull things in and out of the building (don't have to be perfectly straight when you start to pull in and you can start to turn without backing all the way out.)

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( My first of many questions is, how tall should I make the long walls and how tall should the overhead doors be? What should I consider when making this decision? )</font>
I'd go for at least a 13' clearance below the rafters and strongly consider putting in 10' doors. I already have a garage and a block storage building that have only 7' doors ... my pickup won't fit in either and I can't pull my tractor in without lowering the ROPS. It will cost you a little more to make the building taller .... and the taller doors will add some expense .... but you will probably never be in a situation where your doors are too low. Easier to handle it now .... rather than later.

 

[dooleysm]

I'm building a 32x40 pole barn right now, with 12 foot ceilings. We arrived at this number just based on the size posts we had, which were free and a 10x10 door we also got for free. The door required 11 foot ceilings for mounting hardware, the posts were just long enough to give us 12 feet, so we went for it.

I was talking to one of my wife's uncles who also happens to have a 32x40 barn and I was asking him some questions about it. I asked how high his ceilings were and he told me 10 feet, but he sure wishes they were a couple feet higher. Made me feel like I made the right choice with the 12 foot celings.

As far as headers go, our posts are on 8 foot centers with the trusses on 4 foot centers. Every other truss is nailed to a post. My 9x8 door is no problem at all, just located right between 2 posts. The 10x10 door didn't require any additional header either, according to our architect. Use a little forethought when laying out your doors, and you may not need any special headers.

Of course, individual mileage may vary.

 

[phantom309]

Hi Kevin-

I agree with the others - two foot overhead, and if there's any doubt, try to go as tall as possible! If you're going to stay in your home for a long time, a RV, bigger tractor, etc may end up on your want list.

I'm building a shop similar in dimensions to yours also with the garage doors on the long walls. We went with 13 foot eave -> 11 foot doors. Even that isn't high enough for a large travel trailer with A/C on the roof, let alone a fifth wheel!

Good luck on your pole barn!

Mark

 

[MikeD74T]

I have a 38 x 50 with 18' ceiling. extra height allowed a loft 18 x 50 for woodworking shop & storage. 9+'ceiling under the loft. Going taller & making a loft is a cheaper way to get floor space than making more roof.

 

[EddieWalker]

How are you going to do your truss's? If you make them yourself then 24 feet is better because of the available lengths of timber. If you are buying them, then it's a matter of how much more for the 30 footers. Increasing the span is much more expensive then adding length to a build for the same square footage.

For the doors, I think 10x10 is a really good size. I did a 12 foot wide by 10ft tall on my last barn, but went with 10x10 on my current project because I never needed the extra width.

A couple of 2x12's with plywood sandwiched betweeen them will make a fine header for that much span. Most homes have the exact same type of headers for garage openings 16 feet wide that support the roof also, so it's a proven technique.

What type of door system are you using. If it's a roll up door, I just paid $572 for a green 10x10 foot one the other day, then you should have another 2 feet of clearance. But don't rely on me, check with your supplier to make sure. I only know about the doors I use, it could be different from place to place. CHECK FIRST!!!!

If you're using a traditional home garage type of roll up panal door, then a foot is plenty.

Again, decide on the doors you want and design around them. It's much easier to do it that way then after you build the barn and try to make something fit that doesn't have enough clearance.

Another factor to consider is the type of siding your going to use. If it's metal, wall height isn't a big deal because you will order it the the lenghth you need. If your going to use a 4x8 ft type of sheeting, then keeping your walls to either 8ft or 12 foot makes sense to eliminate waste and ease of instalation. Cutting every sheet to a custom size just increases the amount of labor, increases your expenses and also leads to additional mistakes or a poor finish.

Good luck,
Eddie

 

[NoTrespassing]

Thanks for the input. I had the land cleared of trees for $300 the other day. I had one semi of fill sand hauled in and it's going to take probably 5 more at least @ $150/load. And so the fun begins.

I moved all the dirt and tree roots and used it to make our ravine passable by tractor. I'll bet I made 100 trips with the loader heaping full. That was one big pile! I got a lot of seat time and have a lot of respect for my tractor. It's quite a workhorse.

Kevin