Pole barn or shop door types

[rangerfredbob]

I'm going to build a shop this year, the plan I like is 36'x48' with 14' rafters but that could change once I get closer, you know how it goes...

Anyway, no real snow load to consider, long way will go east/west with a prominent wind coming from the west in the summer evenings (probably 10ish mph consistently). it will be 4 bays wide with the two big doors in the center bays on the north side. There will be a cross wind on the bay doors in the summer in other words.

For doors I'm kinda liking the idea of sliding doors to keep the rafters and ceiling clear, plus the cost aspect. That said, a roll up door (the type that goes into a spool) would leave rafter room clear for lighting as well which is my main reasoning for not going with a standard garage type door...

I'm planning on doing some in floor heating as well as a wood stove, the roof and walls will be insulated, walls will be sheeted but I'm concerned about the cross wind causing a draft. I have a coworker with a shop using a single door the size I would have two that is a slider and his is sealed up well but he does not have a wind problem at his location.

I figured with the amount of shops on this forum it might be a good place to ask , so any thoughts on door choices would be appreciated, thanks

 

[RNeumann]

Spend the money on a roll up door if the climate is mild. Otherwise adjust the height and do an insulated sectional. You will appreciate it in the long run- sliding doors and a conditioned space is not a good solution.

 

[jmc]

Good choice of high trusses. Morton Buildings advised me to do the same on my 36x53' polebarn so the cement truck can drive inside, thereby not needing to water down the pour or bring in a pump to reach the back of the building. They said the extra truss height is inexpensive from an extra material standpoint.

That extra door height has been nice accomodating a backhoe too.

I went with a double sliding door to look more like a barn and to get a wider entrance. Later bonus was that I could modify a standard garage opener, in combination with a few machined components, cables, and roller chain, so that the doors opened like stage curtains with the opener remote control. That project was posted here by me a long time ago. A video would be better though.

 

[ultrarunner]

https://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/projects/110718-want-see-yet-another-pole.html?highlight=

Here is a detailed thread on a barn in the PNW...

Unfortunately, some of the pictures are no longer available.

 

[Gem99ultra]

I now have a shop just a little larger than the one you're building. I opt'd for the roll up doors - two 12'x12' and one 10x12'. Yes, they were a little more costly than other types of doors. But boy! am I happy I went that way. You will never regret spending a few extra dollars on roll-up doors.

 

[rangerfredbob]

by roll up are you talking normal garage type doors or the ones that literally roll up? One of the door'd bays is getting a 8-10000 pound two post lift, and I'm thinking of doing like you did and one big door and the other shorter mainly for insulation reasons.

While I'm asking questions, I'm going to have a hoist of some type most likely just a manual chain hoist but should I go A frame on casters, rotating JIB, or some I frame concoction in the rafters with 3 trolleys so it can go in and out and side to side? I'm leaning towards A frame but am open...

 

[Stimw]

Here I was hanging a 12' X 12' door with my tractor forks and another pic with them in the background.
2- 12' x 12' and a 10' X 12' cost me under $3000. 3 years ago.

 

[EddieWalker]

I'm on my second shop and I went with roll up doors both time without any regrets. I've repaired sliding doors for clients and don't care for them. Wind is probably the worse reason, but it's also just about impossible to seal a sliding door from critters that want to get into your shop. Rats take over fairly quickly if you are not constantly fighting them.

My current shop has a ten foot wide door and I think that's a big on the small side. I can get anything in and out of there, but backing a trailer into there to keep a pallet of concrete dry when a storm is heading my way isn't as easy as it was with my previous shop and 12 foot wide door. My next workshop will have at least a 12 foot wide door, and if I can justify the cost, I'll go 14 feet wide.

Having seen a shop with one roll up door that had an electric opener on one door, and not the other, I will also plan on having an electric opener on my next shop. That guy never uses his manual roll up door, it's just too nice and easy to push a button when you want it opened or closed.

 

[ultrarunner]

I'm on my second shop and I went with roll up doors both time without any regrets. I've repaired sliding doors for clients and don't care for them. Wind is probably the worse reason, but it's also just about impossible to seal a sliding door from critters that want to get into your shop. Rats take over fairly quickly if you are not constantly fighting them.

My current shop has a ten foot wide door and I think that's a big on the small side. I can get anything in and out of there, but backing a trailer into there to keep a pallet of concrete dry when a storm is heading my way isn't as easy as it was with my previous shop and 12 foot wide door. My next workshop will have at least a 12 foot wide door, and if I can justify the cost, I'll go 14 feet wide.

Having seen a shop with one roll up door that had an electric opener on one door, and not the other, I will also plan on having an electric opener on my next shop. That guy never uses his manual roll up door, it's just too nice and easy to push a button when you want it opened or closed.

The loading dock at work has all roll up doors... they are solid as can be and rugged... you would need a cutting torch or abrasive saw like the fire department to cut through

The hay squeeze barn on the farm has 3 roll up doors and they are miserable... whenever it gets windy it blows the doors out and they were professionally installed... So thin I could cut them with tin snips

 

[EddieWalker]

Any chance that the thin roll up doors are designed for storage units? I priced them and they where half the cost of what Muellers wanted, but a lot thinner and when reading reviews, I realized that you get what you pay for in roll up doors.

 

[hslogger]

Thirty years ago we built a real nice stick frame shop on Concrete with plastic barrier. 2by6 walls, insulation sheetrock, half loft. We hung an electric space heater from the loft, put in insulated roll up door, 14 by 14. If you're gonna go to the trouble of heating the dang thing in the ways to suggest, there's no question in the long run you will be glad you went roll up.

 

[Stimw]

The loading dock at work has all roll up doors... they are solid as can be and rugged... you would need a cutting torch or abrasive saw like the fire department to cut through

The hay squeeze barn on the farm has 3 roll up doors and they are miserable... whenever it gets windy it blows the doors out and they were professionally installed... So thin I could cut them with tin snips

There are different grades of doors.
Mine have a wind load rating IIRC 120 mph.
They have a clip angle on the panels that fits into a separate track on the track that makes them stronger.

 

[Fuddy1952]

You can never have enough room. I would maybe consider/get a price on second story. Mine is and it's fantastic having extra room.
Also whatever you do, wiring, plumbing, insulation do before moving one thing in...a goof I made then had to work around.
Then I added onto our garage but the best thing I ever did was had them make a small 15x30 separate insulated garage nearby. That's the one I use working on a mower,tractor,car oil changes, etc. Work bench in back, easy to roll tool box over, so easy to heat without running a big furnace.
So...now a survey! Is there any ONE guy here that doesn't want 1)a bigger garage 2) more cars,trucks,tractors 3) more tools?

 

[rangerfredbob]

I'm going to get a kit and build it myself as much as I can to save money, if I farmed it out it would be at least 50k I imagine... plus this way I get to build it how I want.

Ok, so I'm definitely going to look into roll up doors then!

Believe me, this isn't my only out building... I have a 2.5 car garage with 7' tall doors and 8' rafters, a 10x15ish shed with power and a raised floor on half and 8ishx15 dirt floor for quad/firewood storage on the other, built a 12x20 lean to on one side of it for the tractor, then another 15x15 shed in the back that has another couple cords of firewood and some 3 wheeler parts in it... and maybe 15 chainsaws and at least 20 weedeaters, a few blowers, couple transfer cases, you know how it goes...

 

[ultrarunner]

There are different grades of doors.
Mine have a wind load rating IIRC 120 mph.
They have a clip angle on the panels that fits into a separate track on the track that makes them stronger.

These do have a clip that runs in a channel... but it can flex enough to bend and pop out... usually midway and then the fun starts.

Not every year but some years several times...

Will try and take pictures... the are wide and tall with a chain fall to operate... two from inside and one with a spur gear and chain with the chain fall outside.