Pole Barns Basics - what to do, what to avoid

[rs191]

Other answers -
I don't know how the columns are joined to the piers. Seller's full response to all questions was "It has a C.O. from the town." and the name of someone (maybe a friend of his) which could not be found online.

Gutters and downspouts - not sure if the eave/roof construction is set up for that. And gutters have to carefully positioned or snow slides rip them off. Clogged gutters get too heavy when ice fills in for the 40ft length.

I'll ask the new contractor (To be determined) if the stairs can be relocated to the back and support poles used in the middle.

 

[KennyG]

I did a close-up shot of that small lawn mower door, so there was no perspective. It is only about 5 feet high. If you meant an overhead roller door, like security doors on urban stores, maybe . . . I was wondering if the classis sideways sliding barn doors would seal tight enough to keep the chipmunks out.

Making sliding doors actually seal is really hard. You can get tracked or roll up doors in almost any size by special order or on line. I would take out all the existing framing and rebuild it to the size I wanted. Not a lot of work.

 

[newbury]

That's a Halloween build, downright scary.
It looks like all the floor joists require additional support. With the "mending plates" all lined up it looks like you could have one failure easily cascade.
Are the mending plates nailed in or just dependent on their "teeth"? If the latter my first thing to do (and soon) would be to go around with nail gun and put some nails in each mending plate.

Maybe @EddieWalker will chime in.

/edit - and you are rightfully concerned about the extra loading on the roof, asphalt holds on to snow and ice much better than metal.
Get some video cams set up. I had a 40' Versatube carport collapse a few years ago due to record back to back ice storms in Mississippi, it was impressive as it fell into a twisted pile of metal.

 

[BigGG]

Your 'joists' appear to be the bottom chord of engineered attic style trusses. The plates are offset because a 14' + 16' board gives your 30' span, no problem. It would be nice to see the truss design document, so that the supports, spacing, etc. could be checked. Sometimes, intermediate supports along the truss are specified, sometimes not. Would the town inspector have them on file? Assuming they are properly supported, the design floor loading would probably be 20 psf or more.

I'd be more concerned about the stair opening. It appears one or more trusses were cut and altered, which would put additional stress on the adjacent trusses. I think you said this work was done after the inspector passed the installation, he/she wouldn't probably have accepted it.

 

[BlueKnife]

View attachment 825516
The toothed "mending plates" hold the ends of the loft's floor joists (?) together. They are the only things connecting the long boards together across the 30 ft. width. And they are all (with a few exceptions) in a straight line from front to back. They aren't in the middle, they are offset by 1 or 2 feet. I was wondering if the two different board lengths were supposed to alternate each time, so the "mending plates" are offset from the adjoining ones and there wouldn't be one long straight weak point for the full depth of the building (40 ft.)?

You definitely have some things that need to be addressed, but those are not one of them. Those are not "mending plates", they're truss plates. Those trusses were designed that way. You do not need additional support underneath them, unless you intend to put some sort of extraordinarily heavy loads on the second floor.

 

[civilian]

Is there any tags on the trusses identifying manufacturer. You might chase that down for how the trusses were planned and maybe a design drawing. Drawing would have floor loading and additional on site bracing etc required. I have similar attic trusses in my building, but it is only a 16 ft wide attic. My bottom cord under the 16ft room is a 2x12, plated to 2x6 or 2x8 going to the eaves. Attic has 5ft knee walls. Roof slope is 7/12 pitch. Jon

 

[California]

...But there is no clear path around the barn toward the back yard seen in the background. Maybe a second, lower, retaining wall is needed to cover the drainage pipes and to provide a level surface for small equipment (Kubota BX size) to access the back yard. The well is in the front yard, so back yard access would be for septic, tile field, etc.

Do you need access back there wider than a BX for a septic pumper truck or something?

 

[buckeyefarmer]

Other answers -
I don't know how the columns are joined to the piers. Seller's full response to all questions was "It has a C.O. from the town." and the name of someone (maybe a friend of his) which could not be found online.

Gutters and downspouts - not sure if the eave/roof construction is set up for that. And gutters have to carefully positioned or snow slides rip them off. Clogged gutters get too heavy when ice fills in for the 40ft length.

I'll ask the new contractor (To be determined) if the stairs can be relocated to the back and support poles used in the middle.

Are there metal anchors on the posts, or did they set the posts in concrete? I don't see any metal brackets on the back door pics, so I assume set in concrete. the back door can be made taller, I'd put in some sort of overhead door. Looks like pretty heavy roof trusses. Did they cut any to put in the stairs? If so, that is a big problem. Normally if there is a stair opening like that, there are double trusses on either side. From the picture it looks like they cut a bottom cord and moved it sideways to put in the stairs. That is a major screwup. The bottom of the stairs looks like another screwup.

 

[buckeyefarmer]

this hole, where they did a piss poor job of installing the rat guard, should give you a peak at the post / pier intersection. Posts in concrete would be better than using the simpson standoffs, in my opinion. but that part was probably inspected. I assume by the space under the slab, the slab is poured on top of the piers. Id get some gravel put down and under the slab edge where it's like that. take some CR and pack it in with a digging iron under the slab, then fill 1-2 ft away from the wall so it won't erode.

 

[pmsmechanic]

Where to start? These are my thoughts only. If I was to see the building in person my thoughts could very well change.

With a roof pitch like you have do you really need to be concerned about snow load?

I would just add fill where ever you have erosion issues and add a gravel trench on the drip line to handle the soil erosion. If water drainage is an issue then you could easily add some drain tile to move the water to where it isn't an issue. As has already been mentioned, I would also pack some gravel under the slab where it needs it.

I like your desire to move the stairs to the rear of the building and to repair the cut truss/trusses.

I can't say for sure but to me it looks like the trusses were designed for a second floor. Maybe talk to a trusted engineer on that one. I'm pretty confidant that you will address the safety railing issues etc for the second floor.

The smaller door.... There is no picture of the outside of it but I would be tempted to add some J molding to the doors and the wall to seal the gaps unless this is going to be an insulated/heated area that you are going to work in during the winter. If so then a better door is probably a good idea. Adding a drip cap above the door would also be a good idea. Installing a sill plate would help to keep the chipmunks out. They are very capable at making a mess of things.

It'll be interesting to follow this thread to see your solutions. All the best!