Vinyl siding on a pole barn???

[Knight9]

Hi all,

We are considering a pole frame constructed garage/workshop/storage shed. It hopefully will look similar to the picture here <A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.barnsbarnsbarns.com/noff/elmridge.html>Pole Barn </A>.

The issue is this. We have vinyl siding on our house and would like whatever we build to match as it will be very close to our house.

I've talked to two contractors so far. One said it was no problem to put on vinyl, they would just have to sheet the exterior with plywood first. The other said no way, you don't want to do that. It may heave and crack.

Does anyone have any experience with vinyl on a pole building? Is this feasible or do I need to look at a standard frame construction on a frost footing? We are in Alberta so we do get cold temps....but we use vinyl on most houses up here.

Thanks,
Kevin

 

[TerryinMD]

Kevin,

I haven't seen many steel sheathed pole barns wrinkle or dimple, so why would the vinyl. The bigger issue with vinyl is that you would have to have additional nailing surfaces to secure the siding. That is probably why the one contractor suggested using plywood. This would drive up the cost significantly I believe.

Terry

 

[Knight9]

Actually Terry I asked him if that was going to be way more expensive to sheet the building. He said it was a little more, but not much more than the colored metal. The other contractor said he "could" do it and would sheet with plywood too, but he didn't want to and didn't think it was a good idea.

Kevin

 

[TerryinMD]

Kevin,

Really!! That's interesting.

What is the sheathing cost per square foot - metal vs vinyl?

Terry

 

[Knight9]

I can't answer that right now Terry as we haven't talked $/sq. ft or anything. I'm only going on his statement of similar cost. I know that vinyl siding is the cheapest exterior option we have in our area for homes, but then we don't do homes in metal..../w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif

Kevin

 

[rdln]

I see a few smaller barns being vinyl sided in my area (Michigan) foundations/poles must be at least 42inches deep here. It shoudnt be a problem although spend money on real plywood not OSB. Have you ever seen how easy nails are to pull out of OSB?

 

[Budinohio]

Kevin my barn is 42x48 with 7/16 osb then 3/4 stirofoam blue board and vinyl siding on top of that,it has been on for almost four years with no problems. I have no rat wall the posts are in the ground 6' and I went with shingles for the roof. On the inside I have 7/16 osb ceilings with 14" of NU-WOOL blown insulation. On the walls I have 7 1/2" of NU-WOOL insulation with 3/4 tounge and groove osb. My floor and equipment never sweat even before I insulated. My father in law has an all metal barn with no insulation and concrete floor. His barn floor sweats along with anything metal he has stored in it and unless you put in a ceiling and or insulate the roof you can't hardly stand to be in his barn when it rains.(NOISEY) that is why I went with wood over steel,as far as price I don't know if one was cheaper than the other but then I diddn't care. I know it is to each his own and I own vinyl. budinohio

 

[Knight9]

Great info Bud, thanks.

Kevin

 

[Anonymous Poster]

I have a 40x100 pole building sided with vinyl. Classic pole building: poles 42" deep on 8' centers, 2x4 purlins and side-nailers on 2' centers. Over this I have 5/8" OSB sheathing on roof and walls, shingle roof, vinyl siding.

None of the closest and most prominent barn builders in my area (incl. Morton, Stockade, etc.) wanted to build a vinyl sided barn. My wife outsmarted me and called the company that made the siding and found a builder with a good reputation a little further away.

 

[Robert_in_NY]

It can be done and will cost more depending on size but a couple thousand doesn't seem to far off base because you have extra material and labor as it does take quite a bit of time to install both the plywood and siding as opposed to the steel. The vinyl should not crack as barns do move but not that much and the vinyl will give enough to not worry about it, have the contractor you are talking to to run a price with both the steel and the vinyl and weigh out the advantages of both as even a metal barn can blend in with your house. I will get some pics of a barn we recently built that matches both the guys house and garage, the house and garage are vinyl while the building is all steel. You can also talk to some local lumber yards and see who they would recommend for contractors as they know most of them in your area and have a fairly good idea as to how trustworthy they are. Good luck and don't be afraid to ask the contractor a lot of questions as if they are decent they will not mind answering them for you, also when we bid we give the client our top price that we will not exceed and when we come in under they are extremly happy.