Pole barn construction

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Does anyone know offhand which is the cheaper way to build a pole barn? By kit or from scratch using your own plans. I checked on 24 x 32 pole barn kits and they run between 4200 to $6500. I have a nice pole barn plan from a book that I'd rather build from scratch buying the materials myself, but I need to go the cheapest way right now. Any help would be appreciated.

-- JimR (jroberts1@cas.org), November 17, 2000

Answers

Oh, yeah, I don't want to use alternative type construction like straw bales, pallets, cobs, etc...just regular pole barn building techniques that will hold up for many years.

Thanks, jim

-- JimR (jroberts1@cas.org), November 17, 2000.


I designed and built a pole 24X32 pole barn for a friend last year, his material cost came to about $3000 including the sheet iron roof but this does not include siding, he left it open for hay & tractor storage and a place for his sheep to get out of the wweather.

-- Hendo (OR) (redgate@echoweb.net), November 17, 2000.

We built a pole barn addition to our barn last summer and it is really nice and really sturdy. We have my rabbits in one end and will have chickens in the other. I would think building it from scratch would be the way to go. Just shop around for the best price on materials but make sure you get the right size materials and good sturdy posts! Our building addition is about 20 feet by 10 feet. We just continued the slop off the original barn roof so didn't build a gable roof so we just nailed on to the existing 2x4's and sloped it on down. It was originally going to be for our tractor and some tools but we needed a place for the rabbits. Now he hopes to build the same kind of pole barn building on the other side of the barn for the tractor next spring.

-- Suzy in 'Bama (slgt@yahoo.com), November 17, 2000.

Jim, there are alot of things to consider. What gauge of steel is in the kit, what dimensions are the poles. Light gauge steel and small poles are cheaper, but aren't the best over the long run. So compare materials list before you decide.

-- Del (dgrinolds@gvtel.com), November 17, 2000.

Helped my friend build a pole barn last year. We got the poles from the power company for free (Cinergy, REMC wanted 25 bucks a pop). They give them away. I'm sure not all companys do this. We had to go around to several power company sites to get 'em.

He bought the steel siding and roofing from a contractor who builds pole barns. A real big pile of mixed stuff. His barn looks...... colorful. The front and ends are one color. The back another. And each half of the roof another!!

There are also a couple of black locust trees for posts at one end. The chimney for the wood burner is an old steel lamp post from the interstate. It's hollow. About 8" opening at the top, big at the bottom.

Oh, almost forgot, there is a local truss factory that he bought the trusses from. They made em and then had a cancel on the order. As you may have figured he had those early on in the project.

You may not want as colorful a barn as my friend Doug, but you can build a pretty nice barn on the cheap. The place I'm buying has a barn made from the same materials (trusses, Poles, chimney, etc). All the siding matches. Doug used all the good stuff and built that one, to finance his place! His was Free after that, concrete and all. John

-- John in S IN (jsmengel@hotmail.com), November 17, 2000.



As an answer to the 'colorful' barn made of odds & ends of siding, just paint it! My father used various colored pieces of metal siding to extend our barn. When it was done we painted the entire barn tan with brown trim. It looks great & the cost was very minimal!

-- elle (hotging@aol.com), November 19, 2000.

Thanks for all the help. I got some good ideas from you.

-- JimR (jroberts1@cas.org), November 20, 2000.

Jim: FWIW check out the big building supply places, especially the ones that cater to contractors. They sort thru the stuff before loading trucks. The culls they sell cheap, around here anyway. I've bought alot of building materials that way and its saved me thousands of dollars. Good idea too about the used utility poles.

-- john leake (natlivent@pcpros.net), November 21, 2000.

I don't know what area you are in, But here in SO. Missouri, you can buy a Pole Package 30 x 50 for 5100.00 This includes everything you would need and tax! I didn't price it out if not bought in a package deal, but I am sure it would of been even cheaper.

-- Ginny Davis (yehagirl@goin.missouri.org), November 21, 2000.

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