How to Build Your Own Pole Building
Pole buildings are cheap and quick to build, because there is very little framing. If you look inside any surviving heirloom barns from the 1900's and earlier, you will see that they were built using small-diameter felled trees as support poles and sheathed with slab wood. These are the original pole barns. Later barns were sometimes clad with clapboard siding to make them more weather proof. Some had inside walls and insulation installed, and were converted into homes. 12th Street Northeast, between Cherry Avenue and St. Elmo in Canton, Ohio, boasts a number of these converted barn homes. Since few people need barns any more, pole barns have evolved into pole buildings, and are used as garages, workshops, industrial and manufacturing spaces, warehouses, and storage units. Does this Spark an idea?
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Things You'll Need
- Sixteen 6-inch diameter, 10-feet long round posts
- Sixteen sheets of 4-feet by 8-feet by 1-inch plywood for siding
- Five 16-feet long ready-made roof trusses
- Four wrap-around corner metal roof-bracing strips
- Eight sheets of 4-feet by 8-feet by 1-inch plywood for roof sheathing
- 320 square feet of rolled rubber roofing
- Several boxes of 1/2-inch long, 1/4-inch diameter galvanized roofing nails
- Several boxes of 3-inch long, 1/4-inch diameter galvanized wood screws
- Power drill, 1/8-inch drill bit
- Countersink bit
- 6 standard hinges for the doors
- 48 feet of 1/2-inch by 2-inch stock lumber for ornamental door frames
- Back saw and miter box
Instructions
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1
Drive survey stakes at the four corners of the site of your pole building, 16 feet apart in a square. Run string between each post. Beginning at the northeast corner, dig your four corner post holes two feet deep. Set one post at a time, back fill the post hole with gravel, and hang a plumb bob from a spirit level set on top of each post to check that the post is set correctly. Brace as needed to hold the post true. Dig three post holes between each corner pole, every four feet. Make sure the two faces of each post that face the outside of each corner touch the string when they are set in place.
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2
Mix concrete in a wheelbarrow according to package directions. Fill the remaining empty space in each corner post hole with concrete and allow it to dry for 3 to 5 days. Back fill each post with gravel, check for plumb and level, brace each post, and fill the hole with concrete.
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3
Set the remaining posts the same way you set the corner posts in Step One. Check each post for plumb and level. Brace as needed, backfill with gravel, and fill with concrete. Allow all concrete to dry 3 to 5 days before proceeding. Allow more drying time if the weather is humid.
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4
Place the five trusses across the poles, parallel to each other. Secure each truss by drilling 1/4-inch diameter, 3-inch long two holes through the truss and into the supporting pole. Countersink the holes. Secure the trusses to the posts using 3-inch long, 1/2-inch diameter galvanized wood screws.
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5
Wrap each roof corner with a metal corner brace and secure using 1/4-inch diameter, 3-inch long galvanized wood screws. This is especially important in areas that are subject to high winds.
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6
Center the plywood sheets on the roof trusses and use 1/2-inch diameter, 2 1/2-inch long galvanized wood screws to secure each sheet in place. Roll rubber roofing in 4-feet wide sections, beginning along the lowest edge of the roof, overlapping each section one foot as you go toward the ridge line of the roof. Repeat for the other side of the roof. Roll one final section that is centered along the roof line and draped over both sides of the roof. It is not really necessary to apply shingles over rolled rubber roofing, although it will make a longer-lasting roof, 25 to 30 years as opposed to 15 for rubber roofing alone.
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7
Center plywood sheets on the upright poles and attach using 1/2-inch diameter, 3-inch long galvanized wood screws. Leave two sheets off one side of the pole building to create your doors.
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8
Miter four pieces of 4-feet long 1/2-inch by 2-inch stock lumber to a 45-degree angle. Miter four 8-feet long pieces of 1/2-inch by 2-inch stock lumber to a 45-degree angle as well. Use the pieces to frame each of the two remaining 4-feet by 8-feet sheets of plywood. Attach flat-folding standard hinges four inches from the top and bottom of the post and on the plywood sheeting, and one more hinge centered between the two. Attach a hasp and lock according to package directions to keep the doors closed.
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