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Post Frame Pole Barns Specifications

Posted By: Eagleye

Post Frame Pole Barns Specifications - 03/27/21 11:48 AM

Thinking of building a 40 x 50 with a cement slab on my hunting land. I see a lot of these Amish Built pole barns from a company called Hixwood, out of Stanley, Wisconsin. I noticed they never have overhangs on the roofs- is the rationale that if unheated, you don't need soffit venting? I'm thinking I would prefer to direct the water drip edge further from the building, i.e.; 2' or so and cosmetically, I think an overhang looks more attractive. In addition, does the spec sheet look weak or standard? Here are some of their standard specifications to poke holes in:

SPECIFICATIONS FOR 30' X 40' X 12' POST FRAME PACKAGE:
● MATERIAL PACKAGE
● Pre-Engineered Wood Trusses (4/12 Pitch, 8' O/C)
● 4.5 x 5.25 Ulrtra Lam 3 Ply Eave Posts (8' O/C)
● 4.5 x 5.25 Ulrtra Lam 3 Ply Gable Posts (10' O/C)
● 2 x 8 Treated Skirt Boards (1 Row)
● 2 x 6 Wall Girts (36" O/C)
● 2 x 4 Roof Purlins (24" O/C)
● 2 x 6 Top Girt Exterior
● Light Gray Sr60 Steel Siding w/ 40 -Year Paint Warranty
● Charcoal Steel Wainscot on All Four Sides
● Charcoal Sr100 Steel Roof w/ 40 -Year Paint Warranty
● One Concrete Pad per Post Hole
● Sak-Crete For Fill Around Posts
[Linked Image]
Posted By: Leftlane

Re: Post Frame Pole Barns Specifications - 03/27/21 11:58 AM

Generally speakin the more overhang you have on a pole barn the more wind is able to catch the edge when there is a dust up. If they are guttered, it will be attached to the top nailer board and if there was an overhang they would hafta put on a big 2x6 soffit board and the only thing that would serve is the yellowjackets that would nest there by the hundreds.

Might not be as big of an issue where you are, but with your snow loads I would wonder if a gutter could even survive the first day of a thaw.
Posted By: Eagleye

Re: Post Frame Pole Barns Specifications - 03/27/21 12:16 PM

Originally Posted by Leftlane
Generally speakin the more overhang you have on a pole barn the more wind is able to catch the edge when there is a dust up. If they are guttered, it will be attached to the top nailer board and if there was an overhang they would hafta put on a big 2x6 soffit board and the only thing that would serve is the yellowjackets that would nest there by the hundreds.

Might not be as big of an issue where you are, but with your snow loads I would wonder if a gutter could even survive the first day of a thaw.

I would definitely would not put gutters on, no need to... I think the thaw and ensuing avalanche would rip them off
Posted By: Providence Farm

Re: Post Frame Pole Barns Specifications - 03/27/21 12:26 PM


I like the look of overhang as well. But it's more expensive in labor and material buying and installing soffit. And as left lane said can catch wind. Soffit can also have vents I thin you asked about that. Left lane has concerns on the gutter handling snow load and that's good thinking ahead especially considering he is in Texas. Heck in my aunts subdivision in Ft. Worth none of the houses have gutters at all. Shows how thoughtful he is about things that may not be common
in his area. T man has some sharp people for sure.

Not enough rain fall I guess. Looked really odd to a guy from Indiana. Just size the gutters according but talk with the builders in your area. They may not be a good idea?
Posted By: keets

Re: Post Frame Pole Barns Specifications - 03/27/21 12:54 PM

that's a really bare bones material list....for a little extra money get it ladder framed with trusses 4' OC, 2x4 purlins laying flat 24oc, and definitely 2' overhangs...keep the water off the siding, and away from the building
Posted By: Diggerman

Re: Post Frame Pole Barns Specifications - 03/27/21 01:02 PM

Cement slab and no over hangs or gutters, sounds like a problem in the making.
Posted By: keets

Re: Post Frame Pole Barns Specifications - 03/27/21 01:03 PM

and that post in the ground with sac crete is a horrible way to do things
Posted By: Leftlane

Re: Post Frame Pole Barns Specifications - 03/27/21 01:18 PM

PF ya give me too much credit. I'm not that smart but I study building failure for insurance companies and have for a day or 2.

Keats I agree. When I had my big place up in Kansas I had a Morton Building that had half in U channel lagged into a mono slab and sandwiched 3 2x6s in between with 5/8 bolts. They were screwed together and the middle one was 8 inches short giving the truss a bench to sit on and a flange to fasten to on both sides.

Nothing to break off, nothing to rot. If you didn't have a chainsaw or a track hoe that barn was gonna stay put.
Posted By: Abu65

Re: Post Frame Pole Barns Specifications - 03/27/21 04:08 PM

They probably have a ridge vent on it. Over hang is definitely the best and nicest looking.
Posted By: Willy Firewood

Re: Post Frame Pole Barns Specifications - 03/27/21 04:50 PM

They are cutting material and labor to begin somewhere and offer low price in the market. They will gladly add on options to raise the price.

As is a very poor design.
Posted By: Bear Tracker

Re: Post Frame Pole Barns Specifications - 03/27/21 05:54 PM

Eagleye, curious when you bought your package? Hixwood sold to a new owner a couple months back, prices went up around 80%. Bought several buildings and supplies through them, but have shifted to new supplier due to costs. No complaints with them other than prices now.
Posted By: KenaiKid

Re: Post Frame Pole Barns Specifications - 03/27/21 07:32 PM

I see a lot of those metal building packages with no overhang. The simple reason is, it's cheaper. Overhang adds 4 ft to the trusses, plus fascia and soffit. The metal building business is competitive, and if they can build it cheaper and convince you you don't need it, they will.

The only advantage to no overhangs besides price is wind uplift, like Leftlane said. You take care of that by enclosing the soffit and adequately fastening down the trusses, which adds cost.

Where I live, I would never have a building with no overhang because snow is a much bigger risk than wind. We got at least 3 ft of snow this winter. Since it's a metal roof it slides off sooner or later, heated or not. A building that size around here WITH overhang currently has a hard-packed snow/ice pile about 5 ft tall under the eaves, but barely touching the wall. The ones WITHOUT overhang have all that snow banked 5-8 ft up the wall. Then the spring sun comes up and warms the tin and it starts melting against the building. Where's the water going to go when there's an ice dam holding it against your building?

If you have wood posts set in concrete, no overhang and you get significant snow, the bottom of your posts will be soaked all the time and rot within a decade.

If you don't get much snow accumulation, overhang might not matter much.

If I built a pole barn with or without overhang, I would have a poured or block stem wall at least 8" tall around the perimeter and set the posts on that with galvanized brackets. Keep the wood high and dry no matter what, and No wood in concrete. It rots way too fast. The only place for wood in concrete is fences with treated posts.

Posted By: Eagleye

Re: Post Frame Pole Barns Specifications - 03/27/21 08:39 PM

Originally Posted by Bear Tracker
Eagleye, curious when you bought your package? Hixwood sold to a new owner a couple months back, prices went up around 80%. Bought several buildings and supplies through them, but have shifted to new supplier due to costs. No complaints with them other than prices now.

I didn't buy from Hixwood- I will probably go with stick frame construction, 2 x6 walls 16OC, on a slab with metal roofing and siding from Hixwood. Sometimes you get what you pay for and the guys that have had the kits installed, seem to be happy. I like to plan for the future incase I want to heat it and insulate it or finish the walls- stick frame is more flexible. In 2019 prices the guy I talked to paid $16,000 for a 30 x 40 kit, including labor & materials, it had no slab just a curb for the garage door and the labor content to install was $2,500 of the $16K. With metals and wood going crazy- I'm sure that price is long gone!
Posted By: Albert Burns

Re: Post Frame Pole Barns Specifications - 03/27/21 09:50 PM

Materials + labor on a very nice 32X40 pole barn here is just under 30K. That includes one 10 X 9 and one 8 X 8 insulated garage door , plus one man door, and two 4 X 4 insulated windows. Also a 80 pound snow load roof, with a 6 X 8 overhang above the man door. This will have a one foot overhang on the roof, with ventilated soffits. Ten foot walls, No slab. They held that price for 10 days for me, after that who knows.
Posted By: Providence Farm

Re: Post Frame Pole Barns Specifications - 03/27/21 10:04 PM

With lumber prices like they are I'm thinking about buying a ban saw mill. And I don't know a thing about them. Just dosen't seem like it would take long to recover my investment cutting lumber for my personal building projects.
Posted By: Thumbian

Re: Post Frame Pole Barns Specifications - 03/27/21 10:15 PM

Water and freezing water under the slab edge is your enemy. Definitely add overhangs and gutters to get the water away. Here in Michigan there are ton of sheds with overhang and gutters. As long as the trusses, facia (2” x 6” minimum) and gutters (screwed not nailed) are properly attached you will not have an issue.

A big mistake I still see is folks going cheap and “saving” on fill cost. Get your elevation high enough to ensure the water can get away easily.
Posted By: Ohiowoodchuck

Re: Post Frame Pole Barns Specifications - 03/28/21 01:20 AM

Originally Posted by Providence Farm
With lumber prices like they are I'm thinking about buying a ban saw mill. And I don't know a thing about them. Just dosen't seem like it would take long to recover my investment cutting lumber for my personal building projects.

If you find some let me know. Woodmizer is 23 weeks behind on there small band mill. I’ve been searching all over to try to purchase one.
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