Pole Barn Project (Updated with Pictures)

JD338

JD338

Range Officer
Staff member
Nov 4, 2004
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I built my 40'x60'x14' pole barn almost 6 years ago and finally got around to getting the inside heated and finished off.
The furnace is a Modine 100,000 BTU Nat Gas heater and 300' of underground gas line.
The interior walls were spray foamed to a R-20 value. The 2x4x16' purlins were put in on 2' centers which took a day.
Next came the interior metal ceiling and walls. The ceiling panels are 20' long and were installed with scaffolding. The steel was meticulous cut to accommodate three overhead 12'x12' doors, the overhead heater and my 1 ton overhead trolly hoist.
The 14' sidewalls went up and the doors, windows and electrical panel were trimmed out for a nice clean look.
Cellulose insulation was blown in to a R-38 value to complete the job.
I'm now in the process of hanging up a few deer racks and getting everything moved back inside the barn. I built a new shooting bench, it's rock solid.
The insulation is keeping the interior 10-15° cooler than the 90°+ temps we are experiencing right now. This fall it will be very comfortable and toasty.

JD338
 
pole barns are such fun to erect! so much fun my junior of hs our ag class built a very large barn for the new ag location...........later that summer a tornado destroyed it and the next year's class rebuilt it. pole'd nails are even more fun to drive :ROFLMAO: . i've built many of miles of fence with (not sure of the penny) nails. the other 2-3 people that was building the fence with me didn't have as much fun as they were only right-handed which lead them to fatigue.............me on literally the other hand would drive/nail them ambi. the joy of a switch hitter:ROFLMAO:. the treated 5x5 post wasn't much fun to nail to.
 
Over 30 years ago I built a same size shop but with 18 foot walls. Looking back there are a number of things I would do different but one thing I would not change is the heating system. I put infloor radiant heating in the shop and it works great. The heat is much more even and when you go upstairs you do not notice any temperature change.
 
FNWhelen said:
Over 30 years ago I built a same size shop but with 18 foot walls. Looking back there are a number of things I would do different but one thing I would not change is the heating system. I put infloor radiant heating in the shop and it works great. The heat is much more even and when you go upstairs you do not notice any temperature change.
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i've been wanting to do that for a garage floor. my next house will have that along with it being able to cool............no hockey allowed :ROFLMAO: .
 
I like the floor heat well enough I did it in my house also. The only downside is it takes a while to make a temperature change. The upside is even at below zero when the power goes out it takes a while for the house to cool down. I have a Toyo heater that takes car of rapid temp changes.
 
That sounds very similar to the barn I built, though I opted for radiant overhead heating. My Dad's has a forced air heater, and when I used to work on cars there I found the temp difference from floor to ceiling quite notable. I have no such issue with the radiant, but I think he has less insulation that you or me.

With as much insulation as you have, my joke is that I can heat my barn with a match. It's amazing how little the heater goes on in the winter.
 
NYDAN said:
Well done, Jim. That was quite the undertaking. I am sure you will enjoy the results. It must have been a huge task just to empty it out, and then to move everything back in again.
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Thank you Dan. Yes, it was a huge task getting the barn cleaned out and ready. It's now my barn and not my kids storage unit!

JD338
 
Here's a few pictures of the project.

JD338
 

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Just for my education how does the cost of a pole barn compare to building with 2X walls. I am thinking about the added cost when you want to have finished wall inside and outside. And you need backing of some sort to hang shelves off of. My shop is a metal building and over the years I have put up stick walls of 90% of it so I could have interior walls and or shelves. Pretty sure if I were to do it again I would stick frame.
 
Guy Miner said:
Ummm.... Got antlers? ;)

Great looking barn! Around here folks would likely call it a shop. Either way it looks like you did a mighty fine job. I'm a bit envious...

Regards, Guy
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The next time you are in this neck of the woods, you'll have to stop by and try out the shooting bench. 😉

JD338
 
Thank you fellas. It took a long time to get to this project and get it done. I'm pretty happy with the end result and will really appreciate it when the weather gets cold.

JD338
 
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