24x30 barn into cabin in KS

[warbird]

Hi all,
been lurking here for a month or two, my wife and i recently closed on 6.2 acres in KS. the land already has a 24x30 metal building on sight. no concrete pad it is just screetings. also the posts dont seem to be set in concrete either. at least i didnt see any when i dug down about a foot yesterday. the plan is to turn this into a small house to live in while we save/build the larger house (hopefully debt free)
my question is, if confronted with the same situation. how would you go about doing this?
should i dig out around the posts one by one and pour concrete in them (basically like a fence post would not be able to do actual sonotubes. or would the compacted dirt around them be enough? plan is to run 2x8 (2x10?) from post to post running width, using blocking between then go 2x6 24"OC and then subfloor (probably OSB) with some sort of floor covering over that. would that floor hold the posts well enough to not require concrete?
or should i go ahead and excavate the whole thing and poor a slab and footers.? (not sure thats even possible with posts already in the ground.... thanks for any advice


moderators: if this is the wrong section for this please move it

[river place]

What you have is a pole barn and typically the posts are buried in the ground with no concrete.  With good drainage this will help the posts last.  The barn should have a 2x6 surround at the bottom and sometimes this is called a rat guard.  You can use this to poor a concrete slab against. 

When I built mine I had gravel placed on the site before it was built as I knew I'd put in a concrete floor later.  Later had a floor poured but left the last 10 ft open until I could run drain plumbing.  Once that was done they poured the rest.   I built a guest quarters over the 10 x 30 area and the rest is open in the barn.

[MountainDon]

It sounds like the posts are set in the ground and run full length, one piece, up to the roof structure. The metal sides will be acting to stiffen the structure. That can be better than the typical method of short posts with a platform and walls built on top, no matter how much concrete might be used.

Depending on the depth of those posts there could be issues with frost movement. To prevent possible frost heave the bottom end of the posts should be at or below frost depth. They should also sit on a concrete footing ideally.

The floor span of 24 feet is going to require a central beam support for the joists.

How long has the building been erected? And signs of movement?

One thought that comes to my mind is using the building to shelter an RV, trailer, 5th wheel, whatever from the winter winds and living in the RV during construction. That would use some of the cash that would be put into finishing up a building that is only temporary living quarters. If bought used you can likely recoup much of that cost when the big home is done and you sell the RV.  Just a thought.

How about the local building codes, permits and zoning? Would the barn to cabin conversion run into any bureaucracy?

[Windpower]

I have a pole barn that sounds like yours in design. It is a 40' X 80' with the  main posts set into the ground without concrete.

our barn is at least 40 years old and very solid -- I wouldn't worry about the posts

Earlier I was thinking of doing just what you are planning -- we ended up in a camper for 3 or 4 months instead...

There is lots of info on this,  google 'barndominium'

"warbird"   -- you fly one ? - I have a little over an hour in a T6 (with a CFI )
 

[warbird]

building was erected in 2008 no, no signs of movement.