Any Built a Cabin using a Pole Barn???

Started by smullen, October 10, 2006, 10:41:12 AM

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smullen

Has anyone ever thought of or tried to make a cabin out of a Pole Barn???

I have seen several companies where you can get the following sizes built...

24x30x8  for $4,595
30x36x8  for $5,595
40x48x10 for $9,295
50x60x12 for $14,495
60x80x12 for $20,695
75x80x14 for $27,595

Includes install, but Not including Concrete/Foundation...

What got me wondering about this, is my best friend built a 60x80 Pole Barn for his Garage/Shop about 8-9 years ago and it still seems rock solid, no leaks or any problems...

I'm fairly impressed as we have had some serious wind storms/tornadoes come through in the last few years... I half expected it to get blown away...

He just recently decided he wanted to frame it in, Insullate the He!! out of it and Drywall it....  

Last time I was over, he was about 3/4s of the way done framing it out...

If it turns out as nice as the other work I've seen him do, it'll be as nice as most peoples houses...

Also, I know of a guy down in Southern Mo, Cape area that built a House and a garage from two large Pole Barns, I've seen it a few times, but never got to talk to him about it....

He had one built in front of the other and had them painted and finished the same on the outside, Color, Trim and roof wise; the Doors and windows were different of course...

It looks to be a pretty nice setup...

glenn kangiser

#1
Ken Kern mentioned pole structures for houses.  John worked with him and mentioned a few minuses in another discussion we had but all in all, there is no reason it wouldn't work.

There are very nice pole barns in our area that have been up for years and still look as good as steel buildings.  I was building steel buildings in 1976 and competed with the pole barns.  Price is hard to beat.

Here is a link from this site to a book on Amazon showing pole cabin plans.  From the Countryplans home page you can select Book reviews to search for other books on Amazon and help this site at the same time.

Practical Pole Building Construction
"Always work from the general to the specific." J. Raabe

Glenn's Underground Cabin  http://countryplans.com/smf/index.php?topic=151.0

Please put your area in your sig line so we can assist with location specific answers.


Mark_Chenail

My house in Missouri is a sort of hybrid pole building.  I sink the poles in the ground and then hang the floor deck off the poles and do conventional framing between the posts.  Standard roof rafters and purlins and metal roofs. You can read about my house and see pictures of the construction method at

 http://www.homestead.org/MarkChenail/TheMissouriJournal.htm

Neil has just started hosting my Building Journal. Only the first 5 chapters are there but you can see the general method in the pictures.  If you'd like to see more pictures of the building in process give me a pm and I can send you a few.
Its a great way to build particularly if you are an amateur carpenter.  Pole building is very tolerant in mistakes in laying out. If things arent quite square its not hard to compensate.   Good luck with your project.
mark chenail

Amanda_931

finally got to look at one of the closest pole barn builder's pole barns.  Might be able to adapt it to living.

But it might not be a terribly long lived building. I may get one anyway.  

If a bulldozer operator comes into my line of sight.  

The one I've used, and like very much, is no longer in the business.

(One of the best backhoe people under-bid a tiny job horribly.  Five years ago.  I got a call from him several months later, saying he'd get that job out of the way, ain't heard from him since.  I gather that the way to deal with him is to go to his house before he leaves in the morning.  If that fails, go to his current job-site.)

I have a small building under a pole barn, but it's not exactly what you are talking about, but I do like the idea, especially if the next building really does get the roof all the way up first.   Vertical log building on a rubble trench type foundation--with two drains!--that shares a roof with a small pole barn.  In this case the building walls went up first, then the posts for the pole barn, then the roof, then the ceiling for the log room.

littlegirlgo

I have been reading a good book: How to build small barns and outbuildings by Monte Burch. I have found quite a few ideas. I have been thinking of incorporating some of the traditional "barn" ideas for my house.I like the idea of using poles because of the ease  ;D of the foundation.
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