Building a Barn

[fxfymn]

I checked into using Morton, but they came in at what i considered to be a pretty high price. It seems to me it was going to be right at $60K for the finished building without electrical or finished walls.

For my 36x36 stick built using 2x6 walls, scissor trusses to get a full 12' ceiling height, and fully insulated I ended up spending about $45K including a propane fired heater and now the split system heat/AC.

The DW and I framed it after I had the walls poured and the slab installed. I ended up using 6' poured walls all around due to a sloping site and I had to put about 200 tons of gravel under the floor to build it back up to level.

A friend that had access to a crane set the trusses for me and another friend came by to help set trusses and get the roof sheathing on. We started framing on Monday morning and had it under paper by noon on the following Sunday.

I did all of the electrical work, but we subbed out the concrete work, ceiling drywall, vinyl siding, roof, and garage doors.

Like you I had a certain door style in mind that limited me to a specific door size. Since the vast majority of what you see in a garage is the doors it is important to use something that looks good IMO.

All three garage doors are fully insulated and I went with a wall mounted door opener that eliminates the overhead mounting of the door operators. (No whacking your head when you stand on the truck to work on them.) I highly recommend that style of openers.

[Dirtymilkman]

Morton is very pricey around here. They do build a great building though. Infrared tube heaters are the way to go. They run cheap, they don't wear out and they're never blowing dust around. Seems like my forced air Modine is blowing in my eyes whether I'm on top of a truck or under it.

[609albert]

the building inspector is right ,heat in the floor and a small boiler,you can work in a Tee shirt .

[Maddog13407]

like everyone else said, at least PUT the tubes in the concrete.you can always hook them up later. we use to install floor heat in new homes we built for a manufacturer. i recall 250 feet being the most you could run in one length before you started heat loss. could be less now.

[mowerman]

excellent,,,be doing that myself soon...bob

[1958 F.W.D.]

I inspected a building about 4 years ago- 50x75....R19 on the walls, R38 in the ceiling. In-Slab solar-powered radiant heat. Guy heats his building for free, other than having to have paid for the equipment. For extended periods of not enough sun, he has a waste-oil fueled boiler, which can also heat hot potable water for the slopsink.

[jackb61sx]

Well took advantage of the lack of winter and unfrozen ground. Cut down all the trees and brush and removed stumps, have two burn piles made ready to burn when I get time this weekend.

[mrsmackpaul]

now you just need some beer and you'll have a great weekend watching the bush TV ( the fire in this wide brown land)

life doesnt get much better beer and a camp fire

Paul

[jackb61sx]

Been awhile since I posted anything on my barn, I finally got my permit and was able to dig for my foundation, ran into a minor issue my area I want barn is all fill and boulders so I ended up with a cellar hole to get all the fill out and will haul in crush and run to fill it back in after walls are hope. 

[jackb61sx]

The final product after a long day. 

[ekennedy21]

I dug mine today too Jack. We are soil sampling and compaction testing tomorrow, layout Tuesday, Footings Weds-Thursday and hopefully walls on Friday or next Monday.

[1958 F.W.D.]

On 4/25/2016 at 2:16 AM, jackb61sx said:

Been awhile since I posted anything on my barn, I finally got my permit and was able to dig for my foundation, ran into a minor issue my area I want barn is all fill and boulders so I ended up with a cellar hole to get all the fill out and will haul in crush and run to fill it back in after walls are hope. 

 

Hopefully I don't have to tell you to get compaction tests done on the fill in lifted increments......Especially if you'll be pouring a truck-capable slab (and then parking trucks on it......) 

[mrsmackpaul]

compaction testing ?????????? you blokes dont pour floating slabs I take it ????

nice to get the shed under way now 

 

Paul

[fxfymn]

I feel your pain. I ended up putting 200 tons of stone in mine to fill the foundation prior to pouring the floor. I wet them down with my tears to compact them as I paid for every load.

In my part of the world you can use stone, sand, or an engineered grade beam in lieu of either to backfill a foundation.

[jackb61sx]

I will be using an 1.5" crush and run (Dense Pak) the owner i work for is crushing at a development he has going, they use the stuff under roads and parking lots to place binder on.  So the material will be free and I need 220 tons, a friend has a 10 wheeler I can borrow to move the material home to stock it till I have my site guy back in to back fill and compact it as he goes, he has a compaction plate that goes on the excavator, so I should be good and dense after he is done water it down for a week and pour the slab.

[m16ty]

The crusher run we have around here will settle quite a bit if not compacted really well. 

It's interesting to see the different construction methods in different parts of the country. If we have to fill around here, you either use washed rock or compacted clay dirt. It makes no since to use crusher run because it cost at least twice as much as clay dirt, and you have to compact both anyway. I'm not saying one method or the other is right or wrong, it's just different soil conditions and what's available for fill in different parts of the country.

I live on a farm and we don't have to worry about building permits. My shop is a 48X30 Blitz building. It's equipped as well as any but looks rather modest compared to some on here (no fancy doors or anything like that). 

[mrsmackpaul]

I couldnt agree more I find it interesting how you build buildings other parts of the world like frost lines and things we never think of out here  all this compaction business well we pour floating slabs so compaction isnt as crucial but termites are a major problem in Australia and we build a lot of houses to keep us cool and catch breeze and resist bush fires 

We dont have heaters in our house or AC never gets cold never gets real hot 

I read on here (the forum) people getting feet of snow a lot of people in Australia will never see snow in their lifetime 

Some of the most interesting things on this forum has nothing to do with trucks 

Its a interesting world we live in 

 

Paul

[thomastractorsvc]

In the midwest where I am the permit is for the structure and span they could care less about what's under the floor, lots of broken concrete floors and mud jacking companies.

[Mike]

The Morton Building has great style to it. I was going that route but when the boss heard me talk about having one built, he jumped in and offered me a few dollars cheaper. Now I should have gone with Morton but that is another story and I know you don't have time to listen. Congratulations and I hope you insulate it also, you'll be glad you did. 

[fxfymn]

Quote

I have my site guy back in to back fill and compact it as he goes, he has a compaction plate that goes on the excavator, so I should be good and dense after he is done water it down for a week and pour the slab.

That type of fill is also an option here, but no one uses it since it requires a third party inspection and an engineering report that details the compaction tests. It's cheaper to use 57's or sand and skip the inspections and testing.

[jackb61sx]

Things where busy here this week got the footings in and wall poured today

[609albert]

on our Morton bldg. we had to fill in 8'' but the back end we had to fill in about 22'' .  9 tri axles later & 225 tons of crushed concrete and compact every 3'' I though it would never end, then 52 c.y. concrete we subed out.

[jackb61sx]

Well walls all poured they will strip forms today and then I will let it set for a few days to cure then start backfilling. They want to pour the floor in couple of weeks after Its all filled and compacted. The Morton building rep was there for the wall pour to set all the anchor bolts for the posts, going to go with a 5" slab and a rebar mesh to strengthen it and he will poor me a 3' concrete apron outside the doors.

[Tbear]

I am a building contractor in utah and it's been good to whatcu your progress .it looks like things are done similar to how we do them out west. I was surprised to see a front dump cement truck in the east. I know not all places out ther use them. Out here it is about all we have. I've been reading your discussion about radiant heat, in Utah at least the roof mounted tube heat is more economical to put in an is all most as efficient .usally about 4 to 5 times cheaper to install . Here our temps in the day can vary 20 to 40 degrees from cold to hot on a good day. Winter in mountain home the high can be 15 to 20 for weeks on end. The tube heat does very good and is cheap to run. Good luck on your building I hope you enjoy it as much as the rest of us would.

[fxfymn]

Looks great; it's always an exciting day when the foundation finally gets poured.