[mlappin]

The first year mine moved a little too, snow tends to set on the peak where it's almost flat. I ended up building a plywood box beam under the peak using just one post in the middle of the barn. It has not moved one inch since I put that in.
.

Query, what direction does your hoop building run?

Here we installed them all running east and west and any wind scours the snow off the buildings. My stacks of hay run north and south and the snow just piles up on the tarps and stays there.

 

[Richardin52]

I set my 38x60 Farmtek barn so the gable end that has a large roll way door in it faces southeast. I also set it in a spot that is partly protected by trees. The rest of the farm gets a lot of wind.

We have three large (30x100) greenhouses up higher that run so the long side faces southeast. They hold up pretty well so long as we run two layers of plastic and keep them inflated between the layers.

 

[mlappin]

Could be the trees block the wind just enough so the snow piles up and sits there. I've sold a lot of buildings for Clearspan the last 5 or 10 years and the guys that can install then east-west usually have no problems with snow buildup, the ones that run north-south is a different story, not sure if I've had anybody install them northwest-southeast.

 

[man of steel]

Could be the trees block the wind just enough so the snow piles up and sits there. I've sold a lot of buildings for Clearspan the last 5 or 10 years and the guys that can install then east-west usually have no problems with snow buildup, the ones that run north-south is a different story, not sure if I've had anybody install them northwest-southeast.

Didn't have a problem with snow so much on my north/south 34x72, but the wind took her down in early June this year

 

[mlappin]

Didn't have a problem with snow so much on my north/south 34x72, but the wind took her down in early June this year

Was this the older building with the 2 3/8" pipes? Our older two 38x72's use the small pipe, one thing we did do though was goto TSC and buy some 4" x 36" ground anchors for the ends. The reasoning being that if the ends stayed put, so would the rest.

 

[man of steel]

It was the 2.375 pipe and they still use that according to Farmtex's website.

I had it sitting on 6' tall 6x6 end poles and 4x6 pole every 4'. Wind storm collapsed the whole west side inward buckling it at the connections of the pipes. Also broke the first five pole off at ground level. I had siding on the outside running horizontal, a 2x4 nailed to the face of every post for the siding. A 2x6 laying on top of the poles with 4 lags screwed through the 2x6 and into the poles. That held the feet of each hoop. Then a 2x8 along the face at the top nailed to the to the 2x6 and poles. And to top it all off I had a 3 rib guardrail running full length lagged to every pole with the bottom starting about 30" off the ground.

That wind also uprooted a 3' dia oak 1/8mile straight west and sheared two 20" round white pines just above the roof of my house which is straight east of the hoop barn 1/8 mile away

Mine was open on both ends. If it would have had hay stacked in it the stake would have held it up.

I could send you some pics if you wish

 

[mlappin]

WOW!!! That's a hell of a wind. Worst I know ours made it thru (according to the NWS at least) was a 82mph gust. But, it may not actually have been that strong here since I know the nearest station is like 5 miles away.

 

[man of steel]

Yup!

I had a gravity box with a roof of pole barn steel and a wood frame. It ripped the roof off and flew it about 300' NE. The trees tipped and sheared over about E by NE. I had a crate on the SE corner of the hoop with 60 empty soybean bags in it. They scattered about from almost straight N all the way around to SSE.

Mini rotation or straight line? Who knows.

I'm going to replace the corner 6x6 that broke and two others at 8' and 16' then attach(nail/screw/bolt) 2x6x16s up the sides of the post up to a header then trusses. Like a stud wall attached to the poles. I'll call it my studly pole barn.

Prices went up too much on the Clearspans since I bought mine in '05.

 

[mlappin]

Prices went up too much on the Clearspans since I bought mine in '05.

No doubt, I told the representative that is assigned to me more than once if they don't lower prices they are going to kill their own market, also told em with the crash in the housing market lumber is cheap now and with all the un employed carpenters around they cut one another throats on the price of a pole barn.

But what do I know?

 

[man of steel]

They actually did lower the price since June. At least on my building.

In '05 I purchased it for just $5800 delivered. When I showed the website to my insurance adjuster last June, I think it was listed for somewhere around $9300 plus whatever the delivery would be. The materials for this barn, steel, lumber, and trusses, should be around $9000 depending on how much extra they will charge for an oddball truss length. Add fasteners and some more trim and I think I can do it for under $11,000. Labor will be additional though I should walk away from this for under $15,000 and will be able to store 36 more bales than before

 

[BryanM]

Richard i have a question for you. i too plan on building a machine shed/hay shed. i am going too build a 24x ? not sure of length yet. It is going to be a 3 sided building but i want my opening to be 16 ft openings on eve side so I can back in 2 wagons in a bay. have you thought about how wide your opening will be.

the reason I ask is i am concerned about the header that should be used, what size I mean? 16ft is pretty far apart, i will be using 6x6 posts and the roof out of tin. does anyone have any advice on what size header I can use? thanks

 

[man of steel]

not Richard but...

Standard here in SW MI is to notch the 6x6 on top to fit a 2x12 flush with the poles then scab another 2x12 to that so you have 4 2x12s for a header.

But you might have a little problem backing in 2 8' wide wagons into a 16' wide opening. 20' would be better and with only a 24' wide building I would think 4 2x12x20 would do the trick.

 

[BryanM]

thanks for the reply Man O steel, I am sorry wagons are 7ft wide i had on my mind 8 ft centers! thanks. could you go 20ft wide with for 2x12,s?

 

[man of steel]

I'm thinking yes. I would also check on laminated beams and my favorite.....steel beams or rectangle tubing..... so it never sags. But it is more money.

 

[Mike120]

Why not use steel? All of my sheds are 3-sided using drill pipe for the posts; receiver channels and cee profiles for the frame and PBR panels for the skin. Last one I put up had four 18' X 18' bays and cost less than $5K to put up. I don't put in slabs, just crushed concrete for a floor. Fortunately I don't have to worry about snow loading, but I have had 85-90 mph winds when the occasional hurricane passes by.

 

[Tyler B]

Between -40 in winter, +40 in summer, heavy snow and high winds, the covers just don't hold up here. Check auctions for poles & building materials, you can cut your material costs in half for a tin hay or equipment shed. We're starting a 40x60 shed in spring, with lean-too's on either side for storing hay. Half the materials are bought at auctions or surplus.

 

[Mike120]

Between -40 in winter, +40 in summer

I used to believe that -40 number until I spent a couple of weeks at Fort Mac in a February and realized that mercury freezes at -39. I think it gets a lot colder than that.

 

[Texasmark]

My building was purchased. They use treated full 5" square posts on 10' centers. The side boards are 2x4 #3 southern pine on 2' centers. The bottom one is 2x6 treated and makes a nice form for your concrete when you do the floor....I did 5" with #3 rebar on 18" centers back in '05 and it is supporting my 4230 Deere and one tone pallets of fertilizer and feed nicely.

The trusses are single W, 2x6 tops and bottoms with 2x4 making the w, 3/12 slope....makes for a nice shed on this size building. They sit on dual 2x6's running down the barn on both sides of the posts. Between every post is a 5x5 block attached to the 2x6 runners to support the interim truss giving you a 5' spacing. My barn is 30x50x12 with a 15x50 shed which is a continuation of the roof slope and is made from 2x8's.

The purlins are the same wood as the side rails and also on 2' centers. The sides and top are one piece in length, for quick assembly and the roof overhangs the sides 6". I used self starting screws which seem to stay put much better than ribbed shank insulated nails. As compared to the corrugated, galvanized, pole barns I built when first on the property, it makes a beautiful building and has maintained it's looks very well.

I installed a 10' double door in the end, centered, rather than a single door that mounted on one side and opened across the end of the building. On the side that the shed was mounted, I had another 10' double door centered. One last door was a passage door deliberately located on the side under the shed near the end of the building for protection from the elements. I put 7ea 3x3 windows in it.

I had the roof insulated to prevent condensation drips, 2 10' ridge vents, and used heavy duty (1/8"x4') plastic sleeves for the building posts (not the outer row of shed posts) to sit in thus isolating them from the environment. ($25 each). I have a Morton building that I had erected in '81 with treated posts and they were heavily treated, but have since pretty much rotted away. This way I won't have the problem and if the shed poles fail, they are no problem to replace.

Have no regrets and works great for me. The company also has a 40x60 which is popular but I didn't need that much building. BCI is the name of the company and they are in Muskogee, OK. and travel all over. Their contractors are excellent and the company sends you a satisfaction questionnaire when they are finished asking how you were treated, quality of workmanship, and how you liked the finished product. You and I both know this is how you maintain your customer base.

HTH,

Mark

 

[Texasmark]

thanks for the reply Man O steel, I am sorry wagons are 7ft wide i had on my mind 8 ft centers! thanks. could you go 20ft wide with for 2x12,s?

I got here 30+ years ago and knew nothing but treated posts on 8' centers and shed roofs, and board supports and corrugated galvanized sheet metal.

Well a few buildings/years later, I prefer 2 7/8 (used)drill pipe concreted into a 3' x 12" hole and the centers depend. Other than the building I mentioned that I had fabricated and wanted the wood framework for a particular reason, I do not do sheds nor carports with anything other than steel.

I built a carport for my JD 4230 and JD 530 baler and it was clear span. The sheet metal dimensions were 22x24 and the posts were on 20w x24L dimensions.

The posts (4 total for the shed....clear span F-R and S-S) were 2 7/8 used oil field drill pipe and I used steel purlins for the purlins, available at Mueller Building materials (steel) and other farm suppliers have them too.

I wanted the water to run off the side so I put the main support across the entrance/rear. It was a standard 10" purlin.....1 ea. front and 1 ea at the rear, vertically mounted. I welded angle iron to the post and welded the purlins to the angle iron.

Going front to rear, I put 8" purlins on 4' centers (on end...vertical also) and welded to the top of the 10" purlins. The tin was Mueller's R panel as I recall....this is important to span the 4' centers and not collapse at mid span (between the purlins). The panel I am describing is 36" wide and about every 10" it has a (roughly) 2"wide raised area that is about 1 3/4" high. Between each of these are several small raised ribs....You can test the material at your building site and see for yourself (don't take it from me...if you choose) what it can withstand in terms of spacing of purlins to support the tin.

On each corner post I put a pair of wind braces at 45 degrees made from the same angle iron I used to weld the purlins to the posts.

THERE IS NO DETECTABLE SAG (DEFLECTION) IN ANY OF MY PURLINS and for what you are getting they are extremely light and durable, very easily constructed as well, as compared to wood. Also, the purlins are primed (paint if you wish; I didn;t need to) and now have developed a protective oxide coating on them, as has the oil field pipes (no wood to rot, rust is just surface deep) and the tin is painted.....they have galvanized also with a clear coat applied if you choose....I think they call it Galvaume or something like that. Cheaper but the painted tin has a longer guarantee/expected life.

I have built several of these around the place since early '05 and have seen some bad weather including a few inches of snow. If you are in a high snow area, you might want to support the tin with maybe a 3' spacing on your purlins.

Mine is just an implement cover and obviously if you want to build a 3 sided shed, you will put more poles in the ground to support the side walls, but you can still have your free span.

You absolutely cannot compare this type of construction to wood framing in terms of deflection vs load and span for the amount of material it takes to do the job. You will realize that in building your first one and probably never go back to the old ways. Also, you probably will find it cheaper, faster to assemble, and sturdier...also steel doesn't warp nor have split ends, nor knots, et.al.

Mueller has a www and they also have people to help you to do just what you want to do...the service is no charge and it's just customer service to help you be successful and ensure that you get all the materials of the correct dimensions that you need. If you don't have one in your area there are other companies, I'm sure, that are local to you and do the same service to the community.

HTH,

Mark

 

[Richardin52]

Richard i have a question for you. i too plan on building a machine shed/hay shed. i am going too build a 24x ? not sure of length yet. It is going to be a 3 sided building but i want my opening to be 16 ft openings on eve side so I can back in 2 wagons in a bay. have you thought about how wide your opening will be.

the reason I ask is i am concerned about the header that should be used, what size I mean? 16ft is pretty far apart, i will be using 6x6 posts and the roof out of tin. does anyone have any advice on what size header I can use? thanks

BryanM

Sorry I have not been on this site as of late. Winter being what it is, not much going on with regard to haying and buildings.

Anyway you asked about a header that will span a 16 ft. opening in a 24 foot wide building. (one story supporting a ceiling) The IBC has very little with regard to wood headers (they refer to them as girders.) The IRC deals more with wood girders but table R502.5(1) only gives a spans of 7 ft. 11 in. for 4-2x12's in a 30 lb snow load area. and 7 ft. 8 in. in a 70 lb. snow load area.

That said if you look at wood PSL headers (Parallel strand lumber) The table I have shows a 3 1/2 in. by 18 in. PSL is good for a 16 foot opening in a 24ft wide building with a 40 lb. snow load. You could buy them or make them out of OSB using const. adhesive and nails or screws or you can make the same span with a hollow box beam of the same depth using 2x4s and 1/2 in. plywood.

Hope this helps

PS. The code calls for 2 jack studs on each end to hold a beam with this span.