Small pole building?

[Badfish740]

I'm thinking of doing a small (12' x 16') pole building next spring to serve as a place for outdoor tools, firewood, etc... I want to go with pole construction because I want a gravel floor and it will be faster/cheaper to build. When I look for guidance on the 'net about basic pole building construction I find plans for huge (20' x 40' with 10' ceilings and massive roof trusses) buildings. It's easy enough to scale the designs down, but I'm wondering if I can scale the materials down a bit. For example, the poles themselves. The large pole buildings call for at least 6x6 if not 8x8 posts. Since my roof will be a simple gable with a 12' span, I'm wondering if 4x4 posts would be sufficient. 4x4x12 posts (4' in the ground, 8' above ground)-I was planning to dig holes 12" in diameter and 48" deep on 4' centers for the long walls and 6' centers for the short walls. The bottom 6" of the hole would be filled with concrete. The posts will rest on the concrete and the holes will be filled with gravel. The difference between using 4x4 posts and 6x6 posts (11 posts total) is just shy of $200. Some may say "just go with the larger posts and be done with with it-its only $200," but if using 6x6 posts is complete overkill for a building that small, why spend the extra money? I should probably add that snow load is a variable because I am in Northwestern New Jersey at the median elevation (500') for the area. Feet of snow is an increasingly rare phenomenon, but it's not uncommon to get 8-10" of heavy wet stuff in late February/early March. Any ideas?

 

[Highbeam]

Of course you can use 4x4s. You didn't specify your truss spacing but if everything is scaled properly than you can scale these as well. I own a huge pole building that is done with 4x4s and it hasn't fallen yet.

When buildings fail because of snow load it is very very seldom due to the poles buckling. I would worry more about your truss and purlin spacing.

My house uses 2x4 poles. You just need more of them.

 

[Badfish740]

Of course you can use 4x4s. You didn't specify your truss spacing but if everything is scaled properly than you can scale these as well. I own a huge pole building that is done with 4x4s and it hasn't fallen yet.

When buildings fail because of snow load it is very very seldom due to the poles buckling. I would worry more about your truss and purlin spacing.

My house uses 2x4 poles. You just need more of them.

Thanks for the information. I was planning on spacing the posts on the long wall (16 feet) on 4 foot centers. The short walls (12 feet) would be on 6 foot centers. As for roof I was thinking of doing a simple gable/ridge board/rafter design with 2x8 rafters, 2x10 ceiling joists, and 1/2" OSB sheathing.

 

[Jack Straw]

To save even more money you could put 2 -2"x4" PT in the ground for each post. Screw them together, just have them be at diferent lenghts (Say one 50" and the other 60") and use KD 2X4s the rest of the way up. Treated 4"x4" tend to bow.

 

[Jags]

Of course you can use 4x4s. You didn't specify your truss spacing but if everything is scaled properly than you can scale these as well. I own a huge pole building that is done with 4x4s and it hasn't fallen yet.

When buildings fail because of snow load it is very very seldom due to the poles buckling. I would worry more about your truss and purlin spacing.

My house uses 2x4 poles. You just need more of them.

Thanks for the information. I was planning on spacing the posts on the long wall (16 feet) on 4 foot centers. The short walls (12 feet) would be on 6 foot centers. As for roof I was thinking of doing a simple gable/ridge board/rafter design with 2x8 rafters, 2x10 ceiling joists, and 1/2" OSB sheathing.

Sounds like a plan to me ---now get ta build'in.

 

[fossil]

^^^^ Yes. 4"x4" posts should do you just fine. My wood shed's 12' x 16', and although it's not built as a pole building, per se, the vertical members are 4"x4", spaced 6' oc on the 12' ends, and 8' oc along the 16' sides, so there are just 8 of them. I think it would be cool to build a pole building using round posts. Out here, we can get pressure-treated Lodgepole Pine posts that have been lathe-turned to 4" or 6" diameter in about any length a guy could want. Maybe when I build my next out-building. (Gawd, don't tell my wife I said that!) %-P Rick

 

[jebatty]

It seems like almost everyone who puts in a storage bldg goes too small and wishes it were bigger. Be sure you make it big enough.

 

[Hurricane]

It seems like almost everyone who puts in a storage bldg goes too small and wishes it were bigger. Be sure you make it big enough.

Ain't that the truth, or do we just accumulate more stuff until the space is full

 

[Gooserider]

It is the basic law of "stuff accumulation" - Stuff will ALWAYS tend to accumulate until it has filled 10% more than the available space...

For whatever it is worth on the building department - My woodshed is something I built to super economy standards, but it hasn't fallen in yet... It is an 8'x16' shed, open on the long sides, and with the short sides walled by pre-fab stockade fence panels - Uprights are a 2x4 in each corner, and 3 2x4's in the center that hold up the three 16' 2x4's that hold up the corrugated plastic panel roof... It's a little wobbly, but it keeps the rain off...

Gooserider

 

[awoodman]

Construct youre own trusses with plywood gussets and build with 2X6's . My 30X60 is built that way on 6' truss spacing and 2x4's laid flat on top at 2' centers to attach the metal.