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Pole building vs Concrete foundation and stick frame?

B

blunosr

Member
Hi, Jim's post was very instructive. Thanks!

I'm planning to start a smaller (30x48') building this Summer. I'm planning to pour an "engineered slab" (6" slab, but with 12x12" outer margins) and then build a stick framed shop on top of that. My question is what is the benefit of a pole building, if you're going to pour a floor anyways? Is it for wind resistance?

Thanks also for the discussion about bubble wrap or vapour barrier under the roof tin.

Bye for now,

Troy
 
If you are pouring a slab you would save so little cement it wouldn't be worth it to do a pole building. As far as saving cement unless you are using the building to store big trucks a 4" slab would be sufficient.
 
First off I do not know where you are at but if there is any freeze at all 12" down is no good. Here in this part of Ohio it has to be 24+" or below frost depth. Then as said unless you are having very heavy loads 6" floor is too much. As for pole a lot never have a floor poured in them, if it is done it is as an afterthought possibly a few years down the line. Pole is cheaper and I can't see that much difference for wind. For only a dirt-gravel floor I would say pole as you are probably not figuring on it being up and in use in 50 years. Frame on concrete it should be around and in use for a 100 years.
 
I have a 63 x 40 pole shed on a foundation. "L" brackets bolted to the foundation and to the poles hold it in place. It's been there now for
23 years. I would not do sliding doors again. I would go with overhead doors. Much better seal for wind and cold. I Was going to drive re-bar
into the foundation to tie the floor and foundation together but a concrete man told me not to. The floor will rise and sink with frost in
our area and he was right. I'm glad I never did that.

A friend of mine has a smaller shed with foundation and floor. He bolted his tool box to the wall and one spring he noticed he couldn't open
the drawers in his tool box. The floor had risen that much when the freezing temperatures came and pushed the bottom of his tool box up into
the tool box itself. He wasn't happy..
 
Troy I am like all the others take that 12X12 rim and make it 24 inches deep and maybe 10 inches wide, and rob concrete from the floor. 4 1/2 of good concrete is plenty strong. IF you put in good compacted base. With a 24 in edge if you are south of the Masson Dixson line you will be close to static. I have several built with a pour like that and don,t seem to see the floor heave much.
 
Again, not sure where you are, but here in WI you'd be fine provided you have enough rebar in everything. That "engineered slab" is actually a floating slab, so as long as you are not attached to another
building, frost won't be an issue.

You have an advantage over a pole building with this- no poles to rot off. That's big.
 
I have a 24'x40' Meyers building on a floating slab that has a 12" footing with four, 1/2" rebar all the way around and every 2 feet both length ways and across the the building with five inch concrete on the floor. The garage was built in 1993 and there is not one crack in the floor. I am in Central Wi, so it does get cold.
It is stick-built with metal-sheeting, all the way around and the roof. I am located in sand country though.
 
I have a small 30x40x10 pole barn with 6 inch slab
that was poured after construction. Wire in slab, no
rebar, no edge 12x12 edging around perimeter, no
bubble wrap because I used trusses on 2 ft, 1/2 osb
and 35 year shingles. The price was the same for a
metal roof, I went with shingles and a 1 ft eve to
keep rain off siding and to allow adequate eve
ventilation. Used ridge vent and power vent. Never
had first issue with condensation on metal sides or
get excessive moisture levels to cause tools to
rust.

I'm on clay in Terre Haute. Slab hasn't moved,
cracked or settled. Slab was done in one morning,
continuous pour, no forms, boards around perimeter
and boards across door opening were only forms used.
floor was put down by a professional concrete
finisher. 4x6 posts had be be 4 ft deep to be to
building code.

A stick built house would have to have foundation 24
inches below grade to be to code.

The taxes on a stick built building the same size
with vinyl siding would outrageous.
 
Pole building in my neck of the woods are built for the advantage that you do not
need the costly concrete floor. Examples would be buildings to store Hay, equipment
or even bedding pack livestock confinement , do not need concrete floors. So less $$
are spent on site preparation . Pole barns go up fast , and if need be you can add
concrete flooring later as time and money allow . All this being said, if I was going
to build a shop, I would build a stick frame , on a pad.
 
I priced a pole barn for my shop. Then I priced a stick built garage on a concrete pad. The garage was
actually cheaper than the pole barn, by a Lot! Plus you have a good solid floor, with rafters and wall
studs so easier to insulate and finish the inside, easier to wire. I asked when pricing the garage what it
would have cost to go from 8 ft walls to 10 ft and the salesman quickly replied "It'll add 25%" and I
should have challenged him on that! But anyhow, it should have been 10 ft to the top plate with a 9 ft
high door vs 8 ft with 7-1/2 ft door. Ohhh, and about 6 ft wider and 40 ft longer!

Dad was so sure I had to have a pole barn! After he saw my shop and I told him about the cost differences
he started looking around and built himself a shop too.
 
There are a lot of ways to build. Neighbor has a garage on the floating slab which has a curb around it that the stick framing goes on top of. Or you could have cement block laid up ? I also saw one where they used poles in the ground and then boxed it in with treated boards to make a sill plate and then went the rest of the way up with stick built. Hard to tell once it was all together.
 
Our town wanted a certified plot plan
before any permit was issued. Found
out on my own (they wouldn't tell me)
that "foundationless agricultural
buildings" were exempt. Built 40x60
pole barn with used telephone poles.
Still good thirty years later.
 
One more thought came to mind about building for a shop. If you are going to be
doing welding in your shop , it can be a good idea to have the bottom 3-4 feet of
your wall cement block. This way you don't have any worries about hot materiel
catching a wall on fire. Also a few rows of block are easy enough for almost anyone
to lay, and then the stick wall that you set on top of the block wall is made from
lower cost 8 foot lumber. Blocks a just laid on top of the floating pad , and the
shorter wall sections are not really all that hard to lift into place by hand. Can
require less exterior siding as well. Bruce
 
A 6" slab with 12"x12" perimeter is not an engineered slab. You need to be below frost line with
your foundation.
 
Hello Troy, Give me a call at 320-468-6474 and we can talk I have built 2 sheds like this in the last 3
years in Central Minnesota one shed is 36x 60 feet with 12 foot walls and the the other is 42x50 feet
with 16 foot side wall and I have a stud wall system that uses the same board for the inside and outside
perlin to fasten your steel too and the studs are double 2x6 4' OC and then You can set your rafters 4'
OC above your double studs on your side wall and insulating take 2' x 4' bats on you have no settling of
insulation in the walls and I plan on building a 20 x 32 barn with a 12 foot lean all on one big floating
slab.
 
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