Pole Building Home

Generally pole building homes are utilized because they are a very inexpensive method to make a wall envelope.

Generally pole buildings are not known for high efficiency unless spray foam is used as insulation. I don’t mean to turn this into a building science forum, but it is not commonly known that R-Value only measures conduction; where in reality most efficiency is gained by solving convection. Foam (whether Sips ICF or spray foam) solves convection whereas fiberglass and products like cellulose do not…

Pole Barn structures are widely known to have high rodent and insect infestation due to the permeable juncture at the footing/wall connection on the exterior walls.

Kevin

The building that houses our cheese facility, milk parlor, milk rooms and sausage processing area is a pole barn. I eventually ended up ripping out the horizontal strapping and siding and building stud walls between the posts which were sheathed w/ plywood. The open envelope in the pole structure was a rodent highway and the fiberglass insulation we put in originally became compressed and worthless. Studs and sheathing help a lot with this.

I agree w/ Kevin that the only way to go with a pole structure would be spray foam for the aforementioned reasons. Prices around VT for spray foam start at $5/square foot for a 5.5″ wall. A pole barn would be even thicker if you used 6×6 posts plus the 2×4 strapping and thus even more per sq. ft. Another thing to consider is the price of PT posts and the additional labor for setting and truing up your posts. I would argue that a stick-built structure is cheaper and a better product in the long run.

George

Aren’t most of the straw bale buildings actually pole structures with straw bale infill and then plastered? I thought those things were pretty efficient w/ R values around 50 (for what R-values seem to be worth).

Pole barns have the potential to make wonderful homes. As far as rodents go, it is true of any low built structure, slab on grade, etc, that attention must be paid to closing the siding to framing to slab connection to not leave an easy entry point. I recently helped a friend with out much money, and no building experience, design a barn / home, built with an Amish crew constructing a 60 x 36 pole barn from local larch. We used store bought trusses for ease and convenience. In the living area the walls were wrapped in tyvec and sided with larch board and batt. A 2 x 4 stud wall was constructed inside of the posts, after fiberglass insulation was hung to fill the 6″ space. Then the 2 x 4 space was insulated, before dry wall. This 10″ wall is very tight, warm and beautiful. There are a high ceilings of planed poplar. Lots of light from the south.

As for straw bales. Those homes can be built many different ways. Mine is built with a more conventional stick framed wall. They would work as well in a pole constructed building. Just some thoughts. Got to run.