Pole Building Home

[gwpoky]

Has anyone here had experience with Pole Building homes? What is a ruff cost ect. I have heard they can be very energy efficient. Just looking at some ideas and thought I would throw it out here.

Thank You

[blue80]

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

[Tim Harrigan]

I don’t have a good sense of the details but a number of years ago I was asked to help judge several entries for a post-frame construction contest sponsored I think by the National Frame Builders Assn. I was really surprised by the nice appearance of the buildings they were developing, I expected to see a bunch of pole barns. So go to the NFBA web site and see if you can find any information or construction details. The approach would certainly have to be different from your basic pole barn construction to be energy efficient.

[Does’ Leap]

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

[Tim Harrigan]

Here are some examples of post frame construction.
http://www.nfba.org/i4a/imagebank/index.cfm?imagebank_category_id=283&startrow=1

I am not sure if post frame construction and pole building homes are the same, it would be interesting to look into the design and materials details for these post frame homes.

[near horse]

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).

[mitchmaine]

around here, the difference between pole construction and frame construction is a sill. on a sill the building is disconected to the foundation.
we have a lot of trouble up here with frost and heaving, and there are no-end of discussions (fights) about how to properly deal with it. and usually a pole barn or building is compromised by the frost. so its considered a temporary structure even if it lasts fifty years.
with a good roof and a good foundation, a building has a pretty good chance of making it.
even insulation is compromising the integrity of a structure, cause somehow or other you are trapping moisture one side or other of a peice of wood and if it can’t breath it rots, but keeping warm is a necessary evil thats here to stay and has to be dealt with.
pole barns are a quick and cheap answer to protecting animals and equipment. i love them

[Donn Hewes]

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.

[Anonymous]

Try to check from here http://caldwells.com/, I believed they are also in the same filed of business that offers cheap and affordable yet quality and effective materials.

[Author]

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