On another
thread titled “The Solution Becomes the Problem Becomes the Solution”, I mentioned in passing that building barns was rather inexpensive for me, building them at $6500 per 100 head of sheep. That is actually a little off base because I actually built my last 30 x 48 foot barn for $4450. That was because I already had the
concrete pad poured. The $4450 includes everything, from steel lined walls, electrical outlets and swing in managers. . The $6500 quoted is what the cost would be for the same 30 x 48 foot barn including the concrete. Both quotes include new steel roofing. In any case, A person on here contacted me via private messaging and asked for a few more details, and I provided that to them. However upon further reflection I feel it may be of interest to a lot of homesteaders because a barn is a great asset, but can be cost prohibitive. Here is a possible design solution that gives a lot of space very economically.
Now I have placed this on the Homesteading Sub-Forum, only because it did not fit the other sub-forums in Building so readily. But there are basically two ways of approaching a “green” barn. (1) Using untraditional building materials (2) Or, using a unique design to drastically reduces conventional materials. Without apology; the barns I build are of this latter design concept.
In a nut shell, they use 1/3 less of the traditional framing lumber because they are posted 4 feet on center instead of 16 inches on center, yet use the same 2 x 6 and 2 x 4 dimension lumber. This adds up to significant savings. To carry the loads imposed, they are constructed as trusses, but not in the usual way, instead they are rather a cross between timber framing and stick built construction. I typically build the walls out of 2 x 4’s, the rafters out of 2 x 6’s and all the braces out of 2 x 4’s as well. This is not only to make the weight of the trusses lighter, but also reduce the number of lumber required to build the same size barn.
The truss dictates the shape of the barn, because it incorporates the wall framing and rafters as one cohesive unit, like how bents are raised on timber frame construction, only they are 1-1/2” inches wide instead of 8 inches. Like timber frame bents, the parts are all cut on the ground with the bents built on the ground. To connect the walls to the rafters, bracing and whatnot that makes up an individual bent, plywood gussets are used. Now ONLY engineered
wood can be used for gussets because if they are made out of solid wood, they will split when nailed or stressed. I have used OSB (Oriented Strand Board, also called chip board), but I don’t recommend it because it is prone to moisture issues, ½ plywood is best, and honestly a few sheets of it goes a VERY long ways. That is because it only takes (2) gussets, 3 x 8 inches to make most solid connections. The strength of the joint comes from the layers of the plywood and the nails. Never skimp on nails for this reason. Where 4 will work, I put in 8.
It does take a little bit of confidence to construct a barn this way, because I might spend a whole day just cutting rafters, studs, bracing and gussets to various lengths. This is NOT a cut, check the fit, cut another, check the fit sort of construction. You lay out the first bent, get all your patterns, count up how many parts of each you need, and cut them out. Then you nail it all together, gussets on each side of the joints.
When you get a bent together it will scare you, they are designed to carry compression loads, not side loads so they are very floppy. This is because you can make some rather large bents since you are just flipping them up into place. Bracing the first bent is the hardest proposition, but as each bent goes up, it gets easier. Purlings laid across the top of the rafters, and in between the “bays” , whalers stiffen the building as it is being built. Time wise though, this is very fast construction because everything has been built on the ground. You need to just tie everything together as you stand the bents upright. Working in 4 foot increments, it goes fast! My father (67), my wife (35 and weighing 130 pounds mind you) and myself (40) were able to frame my last 30 by 48 foot barn in half a day. It took me one day previous to cut all the bent parts and assemble them, but 1-1/2 days for a barn that size is fast. I used a nail gun, but it is not required, you can do everything by hand.
Other than plywood gussets, the only other requirement is a steel roof. It has to shed snow due to its four foot spacing. At $1.99 for 3 square feet, it is very cheap roofing material though. Just place the steel on the purlings and screw it down with steel roofing screws. Most of my roofs are 6/12 in pitch, but due to an already existing building, my last barn had a much lower roof pitch. I just merely needed to add more bracing to reduce the load on the roof
should we get a lot of heavy snow. I am NOT shoveling off the roof of that barn…no way.
Is this design a disaster waiting to happen?
NO!
This is a design taken from
chicken barns built in the 1960’s all around me and are still standing. These were 3 floor, 400 foot long buildings too. The oldest barn of this design on my farm is 30 years old and is still standing. I have a total of 4 built like this and all are standing and sound.
The key is to get the snow load off the roof, but also
think of terms of stress. “If I step on the roof here, where does my weight get transferred too? What would have to fail for this to collapse? Thinking that way, through bracing you can reduce spans and fortify weak points. Short sections of bracing cut 2 feet long with 45 degree cuts on each end stiffen the bent tremendously just as they do on timber framing bents. The steel roofing tightens things up as well.
Is this design okay for human living?
Yes and No. This is not because it is not structurally sound, but rather because the 4 foot spacing makes it hard to insulate and hang sheetrock. I was able to add strapping (1 x 3 inch boards) on my insulated lambing pen, but it was almost harder than it was worth. Just adding a bent every 2 feet would have been easier and thus make insulation and drywall easier to put up. On a living home, I would just go with 2 foot spacing instead of 4. Same method of construction, just more bents.
Is this a beautiful barn?
Gracious no! I would love to have a timber frame barn and admire those that have them, but in Maine where I need a way to house my sheep, yet do so cheaply because of the thin financial margins of sheep farming, this style of barn works well. Perhaps in my next life, or down the road, I’ll build the ultimate barn.
Now a few caveats. Where I live we have no building codes or code enforcement officers that inspect the premises. As long as I purchase a $25 building permit, I can build whatever I want. This may, or may not be the case where you live. Generally outbuildings are less restrictive, but not always. Any building funded by the NRCS or FSA must be engineered by a licensed structural engineer. Another thing is the price. It is low because I have plenty of logs to convert into rough sawn lumber. Even then, I have to purchase a few sheets of plywood. It can be built with lumber from a lumber supply store, it will just cost more.
Pictures are worth a thousand words however, so you can judge for yourself.