fun at home....

[Plymouthy Adams]

as this is a conversion to disc and using aftermarket rotors, some clearance action is required.....

 

 

 

 

[Los_Control]

drill em for cool ... hrm factor?

[Plymouthy Adams]

no drilling.....what you looking at?   lol    have to kerf the inside as the originals are so to clear the button head bolts....

[MackTheFinger]

After 4 decades in masonry construction guess what I noticed first? Nice work on the lathe, though!! ?

[Plymouthy Adams]

lol....yes we all have our eye drawn toward something....This block building was on the property when I bought it some 25+ years ago...I am happy it is still holding together.  Couple years ago I did insulate the ceiling, few LED lights and couple more outlets, installed some CDX and lathing for finishing it off....caulked all the seams, put in a new modern window with an AC stuck in it, have an electric heater and  a dehumidifier I run as needed.  Stereo for my listening pleasure, few other machining tools in there....not big by any means but still a nice work area.  

[MackTheFinger]

Built correctly a block building will last almost forever. The downside to block, brick, or tilt-up concrete buildings is insulation. It's not as big a factor for you as it is for those of us who live in colder areas. I'm going to build another building here next year and can't decide whether to build it out of block or stick build. I don't really like pole barns.

[Plymouthy Adams]

I know what  you mean....down here the temps are rarely out of long sleeve shirt (if the wind is not blowing).  I like the ease and versatility of a pole barn stick built...but then again, I am in the south and have no snow loads to calculate or deal with.   We do not even have a build code for a stick built pole barn.  I asked....!!!    One inspector said my roof was built too light for the load...(inspector as you have to get a permit so they can tax you)...I had to remind him that he is working formula for asphalt shingles and not the light weight metal.  Duh moment for him but he refused to acknowledge a difference though he could not show me a formula in his book for tin roofs....I then asked for the code....he left.  Hated to be that way but apples and oranges. 

[MackTheFinger]

I have two pole barns and have had leaks around screws in both of them. My shop building is concrete block with a shingle roof and it hasn't leaked since I built it in the early '90s. I filled the walls in the block building with Zonolite except for where we poured concrete piers in the walls every 4 feet but there's still enough thermal transfer that it's cold in the winter. Insulating pole barns is easier but if you frame it out the way I'd prefer you end up with a building inside a building and there's no point in that. My next one will be built with 2x6 studs on 2' centers, insulated and plywood sheathed inside and out with an asphalt shingle roof. I might wimp out and have someone else pour the floor but that's according to how much time I have in the spring.  

[Plymouthy Adams]

I can work concrete but on a large scale I need help...so I prefer to get a professional and I be the laborer for him.  I am right now waiting for concrete man to show.  He said we could have concrete by Christmas....I wish I had his vision...as he is still tied up...I am not so sure.   Wood building is easier to insulate, it is also easier to go back and modify and change aspects of if need arises.  My pole bar is for storage only, I do no work inside my barn whatsoever.  I do have intentions down the road of one 10 x 24 bay in the pole barn getting insulated and set up for metal fabrication only.  I got the tools but not set up adequately right now.  This would be ideal to have a dedicated bay.

[Eneto-55]

My son-in-law's dad put up a 'cabin' for them to use during their first year of marriage (something he had done for his siblings who had married before he & my daughter got married), and he used the foam blocks (I think 12 or 16" wide).  There are metal tabs that run through the blocks, so you can attach interior wall panels, and siding on the outside.  Some of the voids (both vertical & horizontal) also get poured full of concrete, but with the foam on either side, there is very little thermal transfer. The main thing I would have done differently would be to do ferro cement on the outside below grade.

[MackTheFinger]

Last floor I poured was 30x50 ft. I hired a guy to help me but I'd have been better off without him. I don't expect everyone to know how to run a power trowel but good help working in the trade should know how to screed and bullfloat concrete and the difference between a mag float and a darby. This guy didn't know anything. Thankfully it was a cool day and the concrete didn't get away from us. I have a cousin who does concrete professionally but he won't let me pay him so he's out. I'll either do this next one all by myself or pay someone to do it all and TRY not to be too critical.

[Todd B]

I have been a building contractor for almost 34 years (only 16 to go). I would never go with a Pole barn, I have replaced several rotten posts over the years on buildings that are 20-30 years old. Especially now with the new treating process, it’s no where’s near as good as the old treating process.

I also agree that a steel roof will leak. I’ve had several disagreements with other builders over the years on steel roofs and I can show you several pictures of roofs I have replaced because the screws don’t hold anymore. Steel expands and contracts with temperature change (A LOT)   When this happens it pulls on the screws and lifts them loose.  That being said, a standing seam metal roof is a good product but I don’t like the way the snow slides off and destroys decks, shrubs or anything in its way.  My recommendation is to go with a 12” Grade beam thick edge slab, foam under the slab, foundation and perimeter. Also put a 6 mil poly under the slab. Then frame your walls 2x6, 2’ on center, then a good quality house wrap. Depending what the surrounding buildings look like I would either put 1x4 wall girts 30 inches on center, and then vertical steel with exposed fasteners. Or sheeting and siding. Put the roof trusses 2’ on center directly above the studs.  Then 5/8” OSB roof sheeting, 2 rows ice & water shield then synthetic felt. Good quality shingle such as Certain Teed Landmark’s. Make sure you have a 24” overhang on the eaves and a minimum of 12” on the gable. Vent it properly and have it insulated. I prefer the Blown-In- Bib system. You can get an R- 23 out of 2 x 6 wall.   I have built many sheds including my own shop this way and the only upgrade I would recommend if you could afford it is to go with 4’ frost walls instead of a thick edge slab along with in-floor heat. 
Todd B 

[Eneto-55]

I don't care for pole barn construction, either.  I do have a deck on my house that is on treated 4x4's, built just before they changed the formula.  Later put up a fence, and after lining up the whole row as near perfect as I could, those posts twisted like crazy.  Next fence I put up I used (untreated) locust posts.  They have stayed just as straight as they were when I put them in.  Speaking of pole barns, however, when my oldest brother was still in HS, he got a calf to raise, and we put up a small open front barn using split telephone poles as the posts.  That must have been in 68 or 69, and the last time I was on the home place (a year ago), that barn was still standing, with no signs of rotted posts that I saw.   (That would have been the old creosote poles.)

My son-in-law (who designs trusses for his work) is a big fan of pole buildings, but talks about some sort of deal where they set concrete posts in the ground, then bolt the 4x4's to steel brackets cast onto the top of the concrete.  Still prefer frame construction, I guess, since that's what I have been involved in building myself.  I know it's more expensive, but I don't care to put money into something that won't last the test of time.

[MackTheFinger]

16 hours ago, Todd B said:

I have been a building contractor for almost 34 years (only 16 to go). I would never go with a Pole barn, I have replaced several rotten posts over the years on buildings that are 20-30 years old. Especially now with the new treating process, it’s no where’s near as good as the old treating process.

I also agree that a steel roof will leak. I’ve had several disagreements with other builders over the years on steel roofs and I can show you several pictures of roofs I have replaced because the screws don’t hold anymore. Steel expands and contracts with temperature change (A LOT)   When this happens it pulls on the screws and lifts them loose.  That being said, a standing seam metal roof is a good product but I don’t like the way the snow slides off and destroys decks, shrubs or anything in its way.  My recommendation is to go with a 12” Grade beam thick edge slab, foam under the slab, foundation and perimeter. Also put a 6 mil poly under the slab. Then frame your walls 2x6, 2’ on center, then a good quality house wrap. Depending what the surrounding buildings look like I would either put 1x4 wall girts 30 inches on center, and then vertical steel with exposed fasteners. Or sheeting and siding. Put the roof trusses 2’ on center directly above the studs.  Then 5/8” OSB roof sheeting, 2 rows ice & water shield then synthetic felt. Good quality shingle such as Certain Teed Landmark’s. Make sure you have a 24” overhang on the eaves and a minimum of 12” on the gable. Vent it properly and have it insulated. I prefer the Blown-In- Bib system. You can get an R- 23 out of 2 x 6 wall.   I have built many sheds including my own shop this way and the only upgrade I would recommend if you could afford it is to go with 4’ frost walls instead of a thick edge slab along with in-floor heat. 
Todd B 

 

Completely agree on the posts rotting and leaks around the screws. In the last few years I've seen a lot of houses roofed with pole barn metal directly over the old asphalt shingles. Usually but not always after having girting nailed down over the asphalt. I would guarantee that's a leak waiting to happen. 

 

Construction techniques vary a lot according to region. We don't have much freezing down here so it's rare to see an insulated slab, even on slab on grade houses. IMO insulating at least a couple of feet around the edges would be a good idea. We don't have ice dam problems so there are virtually no buildings using water shield membrane on the roofs. Other than that I agree with your techniques although it's rare to see a building with 24" overhang. Pole barns are built with no overhang and houses are generally 16" here, sometimes as little as 12".   I've only run into a few houses framed with 2x6 on 2' OC outer walls but that's changed over the years, too; along with that "California" corner framing people have started using. That still looks weird to me but I can see how it would help with insulation.

[Eneto-55]

2 hours ago, MackTheFinger said:

 

...it's rare [down here] to see a building with 24" overhang. Pole barns are built with no overhang and houses are generally 16" here, sometimes as little as 12".   ....

Reminds me of what my grandpa said when my dad put 36" overhangs on the house he had built in 64.  My grandparents' house had virtually no overhang at all, and he said that the first stiff wind would take that roof right off.  This was in northeast Oklahoma.  And the roof is still on that house. 

 

I had even bigger overhang on the house I built in the Amazon, but that was because we had no glass in our windows, only screen, and no shutters, either.  I always said that the house had one door and one window.  The window started at the left side of the door,  and ended at the right side.  (We just had a half wall all the way around the house.  we needed all of the breeze we could get.)

[MackTheFinger]

Oh, yeah; a large overhang is definitely nice for the shade!! I'm familiar with NE Oklahoma and the wind is harsh there. Seems like I heard it was because Kansas sucks and Texas blows.. I don't know who said that, maybe someone from Arkansas or Louisiana?? ?

[Todd B]

Just to verify. I only use 2 foot on center studs in garage framing when there would be wall girts and vertical steel. Other than that I always use 16 inches on center studs.  

[T120]

I am chuckling as I submit this post....As this an off topic discussion and has drifted,While I would certainly heed the advice of those who have experience in the construction trades,build the best you can afford taking into account your needs and the environment and weather conditions where you live.
My wife and and I bought our first house in 1963,the price was $4500. - We managed to scrape together $200. for the down payment.While located on a nice piece of property the house should have been demolished.We lived there for the next four years, and surprisingly enough 53 years later the house is still standing today with renovations over the years by subsequent owners.
We now live in a modest house that has a "shudder" steel roof ..Our double garage while insulated and heated also has a steel roof...And, we have a 40'x60' post frame (pole barn) with a concrete floor and it also has a steel roof.
These buildings provide us with shelter for us and our "stuff"...At our age,if they are still standing 30 years from now that will be okay. lol

Edited December 9, 2019 by T120

[MackTheFinger]

Everyone in the trades heard the joke about the difference between carpenters and termites. Termites know what they're turning that piece of wood into. ?

[Todd B]

I see!  Said the blind carpenter when he grabbed his hammer and saw.  

[Plymouthy Adams]

"all I see is termites hold hands"  in a movie reference to a New England covered bridge....