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Today's Pole Barns

 

Gambrel Roof Pole Barn Homestead Design

 

Modern pole barns come in all shapes and sizes, but they are still practical and inexpensive to build.

 

If you're planning on a new storage building or horse barn, post-frame construction can save you money. Post-frame is the modern version of "pole-barn" construction, using pressure treated posts as the main structure and post hole or concrete pier footings. Post-frame construction eliminates the need for continuous foundation walls and can save you as much as 20% of the cost of your building by reducing the amount of site work and concrete you'll need.
 

It also eliminates the need for a concrete slab. Although a slab is always an option, many pole barns use gravel or tamped earth floors to save even more money.
 

People still call post-frame buildings "pole barns," but they've come a long way from the boxy, low-roofed, metal clad, industrial structures that you think of. Old pole barns were built with telephone poles. Those were durable and cheap, but not very easy to work with - for builders or for designers. Telephone poles vary in diameter and taper from bottom to top, so connecting wall boards and roof trusses from one pole to another took a lot of notching, leveling, squaring and swearing. Windows and doors were difficult to build, so as few as possible were used. Designs had to be as simple as possible.
 

Today's wood preservatives and plastic sleeve post protectors can give milled lumber even more durability than the old telephone poles. Today's 6x6 or other size structural posts are flat-edged to fit square with other lumber and can be used with standard-size prefabricated metal connectors. That gives designers and builders the ability to have the same wall shapes, windows, doors and roof styles as conventional stud-frame buildings.
 

The reality now is that since all of the cost savings with pole barns really come from the floor down, there is no reason that today's pole barns can't be more attractive from the floor up.
 

These days, you can find pole barn blueprints and building kits for barns with gambrel and monitor roofs, for pretty horse stables, for elegant carriage house style garages, and for traditional New England style barns with big storage lofts. You can find tiny post-frame shed designs and huge pole barns for farm tractors and equipment. And, you can finish today's pole barns with just about any exterior material or roofing that you can think of.

 

Small Pole-Frame Horse Barn Homestead Design
 

Craig Wallin has been designing beautiful barn plans for Homestead Design since the 1980s. He created some small and affordable post-frame horse barns because his clients are clamoring for economical buildings. Click on the link above to check out the Glenwood, Durango and Prescott barns. You'll see how pretty a little pole barn can be. Then, take a look at some of his larger plans to see the variety of styles that are available. Make sure to visit Craig's photo gallery to see finished versions.
 

All Purpose Pole Barn with Loft  BarnsBarnsBarns.com

 

I drew a series of pole barn plans for BarnsBarnsBarns.com. If you take a look, I think that you'll agree that they look more like traditional American farm barns and carriage houses than industrial pole barns. But, they still have all of the cost-saving features.

 

So, if you're planning on a new barn, don't overlook pole barns. They no longer have to be boxy and boring to be affordable.
 

Don Berg

The Backroad Home

 

 

  More from The Backroad Home:

Find New Plans and Building Kits  Architect Don Berg's Pinterest boards present the best free building plans and woodwork projects suggested by hundreds of independent editors. They also cover inexpensive blueprints, do-it-yourself kits and easy-to-use design/build software. Most importantly, they focuses on building projects that are simple and inexpensive to build and to maintain. If you're planning to build a small home, cabin, cottage, barn, garage, shed or any backyard or woodwork project, check Pinterest out. You'll enjoy the fresh designs and design ideas.

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