# Barn/Shop project



## VIFmike (Jul 21, 2012)

I am starting to build my own barn style shop. It will be a pole bar with trusses. I will be making all of it myself. Not sure how to make the trusses yet but I have been researching them a bunch. 

I saw a Morgan building that was built as a pole barn and later had a concrete slab poured inside it. The vertical poles were interesting. They used three 2x6s sandwiched together. They were sticking out of the ground and were bolted together. By that I mean they took three pieces. One 48" one 42" and one 36" and sandwiched them together where the seams were staggered. These were concreted in the ground like a typical pole. Then on top of that they had the opposite pieces bolted onto them. This seems like a good idea especially when the ground is not level. 

I will have pics of the pieces I am making to start mine and more details later this evening. Lots more details to come.


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## difalkner (Nov 27, 2011)

Looking forward to seeing what you have planned. Will this expand your Etsy business or just make it flow better for production?


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## Tennessee Tim (Dec 15, 2010)

From 30 yrs of contracting and building.....and as your signature says...wood doesn't do good in the ground either, even PT....put on concrete!!!

Best is build with wood on slab or block/concrete wall above grade. 2nd is concrete piers (than pour slab later).

I've done the post frame and the "Morgan" style AND rebuilt many barns, ANY ground contact IS future trouble of some sort.

Building your own trusses.....I've done it BUT one weak link and it's disaster...IF I count my labor, it's cheaper to buy engineered and ready to install.

Good luck with your build and keep us involved with a few pics along!!!


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## VIFmike (Jul 21, 2012)

So you are saying the treated lumber concreted in the ground is going to give problems later?

The one I looked at had the concrete poured around it and then bolted to the slab with brackets. So some of the load is transferred to the slab. So it seems that the poles below the slab have very little use once the rest is built above the slab and bolted down. They seem to be just there to start and once the slab is in they no longer have much use. However I would think that treated lumber incased in concrete would be pretty good. Might need to do more research on that. 

I already have a concrete slab there as part of the drive. I will be raising it 4 to 5 inches as we go. I put the short posts in the ground outside the slab and those will be bolted to the new slab. 

As far as the trusses go I have been researching them and there are many sites that show how to make them for the style of building you are doing. There is a truss company within a mile of my house and a guy that works there lives just down the street. Trusses may not be expensive but one can save a bunch making them. My shop is only going to be 16' wide where the trusses will sit so they are the exact same width as the ones in the house above the garage. So I plan to copy those exactly. So not worried about any failure there. The only thing I plan to change is the bottom piece I will make from 2x6 instead of 2x4.

I started in my garage of 16' wide and only 10' deep. The rest of the garage I turned into a room for one of my kids. I might be getting that part back later if I add a couple rooms upstairs. Not sure yet. But I started in that small space and as it grew I got an EZ up outside to stay out of the rain. Once I knew I could make a few bucks at it I started building an awning off my garage. I started with a section 24' long and 16' out from the house. I added a section 16' to the front with part of that over the concrete walkway from my driveway over to my house. I will use that angle and height to make the awning over the walkway all the way to the house eventually and add on a 24' out section in front of my house to park under. We have a circle drive that comes up to the house now and my wide wants to park out of the weather. 

Ok so I just added another section to the back of the house that is 16'x16' and I just started the awning off the rear of the house where I am building a shipping room that is 10'x16' and will meet up with the awning I will eventually have over the pack patio and be part of the awning that will go all the way around the house. 

But even with all that space I still needed more room out of the rain so right now I have two 10'x20' EZ up canopies along the driveway where the building will be built. These are where stuff gets stained, clear coated and where one of my two glue up tables are. Basically it comes down to I am building a building in my driveway around me while I use the space for work. I do not have room anywhere else with the exception of starting a new building from scratch out back. But I need to get the quickest option to get us out of the weather right now then add on to the rear later. 

It's 220 feet from the back of my house to the back of the property and the lot is about 110' wide. The house on the garage side is about 32' from the property line. So the shop has to be about 2' from that line. The walls will end up being about 4' away when done. But since that side of the house is the only access to the back yard I will have to have a roll up door at each end that is at least 12' high and about 10' wide.


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## VIFmike (Jul 21, 2012)

difalkner said:


> Looking forward to seeing what you have planned. Will this expand your Etsy business or just make it flow better for production?


It will do both. It will allow me to expand and have more room for what I am doing now. I need more room in the metal shop and I have to keep that separated from the woodworking. Right now it's close and only separated by a wall. We used to make all kinds of steel square tube legs but there were so many orders I could not keep up. So I quit making them until I get the metal shop ready. 

I already have all the equipment as I have done metal work since the 80s. We do make hairpin legs right now but that is it. 

I need more room for the woodworking and I need it enclosed to control the temp and humidity. Wood outside even under an awning tends to warp so I can't buy much at a time and have little space to store it anyway. 

I already expanded by hiring my step son when he came home from the army. He makes all the hairpin legs and helps with the pipe and fittings. I do the wood work. My 19 year old just came on to do all the shipping and my 17 year old helps with all of this when he gets home from school at 3.


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## Oakwerks (Mar 24, 2013)

Concreting around any wood is a no-no.... Just asking for rot...
I have built many pole barns over the years.... All still standing.
Putting concrete around the poles serves no useful purpose....

Sent to y'all offen' a iPad thing......


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## difalkner (Nov 27, 2011)

Do you have any photos of your current setup and where you plan to build and add on? Sounds interesting...


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## VIFmike (Jul 21, 2012)

Oakwerks said:


> Concreting around any wood is a no-no.... Just asking for rot...
> I have built many pole barns over the years.... All still standing.
> Putting concrete around the poles serves no useful purpose....
> 
> Sent to y'all offen' a iPad thing......


So you are saying that the treated poles in concrete will still rot?

So mount them on top of the slab?

How do pole bars with dirt floors stand up for decades? Are the poles treated in any way?


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## VIFmike (Jul 21, 2012)

difalkner said:


> Do you have any photos of your current setup and where you plan to build and add on? Sounds interesting...


I do not but I will take some. I am about to get up on the roof this morning and finish the decking so I can lay some tar paper and start laying shingles on the latest extension to the rear of the shop. 

I am working on building a 16'x10' shipping room at the back of the house. The hard part about this is I already work 6 days a week building items to sell. Been raising prices and cutting the fat to slow the orders down a little.


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## kreitzm1 (Nov 9, 2014)

I have an old shed I'm tearing down on m propert...the shed is approx 60 years old the walls and roof were constructed from various widths of 5 quarter planks...I want to use the reclaimed wood for some projects but before I bring it inside how can I be sure there are no termites or other damage cause insects in it? Is there something I can treat it with before storing it indoors?


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## Tennessee Tim (Dec 15, 2010)

VIFmike said:


> So you are saying that the treated poles in concrete will still rot?
> 
> So mount them on top of the slab?
> 
> How do pole bars with dirt floors stand up for decades? Are the poles treated in any way?


Concrete has an acid in it and if moisture is available it is more active....in MY experience I've seen more damages with concrete around posts than without....NOW that said, there is a lot of circumstances that surround these findings....IF a client wants posts in the ground I put a minimum of 6" of tamped rock for drainage in the bottom prior to setting the post and add some around the base......and I reccomend tamping dirt around or wrap posts with plastic and pour concrete if insisted.

How do pole bars with dirt floors stand up for decades? Are the poles treated in any way?[/QUOTE]

????Type of wood used as post..... amount of water in ground....they used to use chemicals we ain't even aloud to think about now. As I stated earlier...drainage is the key to survival of wood and foundations. 

Now maybe you understand why I prefer building on a slab...LOL.


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## Oakwerks (Mar 24, 2013)

Treated poles will not be affected by dirt.... It's when you trap them in concrete they stay wet,
and eventually rot.... I have seen this many times.....

Sent to y'all offen' a iPad thing......


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## VIFmike (Jul 21, 2012)

Ok, cool. I have a better understanding of these now. So the people that built the Morgan building poured the slab around the poles and then bolted them down to the floor. I wonder if the poles rotted underground and if they did will the rot come up the pole or will it stay below ground. The barn was there since 1995 from what the guy said. It looked great but heck I certainly could not see what was underground. Maybe they did not use any concrete and just relied on the bolting the poles to the slab.

By the way the poles they used were three 2x6s sandwiched together. They came up 2 ft and the seams where they met the top poles were staggered and bolted together. But they were not green so I don't know if they were treated or not. 


If I have to I will pour the beam of the slab around the outside first and then build on top. I also like the idea of a drain. My neighbor to the west is up hill from me so when it rains my driveway turns into a mud river. I guess I need to start with a French drain along that side first. Get the water managed first then do the rest. Hell the water coming down the hill has probably not helped the foundation issues the house had when I got it. Basically it was sliding down the hill. 

We had the foundation repaired but it was pretty warped so it's not level along the front of the house but it is stable and not getting any worse. At the downhill end of the house we dug it down 6 feet with a track loader and put in some 2 ft wide x 4 ft tall concrete blocks about 12 feet from the house and filled the area with select fill and packed each layer with the loader as we filled it up. That is the main reason the house is no longer moving. 

We also found that the drain in the bathroom under the tub was not hooked up. There was a new tub installed about 1990. We knew that because there was newspaper behind it dated 1990. The water had been running under the slab for years. The house had been sitting unoccupied for about 3 or 4 years when we bought it in 2010 so maybe the leak was that way for 15 years of someone living here. Either way the leak as well as the water coming down hill from the neighbor's house have both moved the house and the driveway a few inches East.

So back to the shop. I think I better look into pouring a beam along that side before I go any farther with the build. I am in the middle of adding a shipping room at the back of the house where the patio is right now. I have to finish that before I can devote my very precious little spare time to the shop. But I can get my buddy to get the drain dug and installed and start the beam.


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## difalkner (Nov 27, 2011)

It's just amazing how powerful water can be! Sounds like you have a lot to do to get where you want to be but you seem to have a good plan in place. Hope all goes well - keep us posted and put some photos up when you get a chance. David


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## VIFmike (Jul 21, 2012)

Yea. I guess I just assumed that treated posts concreted in the ground would be good. I see fences all the time that way but who knows how long they have been there. gotta do more research before I commit to the way it will go. I have 6 posts in the ground along one side but if I need to change it I can yank them up or cut them off and concrete where they are. Either way it looks like I have got to get some forms up first.


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*when I put posts in the ground...*

I do either of 2 things when I put posts in the ground.
Either way I always put a bed of gravel in first, then depending ..... I soak the bottoms in used motor oil, OR spray the ends with rubberized auto undercoating. Growing up on the farm in Indiana, I saw wood that had motor oil spilled on it and it lasted forever. I don't think a small amount that clings to the post is an environmental hazard, but it could be. :blink:
The moisture level in the ground would have a lot to do with how to treat the posts and how long they will last in such an environment. Post that are directly resting on concrete still rot if not mounted on pads or metal brackets to raise them up.


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## difalkner (Nov 27, 2011)

woodnthings said:


> I soak the bottoms in used motor oil...


Kind of a poor man's Creosote. There are thousands of hits on homemade Creosote from a simple search. Maybe that will work - I've never done it but RR crossties and utility poles seem to last a long time. Of course, there's no concrete involved in those but the wood lasts a long time.


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## kenkrizan (Jan 25, 2013)

I'll add my $.02 worth. I've been building pole barns for 25+ years here in Conn. and I use the 3 2x6s, bolted together and in the ground with no problems. I don't use lumber yard grade pressure treated lumber (this is .40 lb/cu/ft retention CCA lumber) but rather buy .60 lb/cu/ft wood. This is special order, but is easy to get (takes about a week and you need to order enough for the job- not 1 or 2 boards). It's rated for in-ground use. I use stainless hardware (either 18-8 or 304 grade) below grade.

Dig a hole below the frost line (48" here) pour in 8" of concrete, let it harden and set the pole on top. Brace the pole plumb and fill in the hole- like setting a giant fence post.

Ken


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## aloysius (Nov 19, 2014)

*Question*

Good morning . . I'm new to this site and have found this thread interesting reading. As a former architect and builder, my first question to you is how big is this building? And then, what is the span of those trusses? What will the roof construction entail? Because of uplift wind loading, where is the building located? Are you in any fault zones? Lastly, are you restricted by any building codes or HOA restrictions?

Two things that should never be scrimped on (or lessened due to budget constraints) are the buildings foundation and the roof!

As in most large steel frame (warehouse, storage, manufacturing) structures, steel columns can be bolted to the slab with anchor bolts embedded in a grade beam. Have you considered, if you don't want to pour a slab at this time, a ring or grade beam? You could then use a steel base bolted to the beam to hold your wood composite posts? Or, possibly, pour concrete piers and then anchor the posts to the pier with a fabricated steel (with appropriate gussets) base plate?

Here in central Texas, ground moisture can be a big issue with direct burial wood. Some of the earlier suggestions are valid and I have designed and built with most. However, besides moisture, termites can also be an issue. Yes, even with treated material.

Will be looking for more on this and please add progress photos.

Good luck, have fun and be safe.


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## VIFmike (Jul 21, 2012)

The building will be 20' wide and 40' long. The roof will be identical to the roof on my house. I plan to copy the roof trusses in my house. The roof will be the same with decking and shingles just like the house. I even have the original color code for the shingles on the house. 

No fault line here, no HOA. I would NEVER EVER buy a house in an area with an HOA. No codes because I am outside city limits. There are codes for electric and standard codes for the county as far as where on the property you can build, height etc but since this is being built off my house it is considered an addition. The building will have a 12ft tall x 10' wide door at the north and south ends which are the 20' wide sections. the 40' sections are the east and west sides. It will be connected to my house on the east side. It is about 12 feet from my house on that side but I already have an awning there that will have to remain there until at least the roof is up. 

From what I heave read here about treated posts concreted in the ground I am now considering pouring a perimeter beam of about 2' below ground and 1' wide and about 8" or so above ground. Then tie the posts to this with brackets. Also understand that there is already concrete here. It's the original driveway. So to make the building I will have to pour on top of the original driveway with seams the same as they are now. The only drainage problem I have is on the west side where the neighbors property is higher than mine. I plan a french drain there to relieve that issue. If that does not do it I can pour a slab over to the edge of the property and give it a V shape so water runs down into my back yard. My back yard is lower than my house by about 4' But its also 220 ft long and about 150 feet wide. Not sure about the width. I'd have to measure. But the length I know for sure. I installed a 200 ft zipline from the tree close to my house all the way to the back and had to add a piece at the end. 

I have not worked on this in a couple weeks as I am working on finishing up a side room I'm making out back where my porch is. I am using part of the porch slab for this room and it will be my shipping room. It's 16' long and 10' wide. I really have to finish it first to get my shipping guy (my son) out of the laundry room. My laundry room is 8' wide and about 12' long but it also has the washer/dryer, the freezer and a set of food pantries so it's cramped in there as we ship about 5 to 8 large packages a day. 

As soon as I get it done I will be back on the building. I have changed the design a little here and there and I will post those details here in just a bit.


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## VIFmike (Jul 21, 2012)

Ok, right now I have an awning off the side of my house that comes out 16 ft. There are posts bolted to the ground at 12' out. They are spaced at 8' apart. Those are what hold up the awning. But I added more post about 36" back from them so I could enclose the awning and add door frames between the posts. I was going to use the inner posts as the west wall of the building so it could be 20' wide. But then I decided on the east side to keep the wall 4 ft away from the property line instead of 2 ft. so that brings it down to only 18 ft wide. 

But If I were to use the original posts as the wall then all the floor area is already concrete. I would just need to pour a beam around the west side for the posts and build trusses from there. But then that makes it only 16 ft wide. However I would still have 12 ft over to the house that is under awning right now. I would have to change the awning to make it go from house to building. I haven't made a firm decision on this yet. I just know I need to have a 12 ft high door at least 8 ft wide at front and back in case I need to get a big truck in the back yard. I plan to make another building or an extension to this one back there in the future. 

The basic facts that won't change are this:

1. The west side posts are already there whether I use the inner ones or outer ones. There are 6 spaced 8 ft apart. They are bolted to the concrete in a steel base that has 4-3/8"x 5" concrete anchors per post. 

2. The east side posts are concreted in the ground about 8" outside the slab for the driveway also 6 of them spaced 8 ft apart. Due to what you guys have said I will need to either replace these or form a beam around and pour then bolt them to the concrete with brackets. so that nothing below ground level will be holding up the structure. 

3. The roof trusses will be hand made by me with plywood braces glued and screwed on the joints. These will be made exactly like the ones in the roof of my house so I don't have to engineer a new design. The only difference is mine will not have the nail plates but rather plywood braces. I would think mine will actually be stronger. The question there is space them 16" apart like in the house or 24" like people do in shops. 

4. I have to leave the awning up while I do this because it's where I do my work for my business. I have to stay under a roof to stay our of the rain. I also have to build the building where it is, by hand myself, a little at a time because I can't afford to build one from the ground up in the back yard and/or pay someone else to do it. I have no credit, not a lot saved up and would much rather build it as I go. 

So, I better make decisions on final width, the beam where the poles are etc and get my ass in gear. It's been very cold here, well below normal temps so I have not been working on the shipping room. I pulled a muscle last week also so I had to take Sunday off. Plus I'm shipping orders late right now so I will have to catch up also. I can probably get in about an hour a day on the shipping room during the week and burn either Saturday or Sunday working on the shipping room until it's done. I have until about February before it starts to get too cold to work outside here in the Dallas area. After that the weather will severely slow my woodworking for my day job. So if I get the frame and roof up I am out of the rain. Then do the walls one at a time and get it enclosed by Feb I should be good.

I know that's a lot to read. So what do you think? I am not a carpenter or an engineer so I have to avoid some things here. But I know I can do this. I have a buddy that used to frame houses. He said I did good on my awning. By the way I tied the runners down with hurricane ties on that in case of strong winds.


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## TomC (Oct 27, 2008)

I believe it has already pointed out but all treated wood is not rated for ground contact. You need to buy treated wood rated for ground contact if it's going to be in contact with the ground.
Tom


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## aloysius (Nov 19, 2014)

*Concerns*

Mike,

I have to admit that I find it difficult to read and absorb all you have written here. Obviously, like all of us, you are deeply involved with your project and it's more difficult for the rest of us to have the same mental picture of what see.

My one caution to you concerns those trusses. First you mention building them just like the ones in your house. Then you say that they will be 24" on center instead of 16". Obviously, engineered trusses use many factors (including loading conditions) in their design. Changing anything (loads, spans, centers, slopes, etc.) can radically influence their design. Constructing them yourself IS possible. I only caution you to have a structurally knowledgeable person (engineer or truss manufacturer) check the suitability and sizing of your design for the final structure. Glued and screwed plywood joints MAY work BUT, they will not work exactly the same way those clinch plates do.

And . . . I'm sure you know this already . . . be careful of what you may find on the web . . . there is a lot of bad, or at least misleading, information one out there . . . you, your family, your guests and friends need to be safe. Rely only on qualified professionals to guarantee your buildings', and therefore your own, safety.


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## troyd1976 (Jul 26, 2011)

*gravel around the posts?*

Maybe no one's mentioned this because its a bad idea with such a large structure..but many times around here (heavy clay base soil) when it comes to decks its common place to dig below grade, tamp a gravel bed for a treated wood post than backfill the hole with gravel. Yes this would allow good drainage..but would this also allow too much movement in this application?


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## VIFmike (Jul 21, 2012)

Ok, the latest update on this:

I have not worked on the shop lately as I have to finish the shipping room first. Gotta get that done so I can get my shipping guy in there. That room is on a slab out back of my house sitting on posts in the corners and mid way down the long sides. The floor is treated 2x6 on 16" centers. The floor is treated floor decking screwed down to the 2x6s with exterior screws. I just framed two walls and and the other two to go. Gotta make a decision on insulation pretty soon. 

As far as the shop goes I am researching the treated timbers I have in the ground now. They are made by Yellawood and their website says they are rated for ground contact. Not sure if that means in the ground or above. Gotta get in touch with them on it. So I won't be doing anything on that until I know for sure. 

As far as the trusses go the plan was to see about whether to do them on 16" centers or 24" centers. I never said I was for sure going to do them on 24" centers. I have to determine which set of poles to use as my wall. I can do one set or the other. The narrower set allows the trusses to be the same width and dimensions as the ones in the house. If I make them with glued and screwed joints they will be stronger. No engineer needed to determine that. However there are several websites and forums dedicated to making your own trusses with experts giving advice. Do nothing determined for sure there yet either. 

Still need to post a pic of my posts to show what I planned. Still have plenty of time before I get back on the shop project.


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## VIFmike (Jul 21, 2012)

This is what I put in the ground.










These are made from "yellawood" treated 2x6s that I planed down to where 3 of them are 4" thick. I then ran them over the table saw to get them to 4" wide and glued (TB III) and nailed them together before sinking on concrete. The longest piece is 4' long, the shortest is 3" and the middle is 3.5' long. 

Further research is being done now into pouring concrete around them. They are rated for ground though according to the website. I think I would feel better about them if I had them encased in concrete and bolted to the slab with bolts and plates. Don't want to trust them not to rot below grade.


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## VIFmike (Jul 21, 2012)

Ok it's been a while since I posted about this. I have been too far behind on work jobs so I had to let the posts sit for a while. Recently my oldest kid came to work for me and we started framing up this shop around these poles. To make the uprights we took some 2x6x12' boards and cut them down to 4" wide and then planed them down to 1.3125 thickness so 4 stacked equals 4" thick essentially creating a 4" square post, just like the treated ones concreted in the ground. We used TB III glue on all of it. Then we staggered them opposite of the ground posts. When we went to put them in they slid in like gloves. Then we just clamped, leveled and drilled the holes and ran bolts through. Like this. 










And in the front we had to do one different, like this...








\

Then when we got them all done we framed in the front and rear doors. We have to have enough room to bring a big truck in through the building as that will be the only access to the back yard. So the doorways are 12' wide and 12&1/2' tall. Two doors in front and two in back. each one 6' wide and 12' tall. Like this...










We are now building trusses for the roof. One a day when weather permits. More to come..


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## aloysius (Nov 19, 2014)

*Nice Work . . .*

Mike,

After following your project for a while . . thought I would show what we got done on my new workshop this past weekend. 

After we had earlier discussed your truss building, I finally got mine designed (see photo of model), spent 2 days precutting all the plywood joint connectors and diagonal members and (with the help of a friend), after the first one took 2 hours, we built each truss in about an hour. Takes another 3 hours to lift, plumb, brace and install 2 trusses and then add the 16" o.c. purlins. Span (wall to wall) is 24' and with a 9' outside wall height, the interior ceiling height is just about 10'-10" . . not including the 6" downward extension of the kingpost. Hopefully, I will be able to install an aluminum track and rolling trolley for handling large or heavy pieces.

Sure wish I could get out to our cabin and work on the shop more than just one weekend per month!!

Keep up the good work and sending out the photos. :smile:


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## VIFmike (Jul 21, 2012)

I haven't gotten to take pics of my trusses yet. It's been raining or snowing or both for a while now. The last clear day we had was Saturday and we used it to pour the beam around the posts along the west wall. This is the side where the posts in the pics above are. The ground is higher there and mud from my neighbor runs down on my concrete when it rains. So I poured a beam that is above ground about 6" in the front and about 10" in the back and about a foot deep and about 7" wide. When we pour the floor it will be poured right up next to this. 

I do have a CAD drawing of them though. They are 16' wide at the flat bottom and the two top pieces, forget what they are called, are 10' long each. I have about 6 made and we were making one a day after work weather permitting.









I made template pieces for the small pieces and the long ones I have measurements for. I have been assembling them on my 10' long 34" wide steel frame table. We have been using OSB and waterproof glue for the seams and screwing them together with plates on both sides. I have more pics I will post when I get a little time.


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## aloysius (Nov 19, 2014)

*Photos of my trusses*

















The design model of the trusses and what we got done before the rains started again!

Keep up the good work Mike!!


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## VIFmike (Jul 21, 2012)

I like those. They sure give you a lot of room under them. Hopefully you get some good weather too. We just had rain ice and snow for weeks. Not typical here in Texas. Looks like it's about to be clear for a while. Plus with time change we should be able to work outside in the afternoon after we quit work for the day.


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## VIFmike (Jul 21, 2012)

Well still raining here. We had a few days of clear but back to rain. Out of 21 days of March we have had 16 days of rain. It's supposed to rain all day today (Saturday) and into tomorrow. So no work outside until it clears up. We have been making more trusses weather permitting. So it looks like working inside the shop for the day. More to come


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## VIFmike (Jul 21, 2012)

Just finished the last of my 24 trusses. I also cut the ends off a little.


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## VIFmike (Jul 21, 2012)

Ok, I have a few more pics. I finally got the trusses up and the decking on top. This is before we cut off the awning. The awning was the first thing I built off the house and in this pic it comes out 4 ft out into the shop. On the other side of this wall it's 12 ft over to the house/garage. It would have been ideal to take the awning down first but that was where we were working along with two 10 ft x 20 ft canopies where this building is now. So we had to do it this way. This is from the back looking forward. The building is 16' wide and 45' long. The doors at the front are 12' tall and 6' wide. Inside the door on the right is a 4' wide and 80" tall walk in door. 










Then we cut the awning off. The next step is sealing this seam up along the right. It just needs to be temporary until we go from the shop over to the house and take the awning out. 










I also still have a lot of sheet rock and insulation to put up. The reason the roof and doors are so high is this building cuts off the back yard so if we ever need a big truck back there we have to have room to get it in. This next pic is from the front looking back. 










Still got a long way to go. Now I have to make trusses to go from this building over to the house.


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