Will a pole building work as a shop/garage if heated?

[Brian Elfert]

I am planning to build a 40x50 pole building both as a shop and as a garage for a motorhome. Pole construction would be the cheapest, but would it provide the best insulation if the building were to be heated? Since the shop will probably have its own walls inside the pole building I could just insulate and heat the shop, but I might want to heat the entire building for working on my motorhome.

[David Hawxhurst]

you could insulate a pole building. its been done before. the real question is how much does it cost vs using a different building, say insulated concert forms. if your plans are to heat the place in the future i would insure that your floor is insulated and has a vapor barrier. i would also consider a heated floor system as they can be a efficient way to heat the building/shop. when poor your footers i would see if it would be possible to pour the footers and floor at the same time as this will give you one solid piece. concrete does not stick well to its self.

[Brian Elfert]

A pole building is the cheapest way to build a building for unheated use because it doesn't require as much wood or a foundation. There are no footers required with a pole building. You don't even have to pour a concrete floor right away. ICF would probably make a nice building, but not cheap. I would probably consider SIPs if I didn't do a pole building.I

I got a price around $42,000 to build this as stick built. A pole building might be as cheap as $20,000 without a concrete floor. Adding a concrete floor could be up to $10,000.

[Richard Cauman]

My shop is a 24' x 48' post-framed structure--a pole barn. I heat it quite comfortably with an old Harman pellet stove, and that's with a 12' ceiling. It's pretty well insulated, including 1" EPS foam under the concrete. It's not as cold where my shop is located, but still plenty cold. I would double or triple the rigid foam in Minnesota. It takes about 45 minutes to warm up the shop, although tool surfaces stay pretty cold for a while after that. I think it makes a great shop; the major reservation I have is that it's not as easy to hang heavy things off the walls--you have to plan ahead before you add drywall or whatever to skin the interior--since the poles are 8' apart there's no structure in between except the purlins, so you have to add in studs or ply.

I don't have interior photos, but you can see a construction slideshow at diypolebarns.com/richard in knoxville md. All my materials came from Graber in Indiana, and in Minnesota they may even have construction packages. The aforesaid website has a pretty neat calculator, by the way.

[Jim Laumann]

Brian

See my Minnesota shop thread here

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthre...pix)&highlight=

40x60x12

Pics, description of what I did - both good and bad....

Heat todate has been w/ a wood burner - may get the gas heater hooked up this summer/fall.

Hope this helps

Jim

Edit: Gas heater was an addition after my post was originally written.

[Jim Andrew]

I took an existing pole building and made it into a shop. Works ok. I could have had a better building if I had torn the pole building down and poured a foundation and framed up a new building, but it was very cost effective as the building was already here.

[Mac McQuinn]

I would check the Residential Code book for determining the requirements. There's a lot factors which come into play here.
Mac

[Troy Turner]

I used a radiant foil barrier for insulation. Keeps the heat out in the summer. If I was going to stay here longer, I would have had it spray foamed. I think the initial cost is a little high, but gives a good rf factor for heating and cooling. Not that it gets cold down here like it does up there, but I used a shop heater to heat in the winter. There were days when it was below freezing (10-15 outside) and I could keep the shop around 65. It's a 14x18 with 8' walls and open ceiling.

[Jim A Walters]

I have a Minnesota shop much like Jim L's. 40x64x16 pole building with fiberglass insulated walls, steel on the interior walls and ceiling with blown insulation in the ceiling. I heat it with propane using a radiant tube heater on the ceiling running the length of the building. I keep the thermostat turned down when I'm not in the shop. When I go in I bump up the thermostat and feel the radiant heat in about 5-10 mins. It works out well and I don't use that much propane in a season, but then I'm not in the shop full time.

What I'm really surprised at is how cool it stays in the summer. I'm careful at keeping it closed up when it gets hot outside and I run a dehumidifier to keep the air dry. When we get into the hot, humid 80 and 90 degree weather in the summer the temp in the building stays in the 70s. I have a rather large shade tree on the south side which I'm sure helps.

So, yes, pole buildings can be efficiently insulated and it works quite well in our Minnesota climate.

Jim

[John Keeton]

My shop bldg is a 40x24 pole barn, with 24 x 24 being the shop. That portion is insulated with closed cell foam spray (2") walls and roof. I studded the shop portion and applied OSB to 8' just to provide wall space to hang stuff. I keep it heated thru the winter with 220V baseboard heat - three 4' units. Cost is about $90-100/mo Dec - Feb.

I tried heating it only when I was going to be in the shop, but found little difference in cost because of the large thermal mass of the floor and cast iron machines. I keep it about 55* or so.

I am happy with it with two exceptions. The door and windows leak during a blowing rain and I have been unable to correct that. It isn't a substantial issue, but an aggravation. And, I would consider a split heat pump rather than the baseboard heat. I will add that KY has very low electricity costs, so my heating costs may not be comparable for you - plus the more northern climate.