Also known as post and beam or post frame construction, pole barn building is a traditional construction method well suited to large, open spaces. Post and beam homes typically have open formats, high ceilings, and exposed beams, resulting in a rustic, yet modern, feel. When combined with contemporary building materials such as pressure treated wood and steel, pole barn construction is ideal for barns, garages, storage spaces, and agricultural and industrial buildings.
In pole barn construction the posts (the verticals, also called poles) and the beams (the horizontal structures) are typically exposed. Traditionally the posts and beams were attached to each other with mortise and tendon joints, but now metal fittings connect them. Old-fashioned barn raising involved gathering the community to raise the post and beam structure. It was a great system for building settlements in the New World.
Related posts
Before the 1830s all buildings erected by settlers in North America were post frame construction, also called post and beam or pole barn construction. Using broad posts and beams, this type of construction suited the heavily forested east with its settlements of many families to help with barn raising. It wasn’t until 1833, when the first “stick-built” building rose in Chicago, that other types of construction became commonplace in the New World.
Pole barns typically use 6×6 vertical posts placed eight feet apart. Horizontal beams span the posts. The posts and beams provide the structure of the building, as opposed to stick-built structures in which the walls are structural elements. Modern-day pole barn construction uses pressure-treated wood for posts, metal for roofing, steel for trim, and vinyl or steel siding. A regulating industry approves the wooden trusses.
Related posts
