Post Frame Buildings are simple, economical and timeless. Some
people call these Pole Barns. Versions of these buildings have been
built for thousands of years. Whatever you want to call it, when we
are done, the building will be nice.
The
foundation of a Post Frame Building is the 5"x5" wood post (or 6"x6"
on request) going 3 feet into the ground. We pack the post in
gravel. By packing the post in gravel we get air circulation and the
pressure treated post will last longer. We don't pack the post in
dirt because dirt holds moisture, we don't cement the post in the
ground because the cement holds moisture.
If your building is going to be built next to a water well, we can
add post protectors to keep your family safe.
Post Frame Buildings can be built with a dirt or gravel floor. They
can also be built with a nice concrete floor. The concrete floor for
a Post Frame Building is called a "floating slab". The term floating
comes from the fact that the concrete floor will float between
summer and winter heights.
Typical construction letter and why you need one.
A
standard concrete floor for a Post Frame Building will include a 4"
rock base that has been finely graded; a 6 mil thick poly vapor
barrier (this keeps the floor from sweating); concrete wire mesh
(this adds both compression and tension strength); and at least 4"
thick concrete. We then cut in control joints while the concrete is
still green. This formula is good for a 28,000 pound motor home
sitting on six tires.
Concrete does three things: It gets hard, it shrinks and it cracks.
By cutting in the control joints while the concrete is still green,
we are telling it where to crack. By doing this, we get straight and
clean expansion joints. This gives your building a professional look
to it.
Post
Frame Buildings are typically insulated with Solar Guard. Solar
Guard has a conventional R-10 insulation value, it also includes
Low-E reflective insulation. Past experience has been that the Solar
Guard makes for a well insulated building that is comfortable in
both winter and summer.
Even if you plan to never heat or cool your building let us put in a
roof condensation control blanket. Double Bubble for the roof is an
economical solution. The purpose of a condensation control blanket
is to keep it from sweating. Any enclosure will sweat once when
there is a temperature difference more than 25 degrees. Insulating
these buildings will stop that. If a metal building is not
insulated, the sweating (water dripping from the ceiling) is a
nuisance in the short term, and a real problem in the long term.
Sweating will shorten the lifespan of a building.
These Post Frame Buildings are great for oversized detached garages.
Shops, man caves, outdoor rooms and storage of big toys are all
common uses.
Post Frame Buildings are best suited 20'-50' wide.
Trim and appearances
OMB uses a thicker 26 ga trim for the Eave on our Post Frame, Stick
Frame and Simple Home buildings. This is a feature that no other
Arkansas wood metal building company includes (to the best of our
knowledge). How straight the trim is at the top often dictates how
well the overall building looks. The standard 29 ga trim that other
companies use looks wavy on most buildings. Deflection is the term
an Architect would use. Cheap looking is how most customers would
describe it.
Having decades of experience still doesn't help when dealing with a
flat piece of 29 ga trim that is 20' long. It is next to impossible
to get rid of all the deflection. Even by spending the time working
it, until it is perfect today, it will deflect over time. Our
solution is simple: by using the thicker and stiffer 26 ga for the
Eave trim, it does not deflect near as much. The fasteners do not
dimple the trim, plus you can make the connection tighter. The cost
difference between the two types is negligible; however, the
difference in appearance is night and day. Our trim simply looks
better longer. This is when $35.00 makes a huge difference on a
$20,000.00 dollar building. These are the small details that add up
to a great building.
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