Tag Archives: drywall ready

Raised Floor in Flood Area, Drywall Framing, and Water in Holes

This Monday the Pole Barn Guru answers reader questions about post frame with a raised floor use in a flood area, framing for drywall in a post frame house, and post holes full of water could be bigger soil issue.

DEAR POLE BARN GURU: Do you have a kit that can be used in a flood area to raise floor about 10 feet. RAY in HOUSTON

DEAR RAY: Yes we do – they are stilt houses and have to be custom engineered for each individual circumstance. Rear more here: https://www.hansenpolebuildings.com/2017/09/stilt-houses/

 

DEAR POLE BARN GURU: We’re considering post frame construction for our residence. I’m sill researching and learning. One big question I have is: why does is seem like most people are putting stud walls against the exterior walls of the structure? Are the existing walls not sound enough to support the weight of drywall or wood finishing? Is it necessary for running plumbing/electrical? Is it overkill? WILL in ISLANDTON

DEAR WILL: Congratulations upon considering post frame construction as your structural design solution. Sadly, most kit providers and builders are selling building shells based upon cheapest price, rather than meeting their client’s needs. With this low price, most often comes what is known as externally mounted wall girts – wall framing to support siding being attached wide face to wind on outside of columns. While this is quick, easy and takes little thought, it rarely meets Building Code requirements for meeting deflection criteria. There is a way to solve wall framing to be a one step process – bookshelf wall girts every 24 inches. This creates a very stiff wall structurally, provides an insulation cavity and requires no extra framing to add interior finishes.

 

DEAR POLE BARN GURU: Holes for barn posts were full of water. Installed drain tile and water ran off. Now the post holes are very soft and I don’t believe they will support the structure. Ideas? STEVE in Michigan

DEAR STEVE: If you place a 2×4 vertically in a hole and push downward on it and it just keeps sinking, you have a challenge going on. Your best solution then is going to be to hire a geotechnical engineer to visit your site and do a determination of how to adequately support your building based upon actual soil conditions. It may be able to be solved by use of larger diameter footings, or use of rebar within your slab (tied to columns), piers down to solid bedrock or some combination of these. Your building will only be as strong as your foundation, so this is not a place to mess around or guess.

Should your 2×4 above only go down a few inches, then you only need to remove loose soil at bottom of holes and pour concrete pads as indicated on your engineer sealed plans.

 

Plans only? Girts Placed Correctly, and Sheeting

Engineer sealed pole barnDEAR POLE BARN GURU: Hi, do you sell pole barn plans without material kits? I’m interested in pricing a set of plans from you and procuring my own materials. If that’s a service you can provide please let me know. I’m looking to get a plan set for a 40’x45′ pole barn.

Thank you, DAMIEN in PORTLAND

DEAR DAMIEN: Here is an article with all of the information you will need: https://www.hansenpolebuildings.com/2017/06/pole-building-plans-sale/

 

DEAR POLE BARN GURU: my side wall columns are 4 ply 2×8’s and are a little over 7″ deep. My commercial girts are 2×10’s(9.25″). The girts are extended past both the skirt board and the 2×4 at the top of the wall by 2.25″-1.5″=0.75″.> How is this supposed to work? RICK in LUCEDALE

DEAR RICK: Place the girts so the outside of the girt is 1-1/2″ past the columns, any excess will be to the inside. When you sheetrock, the drywall will be attached to the girts and go right over the columns. See Chapter 29 of the Hansen Pole Buildings Construction Manual, most common mistake #4.

 

DEAR POLE BARN GURU: Does a residential pole barn home require exterior and roof sheathing? And if not required, would you recommend osb or plywood sheathing?
Thank you, JOE in SANDY RIDGE

DEAR JOE: If the siding and roofing are both roll formed steel panels, then no other sheathing would be required, unless the load situation is such as to require sheathing under the steel for shear resistance purposes. You should, however, be using Building Wrap under the wall steel and make some sort of provision for condensation control under the roof steel (either a radiant reflective barrier, sheathing with 30# felt, Condenstop/Dripstop or closed cell spray foam as examples).

As far as product – unless you are counting upon the sheathing being the holding point for the screws, OSB will do everything you need it to do.