Tag Archives: office space

Garage with Office Space, Condensation Control in Loft, and Wall Insulation

This Week the Pole Barn Guru answers reader questions about a two-car garage with a loft for office space, a non-insulated, cold storage loft, and wall insulation solutions.

DEAR POLE BARN GURU: Hello. Wanting to build a two car garage with loft that I could use as my office. Would like this adjacent to my house at the end of our driveway. Looked at a few pictures on website but not envisioning ideal setup. Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated! Would need bathroom in it too. Could have office on back of building with no loft of that would be easier. Thanks! LUKE in NEWTON

DEAR LUKE: For your application, provided you have space available, one level is nearly always more cost effective and much more usable. Building height does not have to be increased beyond what is needed for your garage door(s) with one level and no space is chewed up by stairs.

 

DEAR POLE BARN GURU: I am building a 30×32 pole building with attic trusses. I plan on having the walls Tyvek wrapped and insulate the bottom floor so i can heat it on occassion. Upstairs is going to be open storage with no insulation. My question is should I have some type of vapor barrier on the roof metal? I am seeing lots of bad reviews on the double bubble barrier but do not know if there is an alternative. Thanks SHAUN in BLAIRSTOWN

DEAR SHAUN: Radiant reflective barriers do need to be entirely sealed in order to be an effective vapor barrier. They also have a history of having facings flake off.

Order roof steel with an Integral Condensation Control factory applied, vent eaves and ridge in appropriate proportions.

 

DEAR POLE BARN GURU: I have a 36 x 56 x 16 ft pole barn with 4 ply 2 x 6 posts, and have installed Therma shield/cougar shield to the roof purlins and wall girts before installing metal. Now that I have a vapor barrier on the outside should I just install unfaced batts in the walls? What about filling the gaps between the 2 x 4 girts, I plan to put OSB on the bottom 8′ and metal on the upper 8′. Thanks RON in FRANKLIN

DEAR RON: Install 1-1/2″ thick Rockwool Comfortboard between girts and Rockwool batts to fill balance of wall cavity. No interior vapor barrier. Please keep in mind, your building will now ‘dry to the inside’ so expect to have to mechanically dehumidify.

Wintertime Pole Building Dreaming

It’s not even December and I’m already tired of pushing/shoveling snow.  But strangely, there is something about the wintertime which is somewhat comforting.  My wife and I live by a lake in the mountains where most folks around us retreat to the city when the snow flies.  Like relatives, we happily welcome our summertime friends in the Spring and just as happily wave goodbye in the Fall.  Winter brings time for “holing up”, reflection…and planning.

This is the time of year when the number of clients asking for quotes on pole buildings rises terrifically.  Folks are not exactly thinking in these terms, but it comes down to, “What in my life will be better with a new pole building?”  If you are not thinking in this direction, you should be!  After all, your new building should be built to serve you, make your life easier in some fashion –or to make or save you money over the long haul.

Maybe you want to start a new business, or your hobby (not your hubby!) has outgrown your bedroom or small house office space.  If you are tired of the monthly rent or lease payments going towards someone else’s equity or retirement income – all these are great reasons to build a pole building and “bring it home”.

You’ll have control over your own destiny…be your own boss. No more worries about not being able to control or deal with neighboring tenants in a rental unit.

Need a place to do extensive craft work, woodworking, ceramics, ride your horses or whatever you like without going so far as your own backyard? And isn’t it great to have a place to go where you can just “spread out”, make a mess and really get into a project without worrying about cleaning up each time.  The best part is…it will be just as you left it when you come back to work on it again!

One of my friends took her hobby out of her house and into a new pole building for her eBay “hobby”…and the larger building paid for itself in less than a year! Or – to go a step further – how about an extra income stream?  By constructing a building (or buildings) which can be leased out to tenants, you can have income every month.

Sometimes the limits to what you can do are only limited by your creativity and imagination.  One of our customers is currently finalizing all the specifications for 23 pole buildings (yes, that’s 23!).  She and her husband are planning a new campground in New York – and can’t wait to get started.  They had the land, and the county saw the opportunity to increase local revenues.

Building rent and/or leasing can range from self -storage units to office space, manufacturing to warehouses, strip malls to horse barns and arenas.

Commercial buildings we’ve done have included buildings for an eastern state prison facility, Les Schwab Tires, Sun Mountain Lodge and the Nature Center for the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo.  Again, the variety is only exceeded by your imagination!  So put your feet up by the fire this winter, grab a cup of hot chocolate or cider and plan the pole building of your dreams.