[5 Essential Tips] Before Buying a Pole-Barn

Before embarking on the journey of building your own pole-barn (or having it built for you), you have some preliminary work to do to make this process go smoothly. This guide is designed to make your project easy to design, and to expedite your build process.

1. Clarify Your “Why”

If you are reading this guide, then you likely have already decided that getting a pole-barn sounds like a good idea. And we agree! But, only if you have a good reason for it. Before you clicked on this page, you may have decided that you would like a pole-barn. But have you honed in on why you want a pole-barn?

Is it because pole-barns are cool? Or the fact that your neighbor just got one? Both are valid reasons, but they will do little to help you make key choices about your desired pole-barn.

Here are some “why”s that seem more wise to us:

For my work, I need a good workshop
We have vehicles that need to be stored in a garage
I have agricultural supplies that need to stay dry

So what is your why?

2. Choose Your Site

Now that you have a pretty good idea about why you would like a pole-barn, the next step is to decide where you would like to put it.

Remember that old real estate adage: location, location, location? Although it is very useful to think of this saying as an emphatic way to say location is important, it also has the dual meaning to describe three levels of a desired location.

We like to rephrase these desired location levels as the following questions:

1. 1. What land?
  2. Which part of that land?
  3. What orientation should the structure be in?

It is your job to answer these questions for your site.

What Land?

The answer to our first location question is fairly obvious to many of our pole-barn builders. Land you already own.

However, that is not always the case. Maybe you are renting space for your commercial business. What should you do then? Ask your lawyer – we are not the experts on that.

Which Part of That Land?

For our second location question you must consider various environmental facts:

1. 1. How accessible is this piece of land for my uses?
  2. Is this piece of land able to have large and heavy pole-barn supplies delivered to it?
  3. What amount of work will it take to prepare the site?
  4. Are there any trees or large rocks that will need removed?
  5. How much excavation will be required?

Once you have determined the answers to these questions, you should be ready to start basing the rest of your pole-barn design around this specific piece of the property.

What Orientation Should the Structure Be In?

And our final location question must have us consider the orientation of the pole-barn. For instance, garage doors should probably point towards where the equipment and vehicles will be entering and exiting, and have plenty of clearance to make any needed turns.

Also, if you wish to use your pole -barn for leisure at any time, consider things such as where your windows may be facing, what time the sun would hit certain parts of the building, and if there are any other factors that may make you desire a door or window in any specific direction.

3. Determine Your Dimensions

No, not your belt size. Your pole-barn dimensions.

Almost all pole-barns are rectangular structures, so let’s just assume that you want to keep with that. This means that there are three primary dimensions to determine: height, width, and length.

When we are talking about the height of a pole-barn, we mean the height of the outermost walls from the ground. This does not include the additional height of the trusses or to the peak of the roof.

Height is a very important factor in pole-barn design as this will determine how tall you can have garage doors. As a general rule of thumb, your wall height must be at least one foot higher than the actual garage door opening in order to accommodate all of the opening mechanism. So if you know you need a garage clearance of 9’ 6”, you will likely want to go with an 11’ or 12’ height.

The width of a pole-barn is how we measure how wide the trusses are. The most common truss sizes we get orders for are either 24’ or 30’, but many other truss sizes are available. Once again, determining your intended usage of the pole-barn first will help you determine this.

Finally, a pole-barn’s length is going to determine how many trusses are needed in the final design. The trusses have been engineered to be 4’ on center, so a typical length of a building will be divisible by 4 (i.e. 24, 28, 32, …)

4. Choose Your Features

A pole barn with only one door and no windows, skylights, cupolas, or porches is certainly an option. However, by adding even one more feature can transform your pole-barn into a truly multi-use facility that you enjoy working in.

First of all, consider which features are necessary for you. Typically this may consist of a garage door to allow equipment to be moved in and out and a regular entry door just for you.

But then consider what would make working inside of the pole-barn a more enjoyable experience, for example: windows and skylights to allow for natural light; or maybe some Pro-Cat blown-in insulation to keep your walls and roof temperatures more comfortable.

And finally consider the style of your pole-barn. Would you like one or more cupolas to allow for ventilation and add to the charm? How about an awning over an entrance? Or some decorative trim?

After that, don’t forget to check out our metal roofing and siding color chart to start thinking about what color you want your roofing, siding, and trim to be!

5. Call Keystate Metals' Pole-Barn Team

Once you have a solid idea of what you think you want your pole-barn to look like, what size it should be, and where you want it, give Keystate Metals a call and ask for the Pole-Barn Specialist on duty.

They will talk through your pole barn design with you and make sure that you have considered all of your options, and will most importantly answer any questions you may have.

They will then prepare a customized quote for you that includes the bill of materials, a mock-up of your structure, and the overall price.

If you are looking for someone to build the pole-barn for you, or if you are just looking for help on parts of the building process, check out our trusted contractor list and give one of them a call today!

Sam Griffith