Pole barn interiors (1 Viewer)

[Mudder]

Let me start by saying I know nothing about framing/interior work when it comes to stuff like this. I've been doing research but figured the mind of 'Mud would be more helpful.

Having a pole barn built that's going to also act as a garage and a shop, I'm wanting to insulate the walls at least and use sheetrock to finish it so it looks good. What would be the best way to build a framing system inside that will work for insulation and electrical? And what type of insulation would you guys recommend? I'm doing all the work myself as I enjoy a good challenge.

This is currently what's been built. Shop is 40'x32'x12' tall. Both garage doors will be 10' tall as well. I believe one is 10' wide and the other 12' wide (been a while since I've looked at the plans).

 

[Michael B]

There are a few different ways to frame a pole barn for interior walls. Instead of writing an extensive dissertation on the subject, I would recommend talking to your builder first. Then we (the mud community) could answer any remaining questions. There are also several differnt methods to insulate your shop. Some are more cost effective than others. Fiberglass batting is usually the most economical. You should consider insulating the ceiling along with the walls and a mositure barrier is highly recommended, especially if you live in the southeastern US. I'm currently finishing the inside of my pole barn style shop and I won't be using sheetrock because I am too likely to knock a hole in it. My shop build thread is here in this fourm if you would like to check out how I am approaching some of your questions.

 

[Bob Morazes]

Looks good so far.
As far as the interior goes I would do T-111 plywood instead of sheet rock.
1 its lighter
2 no joints to prep, no nails to mud, no sanding and NO DUST
3. when wrenches and hammers go flying, the plywood will survive longer too.
4 you can stain versus painting. much easier in my opinion.

As for construction use the inside face of the 6 x 6's as the inside face of your wall.
In other words, frame your walls ( 16" oc or 24" oc) between the 6 x 6's
layout your stud spacing on the floor and then cut your bottom plates and top plates to fit between. lay the bottom plate in place and mark your stud locations.
nail or screw the studs to the bottom plate and stand the whole mess up.
Use a hammer gun to nail the bottom plate in place.
set the upper plate roughly in place then level and nail each stud,
Why you say.
Well your 6 x 6's may look straight and plumb but I bet they all aren't so by leveling each stud and nailing it to the top plate you can be sure that most of your wall is level.
when your done, run your electric, air lines or what ever else and your ready for insulation and the paneling.
Bobmo

 

[1911]

It's not really a do-it-yourself proposition, but I spent the money to have spray-in closed-cell foam insulation in my shop. My last shop had plastic-faced fiberglass batt insulation, and water was always condensing in that shop and I got surface rust on tools and anything left out very long. With the closed-cell spray foam, I don't get any condensation and the inside of the shop stays much drier. To save money, you can just coat all the inside with 1" and then do conventional fiberglass on top of that for more R value.

 

[Mudder]

I do appreciate the help. I should've included I do live in the eastern half of WA state. The reason for not dealing with the person building this is they've had an amazing lack of communication during the whole process and the sooner I don't have to deal with them the better.

Would it make sense to leave enough room behind the studs to run the electrical so there aren't any holes drilled or will that make dealing with insulation a pain? I do plan on insulating the ceiling as the roof will already have insulation.

I'm not against spending money, just trying to learn new skills for fun.

 

[Waorani]

Probably been asked/answered in some of the other recent shop threads but what's with all the pole barn construction vs metal building? Cost, lack of metal builders, etc?

 

[Michael B]

Pole barns are less expensive than typical stick built buildings and it is difficult to get red iron builders to engage in a smaller build such as a private garage/shop.

 

[Mudder]

Pole barn was around 45k while stick built was 120k minimum in my area. A metal building may have been comparable but this guy did all the earth work, permitting, concrete and building it. I work on the road and don't have the time to deal with all that.

 

[Bob Morazes]

I do appreciate the help. I should've included I do live in the eastern half of WA state. The reason for not dealing with the person building this is they've had an amazing lack of communication during the whole process and the sooner I don't have to deal with them the better.

Would it make sense to leave enough room behind the studs to run the electrical so there aren't any holes drilled or will that make dealing with insulation a pain? I do plan on insulating the ceiling as the roof will already have insulation.

I'm not against spending money, just trying to learn new skills for fun.

Exact why you use the inside face of the 6 x 6's as the face of the interior wall.
makes it much easier to add extra outlets in the future too.
Bobmo

 

[Mudder]

Got some more photos today of the progress. Looks like all I need to do is vertical studs for being able to finish the interior. Interesting to me that they laid the boards flat with the concrete and not flat with the siding.

Definitely hoping to be able to run electrical without drilling holes, if not I'll have to research the lumber code for the max allowable hole to be drilled.

Edit: looks like they're actually comedian girts (shows how little I know) should make it easier to finish without doing vertical studs unless those are still needed?

 

[sogafarm]

I've never seen framing like that, but if it works then go for it. I've always done traditional stick framing on structures either 16 OC or 24 OC vertical studs with horizontal blocking. The spray foam option is the best insulation value but it can be expensive, just do your wiring before you spray the insulation. What are you using for HVAC? Mini split heat pumps are very economical to run in an open space.

Got some more photos today of the progress. Looks like all I need to do is vertical studs for being able to finish the interior. Interesting to me that they laid the boards flat with the concrete and not flat with the siding.

Definitely hoping to be able to run electrical without drilling holes, if not I'll have to research the lumber code for the max allowable hole to be drilled.

Edit: looks like they're actually comedian girts (shows how little I know) should make it easier to finish without doing vertical studs unless those are still needed?

View attachment 2969359

 

[PIP]

I hate it when they run the 2x6's like that. On a pole building, you want the 2x6's to be attached to the outside face of the posts so the 6" direction is vertical. This installation allows the sheeting/siding to act as part of the structure of the building (which it is).

If he ran the 2x6's on the outside of the posts you could then frame your interior walls out with vertical 2x4's flush with the inside of your 6x6 posts. There will be a 2" gap between the inside of outer wall 2x6's and the 2x4's- This is a very good thing! You can use 6" fiberglass batts this way or (preferred) use 2.5" of closed cell spray foam. If you plan to use spray foam it's very important you install a vapor barrier under your siding if you aren't sheeting with plywood. If you spray the foam directly onto the backside of the sheeting you will never, ever be able to remove the siding for maintenance/repairs/modifications.

You would be amazed the difference spray foam makes over batt or cellulose. The spray foam 100% seals a building and stiffens the structure. No more drafts and no creaks in a windstorm.

The way your building's walls are frame out you will have to use 1/4" furring strips on the faces of all the 2x6's to sheetrock over the posts as the posts are 5-3/4", not 5-1/2 like the 2x6's.

I have sheetrocked the insides of 3 pole buildings. By the time you're all taped, mudded, sanded, textured, primed and painted you could have just bought the cheap 29 gauge magna rib barn siding in bright white and screwed it to the walls for the same price. The siding will last forever inside. It doesn't catch on fire. If you dent it you can easily replace a section if needed.

The neatest way I've seen it done is to use a dark color sheeting (like gray) low like wainscot and then have the metal rollers make you up a black beltline trip piece like a double rodent guard, but with a 6" wide flat in the center then use white on the top. You run all your outlets in the beltline trim so you don't have to run and time the spacing with the ribs in the tin.

You can run the tin sideways instead of vertical, but the ribs tend to collect a lot of dust and look poor after a few years.

Also, for interior walls you can easily get away with a very wide stud spacing. You can run screws on 4 or 5 foot centers and the walls will be plenty rigid.

For ceiling I would recommend 8" spray foam or do a drop ceiling and blow in cellulose. The white metal siding also works great on the ceiling as well.

EDIT: wanted to clarify that if your running sheetrock inside the vertical framed 2x4's are best because it will support the weight better and place the weight on the slab, not the posts. If you want to run vertical tin inside you'd frame horizontal. Hopefully that makes sense.

 

[Mudder]

I didn't talk too much during the planning stages, really just let the guy do the plans for what made sense for our climate and occasional high winds. As for HVAC, there won't be any changed my plan to invest in a good spray foam insulation with a barrier and some torpedo heaters in the winter to keep the shop decent. Maybe down the road it'll get some sort of HVAC but for now it won't bother me much. I have more projects that need to get done first.