pole barn house

Post Reply | Watch this Post

I too have been kicking the idea around of converting my 28x40 pole barn into a livable home.
Here are a few ideas I've come up with. Stress skin panels applied to the exterior after removing the steel siding. A cheap, easy and quick way to insulate and very effective.
Geo-thermal HVAC system. Cheapest way to heat and cool by far, new technology is bringing the price down.
Floors would be floor trusses affixed to the posts via a 2x10 purlin wrap-around,with center support beam and pylons, much like deck construction. The flooring would be t&g plywood or osb. The interior walls would be finished out with steel studs and driwall, the ceilings would be suspended tiles. all ductwork would be overhead, and I'm considering using a high velocity air handler. Again, more bang for the buck and greater flexibility.
The floor plan can be obtained by simply sitting down and doodling on 1/4" graph paper until you get what you want. 2 tools that will help here are a flow chart and bubble chart. The flow chart is simply a drawing of a series of boxes connected by lines with ideas that interconnect to help you bring clarity to your thoughts. Bubble charts are a collection of plans inside "bubbles" and arranged to come up with a whole plan. for instance: the master bedroom, if you dont have a definite idea of what you want, find a plan you like and copy it down in a bubble. Same with the kitchen, etc. Then arrange the bubbles until they fit your space limitations. Lets say you have a 30x50 PB, thats 1500 open sq ft under roof, enough for a nice 3 br floorplan, or you can incorporate a garage or shop into the plan. Steel studs and driwall can be placed wherever a wall is needed, but the wall between the garage and house must be fire-rated to code. In my plan, I used all the space to create a cozy 3 br 2 bath with an open kitchen, dining, living area and utility room. Since I have no kids, I may cut back to a 2 br plan and have a larger living space, I was considering resale in the 3 br plan. For the garage, a smaller pole barn, say 22x22, attached cross-gable would work for me. The space from the side of the garage to the end of the house would be a covered porch. to complete the renovation, I was thinking vinyl siding and a full width deck on the 28' end facing west. The total cost would depend partly on how wild or conservative the designer is, but in any case, it would be much cheaper that conventional housing, especially if you already have a nice pole barn as I do. In my case,it would be a "pay as you go" project.
I am an electrician and HVAC technician by trade with some construction background, so I dont see this as a big deal as long as you dont cut corners on the important stuff like the HVAC, plumbing and electrical. The house would be so tight and energy efficient that you could heat it with a wood stove or unvented gas space heaters and cool it with a 2 ton window unit if cash was tight, but you might have to have some means of air exchange because there wouldnt be any air coming around doors, windows or through the walls as in older conventional homes.
It all seems too simple to me and I cant imagine why others arent doing it.
One alternative to the stress skin panel system is wet spray cellulose insulation. You have to contract this process and I'm not sure about the cost, but basically, they come in and spray wet cellulose with glue type additives in the wall cavities and undersides of the roof panels. It is very effective as an insulation and vapor barrier and has no negative side affects. I would not use foam unless it has a written guaratee that it will not out-gas formaldehyde or other unpleasant chemicals or be poisonous in a fire.