Post 'n Beam vs. Pole

[Fawteen]

I dug mine with a small backhoe. As I said, you need to get below frost, and 2-1/2 feet won't do it. The other advantage is the extra width of the hole gives you some fudge room when setting the posts so you can get the building square and the centers precise.

As for treated lumber rotting in the ground, when I built my new barn, I tore down a "temporary" shed that had been there for 15 years. The PT 4x4 that came out of the ground looked like new, and I re-used them on the ell of the new barn.

I think the screened gravel and resultant drainage helped there, but I don't have a baseline to compare to.

Trying to make up for a post hole that's too shallow by pouring concrete around the post just makes the problem worse. If it wasn't under a snowdrift right now, I'd get a picture of a deck my neighbor built. He put 4x4's down about two feet and poured concrete around all of them. It's heaved so bad, it's nearly torn itself off the house.

[idaho04]

Thanks everybody for valuable advice.

[Argee]

Handsome looking barn Fawteen. What's the footprint? I'm guessing 12' x 24'. Am I close?

[Fawteen]

Like the sailor said after he ran over the rope with a lawnmower, "Frayed Knot!"

Main building is 20x32, Ell is 10x28. The dimensions for the main building were determined by how much stuff I wanted to park under it, and rounded up to the "multiples of 4" rule. As a result, the loft will hold about twice as much hay as I use in a year. Ell depth was for covering equipment, length was determined by the position of the chicken coop.

Thanks for your nice comments on my 'umble efforts.

Idaho,

I'd go at least 40" deep and pref. 48". You can usually get a bigger auger for your digger. If not just dig them down to the desired depth with a posthole digger. As far as rotting off we've got some that are 30 years old and haven't rotted.

[SteveB]

Get the laminated posts with the bottoms CCA treated to .8. That's marine grade treament, won't rot in 2 of your lifetimes.

[idaho04]

I think I'll pour cement block/collar, anchor PT poles, fill with gravel. I'll go at least 3' deep.

I will need lot of poles for about 10 stall shed (120' of it) and then for 36x60 barn. My auger is pretty big for my tractor already, I am not sure it will make sufficient holes. I may use my attachable backhoe. I am afraid that my backhoe holes are going to be to wide for gravel filling.

I need to save money, everything goes into our house (per my significant other), we starting building as soon as the snow is gone, around May/June.

[AndyF]

>> I may use my attachable backhoe. I am afraid that my backhoe holes are going to be to wide for gravel filling.

You may want to check if someone will drill the holes for you. In my area, upstate NY, you can get people to drill the holes at a pretty reasonable cost. You just lay them out and they'll come out with a Bobcat and a hydraulic auger.

Another option is a longer auger on your post hole digger. If you have a 42" auger you can usually drill a 4' hole by burying the gear head. You'll have to do some clean-up with a hand-held posthole digger when you're done, but it doesn't take much time.

[SteveB]

This is an excellent suggestion. I hired a fencing contractor to come in and drill my holes with his bobcat. He did about 25 2' holes 4' deep. I never would be able to get a 2' hole or 4' depth out of my Brush Hog PHD (and it's not a cheapy either). He even belled out the bottom of the holes to 30" and brought a concrete truck in and poured the pads in the bottom of the holes. And he put the fill from the holes wherever you wanted. $500 w/ the concrete too. I figure that at $20 per hole with poured pad.