harleymsn,
Thanks for the quick reply. I do have quite a few questions though. Did you build the barn first and then run the power underground? That seems to be the way that Meriwether Lewis Power wants to do it. They will only go above ground with a pole near the proposed structure before construction, which is not what we want. We've got to run 600' from the powerline on the county road to the top of the hill where we want our barn, and a couple of powerpoles will definitely spoil the view, which is one of the reasons that we like the property so much.
My second question has to do with the foundation. I'm assuming that you poured a slab. Was it a monolithic type, or did it require footings, and if so how did that work with the poles for the barn set in the ground first? When they placed the poles for the barn, did they set them in concrete? Also, when you ran the soil pipe/vents and water supply lines, did you trench and lay these before the barn was built, during , or after? How hard was it to get the fall correct? I've never done it and am wondering how hard it is to do. Also how deep did you have to go?
I'm also curious as to what type of flooring you used. We're thinking about a Bella Wood floating type over the concrete slab, but I've never done it and am wondering how good this would be.
Sorry for the many questions, but I'm very interested in all of this. We are currently living in FL, and just closed on the TN property this week. We need to sell our house down here before we move and start construction up there, hopefully in the spring, and I'm trying to get ideas on affordable house construction.
Mike, Yes we did put up the barn first before the electric. Without a building the power company VEC (Volunteer Electric Cooperative) would only install a temporary service. The cost is $200 and they would not go further than 100' from the road. With having the building up, I bought the meter box from VEC (400 amp unit must be purchsed from them) and had it installed by a local electrician who also wired up the service panel. As I said before I rented a ditch witch and dug the 160' trench. I also purchased and installed all of the 3" sch 40 conduit and sch80 sweeps. I had contacted the phone company early and they dropped off a coil of underground phone cable. After the power lines were installed and hooked up, I covered the conduit with 1' of fill. laid in the phone line, covered that with another 1' of fill and then laid the marker line (Red plastic line...like a caution or police line) and then filled the trench in.
The slab was monolithic, I dug down below the skirt boards and poured a couple inches of 1/2" chip limestone, covered it with 6mil plastic and then poured 4500psi concrete with fibre. The pour was about 5 1/2".
As for the water and sewer lines, they were all done after the barn was up, but before the floor was poured. As for the depth and the fall, the barn was not intended to be the house so the septic, instead of being 5' from the house was about 40' away and downhill from the barn. I used a plumbers level which corrects for the flow or pitch depending on which side of the level is up. The recommended flow is I believe 1" per 8' in any event it is between 1 and 2 %. Because over the 40' there was actual drop of about 6 feet, I consulted with a plumber who advised that I do a mid line dump of about 2'. The lines under the building are actually running about 30" below the pad. We ran 4" pipe from the tank to just past the bathroom, the kitchen is tied into that section. We reduced to a 2" line for another 15' to the laundry room where we have a stationary tub into which the washer and the backflush from the water treatment system dump. This is a straight line run witha 45 degree bend about 15' before the tank.
Because of the ground pitch from the tank up to the barn we were able to do a 3' deep trench all the way.
BTW with a 600' trench for the electric, I would go with a larger riding trencher or a backhoe.
As for the floor, we have used commercial vinyl tile for the bathroom, kitchen and dining room. We have not finished the floor in the utility room, the living room or the wife's woodcarving room. We did carpeting with 1/2" foam padding in the bedroom and my office. Our plans were to tile the utility room, carving room and the halway, and then to carpet the living room. We have put it on hold until we finish putting the sealer coats on the log siding and T&G ceiling in the living room and carving room. We have been looking at doing a wood floor like what you are considering for the living room.
Oh as for the poles, the bottoms were set in dry cement, but all the poles were encased in Plasti-Sleeve.
Hope this has helped some if you have any more questions ask away. A word to the wise though, and that is to check with the local (county) codes and inspections. Our county has no inspections other than the state septic and electrical inspections, but your's may be different.
harleymsn,
Again, thanks for the info, it's most helpful. I just talked to a builder up in my area who said he can do a pole barn similar in size to yours for $10-12 / sq. ft., including concrete floor. But he also said that prices are wildly fluctuating in building materials due to the Katrina/Rita effect, so a quote today may not be good in May/June. I think I need to get a couple of more quotes in addition to his. Any way, there's alot to consider, and I appreciate your taking the time to answer my questions. I'm sure I'll think of more in the coming days.
When you say a builder in your area, I'm not sure if you mean Fla. or Tn. As for the price range, my 30x50x10 with the 5 1/2" floor came out to about 12k with my only real labor involved being grading the floor, filling and leveling the stone base ( did this all with my tractor) and laying the vapor barrier. That comes out to about $8 a sq ft. About $6 sq ft for the barn and another $2 sq ft for the concrete. National Barn usually guarantees the price for 3 months. I had actually signed the contract for this barn in Jan '04 and then asked to schedule the build for Sept '04. They honored the same price even though there were several lumber and steel price increases during 2004. Also note that you pay them nothing until all the material is on site. (1/2 on delivery, 1/2 upon completion ... no deposit)
On the quote for the new barn, it is 30x40x14 with a 10x40 shed, so it is really 1600 sq ft. The breakdown on the building without the concrete is $6.31 a sq ft.
If your quote is from a Tn. builder, I would make sure that you know the depth of the slab, wheather they plan to use fibre or steel mesh or both and then check with the local concrete companies on the price of concrete and what a finisher will charge. There are several concrete calculators on line to help you determine how much concrete you need.
harleymsn,
I meant my area of TN. I called National, and they seemed reasonable. I need to find a concrete company in my area of TN and find out about the concrete costs. I don't have a tractor yet, and will need one sooner rather than later. I will be sure to ask the builder about depth of slab and type of reinforcement, should I decide to go with him. $6-8 / sq. ft. sounds alot more reasonable than $10-12 / sq. ft. Thanks again.
Well, I finished the porch this week, minus the floor. We are gonna pour a concrete floor so we are waiting till April to do the pour. I used 4x6 Hemlock post, 2x6 hemlock rafters and the steel roof to match the house.
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