Indiana Pole Barns Post Frame Buildings

 Indiana Pole Barns has constructed several Indiana post frame buildings.  

The following is some information about how we construct our Indiana post frame buildings and the type of lumber used. Indiana Pole Barns and other quality post frame construction use pre-engineered buildings using 7.5', 8', 9', or 10' post and truss spacing. Well-engineered buildings have light, strong frames. The trusses are built with "machine stress rated" lumber (known as, MSR). 

MSR lumber means it has been tested by a machine that tests each board for stiffness, bending strength, and compression grade. This test is followed by a visual inspection for knot spacing and wane. The board is then stamped with its engineering value. Truss engineering requirements generally allow for MSR 2x6 trusses to replace a visually graded 2x8 truss. Some builders construct their post frame buildings with trusses 4' on-center (the posts remaining 8' on center), and use trusses built with non MSR lumber. In addition, they lay their 2x4 roof purlins flat and nail them with #16 nails. The engineering of the better building companies, typically specify that the 2x4 roof purlins be on edge and fastened to the truss with a 6"ring shank nail - nailed through the entire breadth of the 3 72" purlin. This "on-edge" purlin arrangement and fastening system to the truss, is extremely strong. I weigh 200 pounds and have walked across many 2 x 4's spanning 8' or 9', because the purlins are "on edge". This is something I would never consider doing with 2x4 's laid flat. Post Frame Buildings have to support live loads and dead loads. Live loads include snow on the roof, pressure from winds, rain or seismic forces, or people up in a loft. Dead loads include the weight of the building materials, or a ceiling attached to a truss. Well-designed buildings can support more live weight because their dead weight is less. They have been constructed using lighter, but stronger materials. Our trusses have a minimum of 25 pound per square foot roof loading capability. All the trusses used in our post frame buildings, including the two end wall trusses, are fully engineered trusses. We do not use rafters on the end wall. All ground contact lumber used in our buildings (posts and splashboards) are treated according to AWPA specifications for that particular application. Many economy builders use treated lumber that is not rated for "in ground" use. Treated lumber sold at the large retail chains typically is only suited for above ground use. Indiana Pole Barns is also pleased to offer more environmentally friendly options to placing treated wood in contact with the ground, are available, with enough chemicals to achieve a .6 rating, which is more than the 0.4 rating on lumber sold in most retail stores. 

Here is some information about the metal we use. Our standard Indiana post frame buildings come with a building panel that is engineered for strength, longevity, and quality appearance. The strength comes from the fact that we use Grade E, 82,000 pounds per square inch tensile strength full hard steel. The following ASTM chart shows the relative strength of the various steel grades:  

GRADE TENSILE STRENGTH psi = (lbs. per square inch) >

 E .....................................82,000 psi

 D ....................................65,000 psi

 C ....................................55,000 psi

 B ....................................52,000 psi 

 A ....................................45,000 psi

 “Nonstructural” Commercial Quality..... .... 30,000 psi Some builders use a grade D or a lesser nonstructural commercial quality steel. These post frame construction builders try to compensate for this reduced strength with a heavier 26 gauge (0.019”) panel. The 29 gauge (0.015”) at the higher strength provides for greater relative total strength as this engineering calculation shows: Strength per 36” width of panel Indiana Pole Barns: 36 inches x 0.015 inches x 82,000 lbs. = 44,280 lbs. inch2 Others: 36 inches x 0.019 inches x 30,000 lbs. = 20,520 lbs. inch2 The stronger high tensile panels provide for greater rigidity and greater load carrying capacity with greater resistance to damaging weather such as hail. Larger building spans, bay spacings, building lengths and eave heights are possible. The stronger grade E provides for greater shear strength, thus greater diaphragm strength which means greater building strength for better wind resistance. This metal remains rigid across an 8' span. We have used it as ceiling metal, spanning trusses 8' apart, and holding R-38 insulation, and the panel remains rigid with no deflection. The panel is screwed to a 2" x 6" on the walls, spans 31", and can withstand 90 mph winds. The panel is screwed every 2' on the roof, and can support 118 pounds every square foot. To improve longevity, we use Kynar 500 paint on our metal. Kynar paint is made of 70% PVDF (fluoropolymer) resins that are highly resistant to chalking and fading. Also, the Kynar paint (like Teflon coated pans) is not attractive to dirt particles and will be easier to clean. The Kynar paint has a 40 year warranty and offers 50% more protection against fading compared to the 30 year warranties offered by most silicone or polyester paints. Kynar paint will maintain a brighter, fresher appearance for a longer time. We improve longevity, by cutting all wall and roof metal to the exact length at the factory. We do make cuts with snips in the field for the angle of the roof pitch, and for all the openings around doors and windows, but try to cover as much of the cut as possible. Angle cuts in the top of the gable wall are completely covered with rake trim. Cut metal around windows and doors are covered by j-channel trim. To improve appearance we fasten all our metal siding and roofing with painted screws and rubber washers. We also use a mesa panel that is designed to hide the lock (or edge) where one panel overlaps another panel.