Erecting a Pole Building

Enlarge Image Image Gallery

Article Tools

Image Gallery

Print

E-mail

Comments

RSS

Homesteading Handbook

It's a fact that can't be ignored: The cost of building is leaping skyward at a tremendous pace. In just the past ten years, building costs have doubled, the rise being attributable to the increase in both material costs and labor rates. And today's higher prices have forced many people to abandon the idea of erecting buildings that they both need and want.

That is the reason MOTHER decided to print this feature, adapted from the book Pole Building, by Norm Ecker, Sr., and Jeff Flanders. Norm and Jeff don't feel you should have to go without the garage, shed, or barn you need any longer. Pole building can save you money! For openers, you can knock 50°70 off the cost of a building by doing the work yourself. The simplicity of this method of construction allows even an inexperienced builder to erect a sound and safe shelter. With the proper tools, and using the systematic approach presented in the following pages, you can put up your own building and save hundreds, or even thousands, of dollars.

It's not just doing the work yourself that will save money, because pole building also conserves material. Pole structures don't require conventional foundations, which means you won't need to hire a backhoe at $20 an hour to dig a footer, or hire a mason at $15 an hour to lay block for the foundation. Pole buildings also use less lumber than do conventional structures, and at the price of 2 X 4's today, that material can add up quickly.

With this article, some simple tools, determination, and a little healthy. sweat, you can have that building that you were going to postpone or go without entirely. Norm and Jeff will lead you through the construction stepby-step, and when you're done, you'll not only have money in your pocket, but also the satisfaction of having created your own place.

One of the advantages of building a pole structure is that it requires only basic hand tools from the ground up. Most people will have a majority of the tools needed, but if you're missing something and can't borrow it from a friend, try a rental agency, which carries most anything, usually at very reasonable rates. The following is a list of the tools you will need:

[1] Posthole digger
[2] Handsaw (good and sharp)
[3] Chain saw (optional)
[4] A 4' level
[5] Nylon chalk line (200')
[6] Shovel
[7] Large wrecking bar
[8] Framing square

[9] Try square
[10] A good rule
[11] Tin snips
[12] Two 100' tapes
[13] Hammer
[14] Line level
[15] Circular saw

RSS | Comments | E-mail | Print