Erecting a Pole Building

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Site Preparation

A s in other building methods, before any actual construction begins, you will want to ready the general location of the proposed building, known as the building site. Site preparation for pole buildings is, in most cases, a fairly easy process.

The site for a pole building is generally considered to be an area that's 5' larger in length and width than the outside building dimensions. Staking and squari ng this area is done in the same manner as squaring the building's four corner posts, and for that reason, close attention should be paid to the following directions.

Pick an approximate place for one corner of your site area and drive a stake; this we will refer to as stake number 1. Next, measure the length or width of the area and drive stake 2. If you wish to keep your building square to an existing landmark, such as a road, driveway, or another structure, measure from the landmark to both stakes 1 and 2, making sure they are the same distance from the landmark. To locate stake 3, measure from stake 2 at as near a right angle as possible. To complete the location of your site, measure from stakes 1 and 3 at the same time, and at the point where the proper measurements intersect on your tapes, drive stake 4.

You now must check the site for squareness, and, as noted before, this is done using the same principle which applies to squaring the building.

For any rectangle, you can check the squareness by measuring the diagonals, which are the distances from corner to corner (Fig. 2). If the rectangle is square, the measurements of diagonals A and B will be the same; if they are not, the stakes must be adjusted so they become so. If, for example, diagonal B is longer than diagonal A, you can correct this by moving stakes 3 and 4 back toward stake 1, thus decreasing the length of B and increasing that of A. Proceed by trial and error until the diagonals are equal. It is important that stakes 3 and 4 be moved the same distance each time. A rule of thumb is to move stakes 3 and 4 one-half the difference of your diagonals; e.g., if your diagonals differ 10" in measurement, move the adjusting stakes 5".

It is important while squaring to occasionally check your measurements from stake to stake to be sure they remain constant. If you don't have two tapes, or if the tapes you have won't reach between your corners, a length of marked rope or twine will suffice, as long as you work toward making the diagonals equal.

Now that the site is marked, the task of preparing it for building arises. The main thing to be concerned with here is the leveling of the ground, either by removing the high spots, filling in the low, or doing a little of both. If you can't eyeball the site for hollows, humps, or runs, use some. twine and a line level as in Fig. 3 to help level off the area.

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