Erecting a Pole Building

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When a concrete floor is planned, the topsoil should be stripped away and the area filled with bank gravel to a height 6" above normal ground level. This allows for a sound base and also helps in drainage. You might even wish to run some perforated plastic pipe around the base to further promote proper drainage.

Once the site has been readied, the building itself can be laid out and the poles set.

Layout and Pole Setting

Laying the building out begins by staking out the four corner posts, using the same method described in the preceding section. When measuring, subtract 3" from the width and length of your outside dimensions to allow for the side girts; thus, if your building is to be 20' X 24', stake it out 19' 9" X 23' 9".

Once your stakes are set and squared, you can begin digging your holes. The stakes, remember, represent the outside corner of your poles, so your hole should be dug accordingly (Fig. 4). The poles you will be using will be either 4" X 6" or 6" X 6"; to properly accommodate these, your holes should be 12" or 14" in diameter. The holes should be as deep as the average frostline in your area, and a minimum of 3' . In most cases, 3' to 4' is adequate.

Wear gloves while digging; posthole diggers can eat even the most callused hands. Use your shovel to dig as much as possible; then take the wrecking bar and loosen the ground and remove it with the posthole digger. If you don't relish digging the holes by hand, you could hire a power posthole digger, which you can locate through the yellow pages. Whatever method you use, be sure that any loose dirt is removed from the hole.

At this point, let us interject some advice on selecting poles. First, be sure that the poles you buy have been pressure-treated; shop around for those with the best guarantee. In buildings with dimensions of less than 30', 4" X 6" poles are used; for larger buildings, a 6" X 6" pole is better. Pick the straightest poles you can find. Some warpage is inevitable, but you needn't buy a pretzel. To determine the correct length, add the desired depth of the pole below ground to your eaves' height, plus a foot. For poles in a gable end, add enough so the truss can be nailed to them (Fig. 5). The poles are, in effect, the foundation of your building; choose them carefully.

You are now ready to set your corner poles. Before setting a pole, pour a third of a bag of concrete mix in the hole; this will act as a footer. Slide a pole in a hole and stand it upright. Use your 4' level to level the pole in both directions and attach it to braces (Fig. 6). Do not fill the hole at this time. Instead, set all four corners in this manner, checking the measurements and squaring from the inside corners of the poles. To move a pole, use the large wrecking bar as a lever and gently shift the bottom of the pole. When all measurements are right, there is one last squaring before filling the holes. Nail nylon string about 9" above the ground and stretch it tightly around all four poles, leveling between poles with a line level. Check to see that each pole is squared to the line.

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