A pole barn, or pole building, is the traditional name for a large agricultural structure without a basement, high ceilings and open space. Laminated wood posts are used in the frame, and today builders prefer the term back-framed construction. Pole buildings use wooden poles that are buried in the ground to support the building's load. These posts can be 4 to 6 feet deep in the ground.
A pole barn is a type of pole construction. This method uses metal, steel, or wood posts and cross beams to build sturdy structures that are reliable and adaptable. Commonly known as pole barns, these buildings typically have a column of laminated wood every 8 feet. These columns are connected by dimensional wooden beams sized to meet the load requirements necessary for the specific area, all of which support a roof made of trusses designed with transparent sections.
This simple design provides durability and balance, along with other ingenious features. While farmers have been calling them pole buildings for years, engineers and architects now refer to them as pole structures. Similarly, industrial pole buildings use steel frames in exactly the same way, with a roof design that copies the original. Storage buildings, caves for men, horse riding tracks, detached garages, equestrian buildings, workshops and many other applications can be completed with pole buildings.
Like many other innovations, buildings with poles originated from the need to reduce the cost of construction. Barns with poles are an ideal construction option for uneven terrain, and there is no need to level them before construction begins. Pole buildings don't require walls, but they can be open shelters, such as for animals or farm equipment, or for use as shelters for picnics. Today's barn pole structures are not your run-of-the-mill Depression-era barns, as they are now built to fit your style and needs.
The abbreviated name of these buildings was pole barn, which marked the advent of modern American pole barns. While they may have started out as barns and agricultural structures, today you are only limited by your imagination to use them to build poles. Because buildings with poles don't require an underground base for support, you'll enjoy greater flexibility, design options, and shorter construction times. Because the name leaves so much to the imagination, many people get confused about exactly what a pole building is.
The main difference is that when the pole building is finished, you may not be able to distinguish it from another type of construction. To make things easier, remember that postframe construction is the construction process that is normally used to create barns with poles.
