What type of structure did you put on your hunting land?

[Kwood]

Mennonite. We did everything you mentioned minus the drum. We have a very small electric baseboard heater in the pump house which is centrally located with good insulation. Never gets cold enough to freeze (even during our week of -10 lows this year).

If basement is designed for protection from tornado, etc, I’d suggest a small safe room bolted to the slab. In our garage it also doubles as our dog kennel.


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[Kwood]

not the best picture but you can see our 6’x4’ safe room in back left corner. We just strapped a kennel door on the front and the main door opens inside. F5 tornado certified and bullet proof.


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[Triple C]

Anyone put a basement under a pole barn cabin?

I’m 3-4 years out but working on design.

Plan to get the wood off the farm and the stones for fireplace/etc.

I like the cost and maint free considerations with the steel building

Bull...Can't see any reason for a basement under a pole barn. If you want a basement you'd prolly be better off with tradition stick built. Plus...like Chainsaw said, the oder one gets the less one likes stairs. I completely concur.

 

[Bullwinkle]

Good point guys. I have a neat spot for a walk out but plenty of room to go wide. Plus a basement might be expensive to dig with the huge rocks I have

Will need to rethink the design options

Thanks

 

[Kwood]

Bull, I have a good friend who did pole barn cabin like mine, instead of walkout they built elevated porch off back. Just a thought but that could also be cool.


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[Bullwinkle]

That would be cool

If I do two stories I can also put a bunk house and game room in the upstairs for the grandkids. This can work

Thanks

 

[Mennoniteman]

I did poly and 2 1/4" insulation under the concrete, then tyvek and continuous closed cell spray foam insulation around the entire building envelope, and thermalpane casement lowE egress windows in each bedroom. Casement windows are generally a little tighter than doublehung windows. In zone 6b it never gets colder than fifty degrees inside the polebarn without heat. Spray foam is expensive but worth it. Build your pole building with 16' eave wall height and scissors roof trusses, then do a second floor in part of it and leave the center open to the high ceiling with a fireplace and all your game heads on the wall.

 

[Bullwinkle]

Ever hear about water heat in the floor?

 

[Kwood]

Bull, I know a lot of people with in floor heat. It’s great, but higher maintenance. Not sure how often you will be there (or not). I agree with the closed cell spray insulation. Incredible stuff. We did all electric baseboard heaters and then a wood stove. Wood stove is all we use when we are there in winter but baseboard heaters are cheap and efficient. It’s a great combo.




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[Mennoniteman]

Ever hear about water heat in the floor?

You didn't read my earlier post, did you. When you do floor heat it's usually water, although there's a new system out that uses electric elements, but water with antifreeze is the most practical. You'll need a special non-condensing gas furnace to heat the water if you plan to let the cabin go below freezing when not there. If it's a very small building, you could heat the water with a regular hot water heater. Floor heat has only one downside but it's a huge one, it's very slow pickup. If you have it at sixty when you arrive in the evening you won't hit seventy-two until the next morning if it's cold weather.

 

[Turkey Creek]

Another great thing about pole barns for those still bow shooting is it is easier to afford to build one large enough to keep the bow muscles tuned practicing twenty yard (or longer)bow shots inside during the winter or rainy stretches of weather.

Their is a reason I am designing my new shop to be 68' long!

 

[catscratch]

You didn't read my earlier post, did you. When you do floor heat it's usually water, although there's a new system out that uses electric elements, but water with antifreeze is the most practical. You'll need a special non-condensing gas furnace to heat the water if you plan to let the cabin go below freezing when not there. If it's a very small building, you could heat the water with a regular hot water heater. Floor heat has only one downside but it's a huge one, it's very slow pickup. If you have it at sixty when you arrive in the evening you won't hit seventy-two until the next morning if it's cold weather.

That is the exact reason we didn't put floor heat in our house. I looked at it very seriously but our winter weather may have one day's high at 15 degrees, and the next 45 degrees. With the slow heat-up and cool-down times it could be very uncomfortable on any given day.

 

[Chainsaw]

We have in floor heat in our barn and it is hands down the absolute most comfortable heated building I have ever been in here in our climate. Warmup from a cold floor does take a while as Mennoniteman pointed out but with todays' technology adjusting the heat from off site locations takes care of that for people away from the site. If we were having another barn built, serious consideration would be given to installing in-floor heat piping before pouring concrete whether I planned to use the heat or not-just in case.

And while we are talking about in the floor, running pipes in the cement to act as chases for electric and water for in floor electric outlets, and electric and water to handle possible future building additions comes in very handy. And if you are designing your own electric we also planned in an extra circuit breaker box 35 feet away lengthwise and on the opposite wall widthwise which reduced making extra long wire runs for half of the building. And if you have a septic system, put the tank and field far enough away from the build so it won't interfere with any possible future additions. We hadn't thought of having the septic tank far enough away for additions but we just plain lucked out as there was just enough room for the sunroom addition that came later.

And then siting and drainage to accommodate such large buildings, and surrounding periphery ground as well as possible building additions is also very critical but that is another subject yet.

Turkey Creek, 68 feet is good for a twenty yard shot, our barns are 64 feet and that makes the twenty yard shot a bit tight, I should have went with 68 feet or longer. I see your wink that you are kidding me but when it snows for ten days or so in a row the inside of the barn becomes our physical world. It doesn't happen every year but it does happen enough. This is likely not even a remote possibility for others in more hospitable climates.

 

[catscratch]

Anyone pouring a slab might want to check into radon evacuation systems. Radon is odorless and colorless but can give you all sorts of fun cancer. My understanding from experts is that there is no way to predict it. One house may test no radon while the one next to it tests high. The evac system is simple and cheap to plan before the slab is put in.

 

[Mennoniteman]

Anyone pouring a slab might want to check into radon evacuation systems. Radon is odorless and colorless but can give you all sorts of fun cancer. My understanding from experts is that there is no way to predict it. One house may test no radon while the one next to it tests high. The evac system is simple and cheap to plan before the slab is put in.

Pole buildings with a properly installed layer of 6 mil vapor barrier under the concrete slab rarely need additional ventilation systems for radon gas because in this type of construction the air pressure from the soil under the slab can vent horizontally to the exterior of the building through the gravel base under the floor. Testing should still be done after the building is completed to be sure.

 

[Otghuntingclub]

So...my $.02 worth. I built a 30x50 barn on my property. I built traditional stick-built, 2x6 walls on a monolithic slab. That slab includes about a 30” deep foundation on the perimeter. I’m on all sand, and even though in Michigan, I’m on my third winter and no indication of settling. No cracking in the floors. My builder put a single row of blocks on the slab and built walls from there. All metal roof and sides and insulated and finished inside. For all intents and purposes, it appears to be a pole building, but with traditional walls, perhaps a little easier to finish inside. I’ve also got a 12x18 totally enclosed porch, insulated and finished inside with T&G pine. We’ve got a finished 20x20 “lodge room” finished inside the building as well, connected to the finished porch. We heat that with a single wood stove.

As my screen name indicates, we are OTG...off the grid. We are in an area were grid is available, but I’d have to run 600-700 feet from the road. For our deer camp, it really isn’t needed. The whole building is wired for generator usage, which works out fine. Eventually, I plan to add solar power with generator backup. I did drill a deep well, so we’d have water on the property. I buried four bladder tanks below the frost line and have a frost-free hydrant so we can get water 12 months of the year. With the 4 tanks, I’ve always got 40-50 gallons of water on reserve, without ever firing up the generator. It’s turned out to be a very easy system to maintain for it’s intended use.

My property is only about an hour from home, so we seldom stay overnight. In those times that we do, we “rough it” in a finished building with a wood stove for heat.

 

[savanna]

Guys,

Please keep all the pics and explanations on what you did to your pole barn/cabin coming. This information has been invaluable to me. I have started a folder collecting all the pictures and ideas and making a lot of notes. I really appreciate all the different pictures. I believe when we build it will be a pole barn/cabin set up. As I get older I wont want stairs, and as one person posted earlier how great is it to be able to bring a heavy piece of equipment into the garage portion and use the tractor. Also, dont be afraid to be specific in what you used if its important, ie 16 ft posts, etc. I also would like to hear any "if I had to do it again I would have ..." Tin roof, vinyl siding, or tin siding too, length, width, how big is the loft, all great information. Thank you very much.

 

[Kwood]

for a space saver (with convenience added) we had our bathroom set up to include stackable washer and dryer. Pricier unit ($1000-1200) but great efficiency and they have such a smaller foot print. I wasn’t planning on having the washer and dryer because I didn’t have room for a separate laundry area. I would absolutely recommend making the space (and this doesn’t take a lot). So convenient washing hunting clothes or work clothes. It’s also nice going for a period of time and being able to pack lighter, etc...

This is one of those things I highly recommend.

Another is to put a good floor drain in and a deer hoist. Very convenient and nice to have. A lot of people don’t think about the drain until too late.

 

[Mo-Ape]

Outstanding thread! I’d really like to hear more about some more about off the grid builds!


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[Otghuntingclub]

Outstanding thread! I’d really like to hear more about some more about off the grid builds!


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You specifically asked about off the grid builds, so I'll add a little more about mine:
1. Like I said earlier, I've got grid power available at my site, but based the costs I've seen in our area for similar locations, I'd probably be looking at $6-10K for hookup. On top of that, I'd have the monthly cost to serve electricity, even if none were being used. I just decided I didn't need it. If I use 25-30 gallons of gas a year for my generators, it would be a lot. Plus, I like the idea of being independent from the grid.
2. I wired my entire place with LED lighting. I've got a 220V pump. I've actually got two generator hookups, one for a large (7500 watt) 220V Generac, and a second for a small 120VAC Inverter (Honda). Obviously, for safety, I've got it wire up for either, but not both to be connected at the same time. If I'm running power tools or have a need for the pump, I run the large gen, otherwise for lighting and small appliances, etc, I just use the Honda. The Honda is miserly and seems to run forever on very little gas. I can have every light inside and out on with the Honda and it never comes off idle.
3. Eventually my plans are for a solar system, but currently I have other priorities.
4. Having a deep well and a constant source of water is invaluable. I actually drilled the well before I even had my building done. Like I said above, I buried 4 fiberglass bladder tanks at the well site, below frost line, I have a frost-free hydrant there. That was something recommended by my well driller, and it's worked out fantastic. I also had a Wintrex valve installed at the well site, which is a valve below the frost line with a handle you can operate from ground level. It's equipped with a valve stem so you can shut off the water supply, hook up compressed air, and blow out the downstream line(s) wherever they go (cabin, building, outside faucets, etc). That's the extent of the winterizing.
5. We've got a on-demand hot water heater purchase for a couple hundred bucks from Amazon. It runs off propane and has battery ignition. Really simple, and nice to have hot water available.

That's a start. Let me know if there are additional questions.