pole barn house

[lamoncha lover]

this is the picture that I am using as an example to the builder of what i want when he starts building in about 5 weeks.ours will be 30x64 with 10 ft sidewaalls. We have a ton of windows for the front..which will be on the south side in a small field surrounded by trees and thick brush on a fairly level spot. Do you think that the overhand roof on porch is a good idea or a bad idea. I like the idea of a covered spot for bbq ing and such, like the ideaof sun protection in the summer..but will it be too dark or in the winter totally dark? We have minimal windows in the rest of the house. I do have this same question posted in this forum but w/o picture. Thought maybe I could get more opinions with a pic and such. thanks. I need to make a decision quickly and once it is up there will be no changing. lori

Never ever turn down a porch! In this case it'll take the place from looking like a Morton Building Barn to making it look like a HOME.

[ronbre]

some folks around here have built houses out of pole barns..if you use metal they are a bit noisy as they creak..and metal roofs will eventually leak.

[NTRotty]

I am considering this using a Morton building, I like a simple roof design and ability to do whatever I want with interior floor layout. Fireplace or wood stove of any type in yours?

[lamoncha lover]

well as far as the house its the best I can manage. I will not go in debt and I wil have a place on our land that will be big enough for all of us. I think its rather cute. I can live with rattling but not with water. If the roof leaks we will have to replace it someday with a regular roof i guess. I just don't know what else we can do. Its not like we have a ton of money and we are already spending our retirement.

[RonM]

I would go with 8 ft walls and I have a ranch house with a 4 ft overhang on the front and it makes my living room dark, wish I didnt have it. My house is facing SSW and should have positioned it so I get morning sun in the kitchen. Didnt think about it at the time I was building it...

[AngieM2]

I love it. Especially the porch and windows.

There is a member who's house is out of one of these, so similar. I'll have to see if I can find that thread with photos.

Angie

[ebook]

We live in a pole barn house that is 36 x 45 with 10 foot side walls and a 6 foot porch off the front. We have two 6x5 windows on the front and our door and I feel like we get plenty of sun in the winter and not very much in the summer. This past summer (we live in Southern Iowa) we did not have/run an air conditioner at all and there was only one week were it was above 76ºF inside at night (or most any time for that matter). I will have the AC in next year though so I can cut the humidity on those sweaty days and so our floor doesn't sweat as much.

Let me know if you have any other questions ... we love ours!

[Alice In TX/MO]

Absolutely do the porch!

[Minelson]

Our new (old) house has a huge screened in porch...that is one of the main reason why we purchased it. The porch faces east so it would get darker on that side of the house faster anyway. The mornings are awesome for having a cup o coffee The rest of the house is darker than I'm used to...but that is because of the huge trees. I would take into consideration the trees more than the porch. There is nothing better than having a nice covered or screened in porch! The last place we lived in was the first we ever had without one...Yuckers!!!! Put on the porch!

[AngieM2]

http://homesteadingtoday.com/showthread.php?t=184884

that thread is about the same thing... pay attention to ericjeeper's post about his place. it is a building such as your photo.

And there are other ideas there also.

Angie

[Sawmill Jim]

Love the porch There is lots of metal roof's done around here . Haven't heard of any leak problems if installed right even though most metal is not roof metal it is side metal . If you can use large doors if you going to live there as long as you can .

[lamoncha lover]

thanks for the input folks. Thanks for the link angie..I did check it out and willgo back and make notes.I think that we will have to go with the porch. Otherwise it will look to much like a barn. Is straight south then a bad direction to have the big windows? The house is set up with dining room and living room ..also 2 bedrooms alomg the front..south as of now. the side with the porch
The kitchen would be on the back side..which with my plans as they are would be north. Master bedroom, bath and bedroom retreat retreat would take up the whole west side..we will have a french door on that side and perhaps will see soome nice sunsets. I have about 3 days to change my plans before I am locked in. Just hoping to get it right the first time
east side 2 bedrooms.

[lamoncha lover]

nt rotty
I am going to ask about radiant heating,but I am afraid it will be out of our price range. Costs have been adding up..500 septic permit, $ 1,000 to run from the city water tap, 1200 for post protectors, 2800 for septic, 1,000 for dozer work, and I think someone said gravel is now 450-500 a truck load. hoping to find a gold nugget stashed in the gravel :>)
Definetely will have a propane gas log ventless fireplace if i have to charge it on my credit card:>)

[lamoncha lover]

e book
which direction is your porch facing? thanks

[glenn amolenaar]

Go with the porch you will enjoy it, it is worth the little increase in cost. As for metal roofs leaking if it is installed properly with the sealed fastners and gaskets it should be leak free. We have several metal roofs one barn is over 30 years old and has just started to have a seam leak.
Glenn

[HappyFarmer]

We added on a porch very similar to the picture, with an added glass sliding door where the picture shows no windows. Our downstairs living quarters are 1/2 underground North & West side. The pole porch is on the long east side.

It gets dark inside (towards the back of your picture). Where we have the slider it's not so bad, we don't need a light during the day. The back away from the windows gets very dark & we need a light, but those are bedrooms so not a biggie for us unless the alarm clock doesn't go off.

On our porch we put in 3 sky lights in the roof and it's helped a LOT. Also as a side note the porch is the BEST place to sit during a 100 degree day-always a breeze & cool. Depending on where you live & the prevailing winds this could be a nice plus.

HF

[Bluebird]

We used an old calf shed on our property to build our boarding kennel in. It's the same type building that you have in your pict. We put hot water heat in the floor (ourselves) and had a contractor hook it up(2 inches of cement over the top holds the heat like a dream). We have a 12 foot "porch" over the front, as you show and I hang laundry outside even when it's raining. If I had to build a house again, I would use this type of builidng in a heartbeat. We live with Cold Cold winters. It's like walking into a tropical paradise in the winter and in the summer, it's nice and cool. Seldom have to turn on the air. Good luck with your new home!!

[just_sawing]

Check with your Log home builder on your roof. The typical pole barn builder doesn't worry about a little condensation. This is handled with the people using metal on log homes. It isn't a problem but is a different technique.
If you are going to be on a slab and not desert area I would have a 18" grade on my yard. People don't realize that the gravel under the slab can be like a bowl for water. Slab is good but drainage drainage drainage.
Good Luck

[deaconjim]

My question would be how much house do you want with your porch? I couldn't imagine living in a house without one. The few times I've had to, I built a porch in pretty short order.