# Pole Barn / Man Cave



## golfandwoodnut (Aug 22, 2011)

I have been talking about this for awhile and the shell of the Pole Barn is finally done.  I had to clear alot of nice trees for this but I think it was worth the effort.  I probably took out about 15 large trees (oaks, maple and cherry trees) and leveled the site with my Bobcat.  I was going to build it myself but when I found out I could have it built for less than I could buy the materials for I decided to let the pros do it.  The crew that did this was impressive and it only took them 2 1/2 days to build, it is 24 X 40.  It is big for me but small compared to alot of stuff they do.  It will easily hold 4 cars and much more.  I put a side garage in to make it easy to get the ATV, riding mower and Bobcat out the door without moving any vehicles.  I think I may store some wood inside for the winter once I get the concrete put in.  I also need to run electric yet and install downspouts.  We landscaped the area to make it a little more appealing, the wife was not real happy about removing the trees.  

Here is a top view:






Here is a side view:


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## cptoneleg (Aug 22, 2011)

Nice barn, very nice, open the door sometimes and let me look inside.


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## pyronut (Aug 22, 2011)

Beauty  Looks great


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## rdust (Aug 22, 2011)

Looks great!  

I plan to have a 30'x40' put up in the somewhat near future, I'd also like to put a lean-to off one side for stacking wood under.  A large part of the expense is the concrete which can be done later.


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## golfandwoodnut (Aug 22, 2011)

cptoneleg said:
			
		

> Nice barn, very nice, open the door sometimes and let me look inside.



You got a deal, more pictures to come.  I am not loading it totally up until we get concrete, it is amazing how much guys want to install concrete anymore.


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## golfandwoodnut (Aug 22, 2011)

rdust said:
			
		

> Looks great!
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> I plan to have a 30'x40' put up in the somewhat near future, I'd also like to put a lean-to off one side for stacking wood under.  A large part of the expense is the concrete which can be done later.



I just posted about how expensive concrete is, about 1/2 the cost of the building.  If you need a number for guys to install it even cheaper than I did let me know, the installers are subs and will do it for less than going through the company I bought it from.  They install everywhere, as far west as Yellowstone and even build camps, A frames, lake houses etc.


A shed roof of the side would be great.  I did not think I would have room for that, but it turns out I probably do, but I need the fill dirt to settle on the side.  It is tough to find flat ground it Western PA.


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## certified106 (Aug 22, 2011)

That is one sweet barn/mancave. What are your plans for it?


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## golfandwoodnut (Aug 22, 2011)

certified106 said:
			
		

> That is one sweet barn/mancave. What are your plans for it?



I am not sure yet, it was built mainly to hold the Bobcat and my Pickup Truck and other toys.  I do have a large garage in the bottom of the house that I plan on cleaning out and making my workshop for when I retire.  It keeps pretty warm in the winter and is closer to beer, but I love going in the barn so it may take precedence.  I have no current plans of finishing the inside or heating yet.


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## smokinj (Aug 22, 2011)

cptoneleg said:
			
		

> Nice barn, very nice, open the door sometimes and let me look inside.



+1 looking for heat otherwise its for fair weather! ;-)


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## albertj03 (Aug 22, 2011)

Very nice! All it needs is a TV, couch, beer fridge and of course a wood stove and you can live in there!


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## DexterDay (Aug 22, 2011)

Very Nice.... You are going to Love it.. 

As far as the install/build price... Its much cheaper and timely for them to build the Garage/Barn. I had a 30 x 40 built. It is made by Cleary. Good company, great prices. I could not believe how cheap it was.. And the build cost.  Barn is in the background of pic.

That and in 1 DAY it was DONE.. There is a Man door on the right side and another door on the back, same size as the front. We built it for horses, but soon realized the work involved. Got rid of the horses and have been slowly using the wood from the fence on different projects. My Woodshed (Was a Dog Kennel) and the Side-Kit on my Trailer. 

Nice Set-up you got there. I am sure once your Wife see's the uses that can come out of having such a building...


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## fossil (Aug 22, 2011)

Movin' this thread out of the Wood Shed into the Perfect Picture forum.  Rick


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## firefighterjake (Aug 22, 2011)

Very nice . . . looks plenty big to hold the toys . . . at least until you buy even more toys to fill it up.


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## thewoodlands (Aug 22, 2011)

GolfandWoodNut said:
			
		

> I have been talking about this for awhile and the shell of the Pole Barn is finally done.  I had to clear alot of nice trees for this but I think it was worth the effort.  I probably took out about 15 large trees (oaks, maple and cherry trees) and leveled the site with my Bobcat.  I was going to build it myself but when I found out I could have it built for less than I could buy the materials for I decided to let the pros do it.  The crew that did this was impressive and it only took them 2 1/2 days to build, it is 24 X 40.  It is big for me but small compared to alot of stuff they do.  It will easily hold 4 cars and much more.  I put a side garage in to make it easy to get the ATV, riding mower and Bobcat out the door without moving any vehicles.  I think I may store some wood inside for the winter once I get the concrete put in.  I also need to run electric yet and install downspouts.  We landscaped the area to make it a little more appealing, the wife was not real happy about removing the trees.



GAWN; nice man cave built just in time for that early winter. 


zap


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## golfandwoodnut (Aug 22, 2011)

Thanks Jay, Jake, Zap and Albert, always good to hear compliments from respected members of this great forum.


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## firefighterjake (Aug 22, 2011)

GolfandWoodNut said:
			
		

> Thanks Jay, Jake, Zap and Albert, always good to hear compliments from respected members of this great forum.



Respected member of the forum . . . hehheh . . . you do know I'm a founding member of The Idiot's Club, right?   But seriously . . . this looks sharp.


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## smokinj (Aug 22, 2011)

firefighterjake said:
			
		

> GolfandWoodNut said:
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Yea I still want to see inside....lol


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## bogydave (Aug 22, 2011)

Dry storage is Primo!
Very nice.


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## yooperdave (Aug 23, 2011)

very nice-seems like a lot of the responses are from posters as green as the garage!  where did you ever find a matching tent for it???nice touch!


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## golfandwoodnut (Aug 23, 2011)

smokinjay said:
			
		

> firefighterjake said:
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Give me a chance the shell is just up, I will be glad to show you how it is so far..


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## golfandwoodnut (Aug 23, 2011)

yooperdave said:
			
		

> very nice-seems like a lot of the responses are from posters as green as the garage!  where did you ever find a matching tent for it???nice touch!



dave, that is a tent from my neighbors that we could not see before I cut down all the trees.  My sister thought the tent was for me since my wife kicked me out of the house after having it built.


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## thewoodlands (Aug 23, 2011)

GolfandWoodNut said:
			
		

> yooperdave said:
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Is your wife part Greek  ;-P , they have an old saying.

The men may be the head of the house but the women are the neck and they can turn the head anyway they want. 


zap


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## smokinj (Aug 23, 2011)

;-) 





			
				GolfandWoodNut said:
			
		

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Concrete or gravel? Just checking to see if this is the next GTG Hot spot! (We are all so quite the Wife will not even know we are there)  ;-)


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## golfandwoodnut (Aug 23, 2011)

smokinjay said:
			
		

> ;-)
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Jay,
It is gravel now and getting the concrete bids now.  Outside I am going to have it done in exposed aggregate so it should be cool.  Would love to have you over for a few beers and chainsaw fun.  I have 2 fire pits two, I will have to look into one for the barn someday.  One concrete guy said a cool thing to do is run coils under the concrete and hook it up to an outside wood burner to heat the place.


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## golfandwoodnut (Aug 23, 2011)

zapny said:
			
		

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She is Italian, probably pretty similiar hot blood. :zip: She can't believe so many guys are into looking at a barn.  I told her she doesn't understand, we get excited just looking at wood piles.


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## thewoodlands (Aug 23, 2011)

GolfandWoodNut said:
			
		

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My grandparents from my fathers side are from Plati Calabria, ask her if she's making the sauce on Sunday, if she is I'll swing over and pick up smokin then stop buy.  :zip: 


zap


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## golfandwoodnut (Aug 23, 2011)

She is part calabrese, part Rome and Venice areas.  She is a good cook but the homande sauce days are over, too easy to buy Prego etc. and spice it up a bit.  She loves the garlic.


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## smokinj (Aug 23, 2011)

Seems the man cave went by the way of the powder puff Derby in this thread!


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## golfandwoodnut (Aug 23, 2011)

smokinjay said:
			
		

> Seems the man cave went by the way of the powder puff Derby in this thread!


Heah, what goes on in the man cave stays in the man cave..


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## Backwoods Savage (Aug 23, 2011)

Golf, any idea how long it will take before you wish you'd built that bigger. lol  That happened to me last year and took only a couple of weeks before I thought, gee, we should have gone a bit bigger...


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## golfandwoodnut (Aug 24, 2011)

Backwoods Savage said:
			
		

> Golf, any idea how long it will take before you wish you'd built that bigger. lol  That happened to me last year and took only a couple of weeks before I thought, gee, we should have gone a bit bigger...


That is what everybody says, you never build them big enough.  I am getting concrete for it now and using exposed aggregate in the driveway to give it a cool look that the wife should like.  It is amazing how you have to watch these guys,  I have about 170 feet of driveway (in addition to the 1300 feet we already have concreted)  pluse the 24 X 40 pole barn.  I got estimates as high as $15,500 and the guy that was at $14,400 just came down to $9,000.  I kept asking questions like what happened to just doubling the price of materials?  I know concrete went up but that is crazy.  If you do not show you know what you are talking about you can get *****.  I am thinking of doing one at the Lake House too to hold the toys out there.  The Pole Barn itself is pretty cheap to have built, its the concrete that you have to watch.  I am even OK with just gravel.


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## Backwoods Savage (Aug 24, 2011)

I surely agree Solar. For now we just have gravel but also a wood floor for the working area. The only bad part of gravel is that after it rains the dirt splashes up on the doors to make a mess. We haven't yet decided if we will do something different or not.


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## golfandwoodnut (Aug 24, 2011)

Backwoods Savage said:
			
		

> I surely agree Solar. For now we just have gravel but also a wood floor for the working area. The only bad part of gravel is that after it rains the dirt splashes up on the doors to make a mess. We haven't yet decided if we will do something different or not.



Dennis,
It is nice that yours is close to the house for storing wood.  Mine is a little bit of a walk so I think I will store some wood in it but still keep some closer to the house to save some footsteps, but it will be nice to know some is perfectly dry when I need it..


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## woodsmaster (Aug 24, 2011)

Backwoods Savage said:
			
		

> I surely agree Solar. For now we just have gravel but also a wood floor for the working area. The only bad part of gravel is that after it rains the dirt splashes up on the doors to make a mess. We haven't yet decided if we will do something different or not.



Wood floors are nice. Much easier on the body than walking on concrete. I wish I would have made the floor in my shop wood in front of the work benches.


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## bill*67 (Aug 27, 2011)

very nice pole barn, some day i hope to have my own camp and a pole barn similar to that of yours.


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## golfandwoodnut (Aug 27, 2011)

bill*67 said:
			
		

> very nice pole barn, some day i hope to have my own camp and a pole barn similar to that of yours.


Thanks Bill, if you keep you mind set on it I am sure it can happen.


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