[Womble]

I'm in the process of building a woodstore, a bit like this one:



The overall floor area is 10m x 3.5m. I'm using 10 foot long deer strainers for the posts, and had them driven into the ground last week by a fencing contractor who was doing work next door. However, since the strainer posts are round, I'm not sure how to go about attaching the horizontal beams at the back and front that will support the roof joists.

I'm probably going to use 2x6" or 2x8" timber for these beams, but should I:

a) Rest them on top of the posts
b) Bolt them to the side of the posts
c) Sandwich the posts between two 2x6s bolted through
d) cut an L-shape into the top of the post and do a hybrid of a) and b)
or e) Something else entirely?

What do you think folks?

[oor wullie]

I built a log store like that but used sleepers for the posts so they had square edges which simplified it.

I think if I was using poles I would go for option d. But would try to do a bit of spying on other peoples barns to see if I could see someone else who had done it.

[Womble]

Thanks!

try to do a bit of spying on other peoples barns to see if I could see someone else who had done it.

What do you think I'm doing here?   

[mab]

I thnik I'd go for d too but I'm no expert.

I seem to remember henchard built something in the way of a wooden barn...

Ah:
http://www.accidentalsmallholder.net/forum/index.php?topic=22729.msg368022#msg368022

maybe a peep at what he did may help.

when constricting barns/ sheds it's good to remember the saying(?) "it's easy to hold a roof up but not so easy to hold it down" particularly if you're exposed to high winds.

[Buttermilk]

Our pole barn has a metal strap fastened to the telegraph pole stantion, which has a shallow v in it, and it then goes over the telegraph pole beam before being fastened back to the other side of the stantion. A very rough and ready agricultural set up which has stood the test of time but is nowhere near as smart as that picture.

[marka]

Womble,

A lot depends on the spans of your posts but Im planning something similar as well and I will be going for option d.

Regards

Mark

[Womble]

Thanks All,  I think option D is the one to go for. The biggest factor is that since I'm going to have to join some of the beams together at the poles, this option will give the most strength. That gives me another problem in that the method I'd planned for fixing the walls won't then work, but I'll think of something.

Mab - thanks for reminding me of [member=8543]henchard[/member]'s build. I feel somewhat out-engineered now though, since we just smacked treated posts into the ground with a very big weight, rather than digging until we hit lava and then filling the hole up with concrete as they did! 

Still, we managed to drive all the posts in a good 3-4 feet, so they're secure enough for what we're planning.

[henchard]

Mab - thanks for reminding me of [member=8543]henchard[/member]'s build. I feel somewhat out-engineered now though, since we just smacked treated posts into the ground with a very big weight, rather than digging until we hit lava and then filling the hole up with concrete as they did! 

I had to do that (concrete) because mine was built on made up ground! Details of how I constructed my frame are here.

http://lizburton.co.uk/wordpress/everyday-stuff/building-a-pole-barn-part-3/

[Womble]

Great stuff Henchard - thanks very much!

I've hit another snag now, and probably harder to solve than the first:  In their effort to get the posts in straight, they've whacked a couple of them in too far, so I'm now going to have to lengthen them by about a foot to give me the headroom I need. Any thoughts? 

[Marches Farmer]

I have a 40 year old pole barn with 8" x 2" timbers attached to round vertical poles.  Simply bolted straight through the timners and poles.  Can you add a section of round pole above the too-short ones and either use a piece of 8" x 2" at each side and bolt through the lot, or get a friendly blacksmith to make a round grid to join them, bolting into each at top and bottom?