If all goes well

So far so good with all the treatments and results.IF the next pet scan is good which is three months from now,,I want to make some future plans.I am starting to just think of plans now.Its kind of personal,,but I might be able to get some ideas to think about if I post my thoughts.Its kind of hard to explain,In Pa the old farm sits on 31 acres,lots of old outbuildings,and lots of maintenance
Not connected to the old farm,,1/4 a mile away is the other two houses,that sit on 31 acres.To get to the old farm is a busy road . We have decided to sell the old farm,,its too much repairs and such for me to keep up with. But,,I Still want to keep my two ford tractors,,and brushog,finish mower,wagon,plow,three pt tiller,york rake,three pt disk,3 pt harrow ,3 pt blade,and three pt cultivator/hiller.I need to think of getting a pole barn built over by the houses.I need to think of what size and design of pole barn.I would like to have a small shop to work on the tractors.Even though Im not a handy mechanic,,I Still wish for some kind of shop area,and one that could be heated by maybe a propane heater?It doesn't have to be a huge area,,just enough to work on one tractor or car/pickup at a time.I would also like to store at least the mowers and tiller inside,,and the golf cart I bought a while ago. I am looking at sizes and designs of barns now,,but would appreciate any input.Im just in the beginning stages of these thoughts.I really would like to keep all the three pt equipment under a roof somehow so they dont get grown up in weeds,maybe a lean to type on one side of the pole barn? Right now,I have everything inside the old farm buildings,,I'm kind of Fussy,and like to keep them under cover.Even when I Stayed over night,,and knew I was going to use the tractor the next day,,I still drove the tractor back to the old farm and put it away in the shed for the night.Thats my story,,Go ahead and give advice if you like,,I wont take offense in any way.Any advice will be appreciated.

Great News.
Merry Christmas,
Wishing You all the Best.
Tom

Larry that is good news. When you plan this barn go and look at others if you can. Look at pictures to get an ides. Build it bigger than you think you need. Keep up the good work.

Build it twice as big and taller than you think you will need. Also add lots of lights and outlets, including 220v.

If it was me, Larry, I would build the pole barn to store all of the equipment. Make it big enough to access all of the implements without constantly moving stuff around. Build a repair shop attached to the pole barn with enough room to work on the biggest equipment you have comfortably, but still small enough so as not to cost half of the GNP to heat the darn thing. I'd build a second floor to the pole barn to store all of the occasionally used "stuff". I would also build a trap door in the second floor and install an electric winch to utilize some kind of basket to raise and lower the heavy or hard to handle "stuff" into and out of the second floor. I'd consider a "broom closet" off from the heated part of the shop so you can store lubricants and such so they wouldn't pour like cold molasses when they are needed.

I would also consider th number of electrical outlets I needed, ..................then triple them!

Glad to hear you are on the mend. I know what you mean about keeping everything up. I thought when I retired I would have time to do everything, but hasn't turned out that way. Like others have said. Bigger is better. Good luck to you.

Larry it’s so good to hear you talking about future plans. Your budget is the limiter when it comes to building. Just offhand without giving it much thought, you could build a two stall shop, one stall for your project and the other stall for the Ford. The implements can be in an open lean to if you don’t mind some bird crap. A lean to without open trusses would eliminate the birds roosts. My shop is 32 feet wide which allows for a work bench on one side, welding table on the other side and a fair amount of room to work on two small tractors side by side. It’s 30 feet deep but you can be the judge on how deep yours should be. To park a full sized vehicle in there you might want to go 30 feet deep. My long frame dually pretty much takes up the length of my shop with little room to spare for the parts washer in front and room to walk around the back of the dually.

If you want a one stall shop for small repairs 16 feet wide is good enough but again length depends on what you are driving in there. 12 feet wide will give you room to do maintenance work on the Ford or a pickup but will be plenty tight and there won’t be space for shelves and tool storage.

If you have a woodworking project going in there a 16 foot wide shop will allow you room to work on something the size of a full sheet of plywood with a little room to work around it. A new building built just big enough will become smaller as soon as boxes of ‘stuff’ start lining the fringes.

While lofts are a good source of extra storage space I don't put one in any of my buildings as my legs are not getting any better at stairs or ladder climbing.
I still wish I'd of went a little higher in at least one spot and put some sort of car lift in one. I still do my own oil changes and brake work and tire rotating.
I have a 36 x 48 ? IIRC 10 foot high ceilings and I insulated the walls 6" fiberglass batts and then lined the inside with white metal liner panels. Really makes a nice area and I heat the whole thing with a overhead Big Maxx propane heater. Doesn't seem to use too much extra to heat it ? It might be the 50,000 btu one I see at northern tool. Back when I got mine it was the only size avail. and smaller than recommended for that sq ft but it does fine.

Larry, I am glad to hear you making plans. It was also good talking with you the other day.
I have a 30 by 60 shop and when I get the junk out of one end of it, I will have more room than I need.
I plan to build a pole shed to store my tractors and equipment under but don't want to make it too high so rain won't blow in. 2 of my tractors are under sheds now.
Also have plans to move my sawmill and put up a better pole structure over it. Again, not too high.
Junk really collects in a shop when you have a lot of room. Got to quit throwing everything in the closed off end of my shop. I am not a hoarder like your friend, I just keep too much junk and have been cutting back on projects. Still have plenty to do.
Merry Christmas
Richard

I agree with second level for occasional use stuff put in the lift basket and it will not trap stuff. I used storage trusses to gain an attic in my pole barn. The trusses were some of the cheapest square footage I could build, plus it's already a space you are going to be building with the trusses. My barn is 40 wide 48 long. The roof pitch is a 6/12 and I got an 11 foot wide 7/1/2 foot high room over the entire length. I do believe I'm allowed 20 pounds per square foot up there.

Great idea Larry! All the advice I have seen here so far is good also. I would sure build it a little taller than I thought I needed. That way you are not limited in the future. When I was in college I took a couple of courses on farm buildings. I had an awesome teacher who would work you pretty hard but he was fair and extremely knowledgeable. To try to make a long story short, two of the most important things I learned from him was to build taller than you think you need and position the building to allow for future expansion. I have never had a lot of money to build with but I have built a couple of buildings here on my farm. So far I have used rough lumber and local labor. Sounds like if you sell the other farm you can afford better. If you google a little several of the land grant universities have plans you can look at and download. I don't figure I know much except how to make a mess and maybe get injured but this site is a wealth of knowledge. Good luck with your project ! Lee

Good for you Larry, good to be in a mindset for planning--been there, done that. Find a builder that you like and tell him what you are thinking about building. He may have some good ideas-pictures or references to some he had built. I got some good information from my builder that helped a lot. Good luck and MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

Around here taxes are one of the first things we consider. Do some research if it is a factor in that area. A "machine shed" open on three sides has a much lower rate then an enclosed building. So maybe an open shed for storage and just fully enclose a workshop area. You aren't going to be buying any big equipment so no need to go high. Look what our buddy "the firewood king" accomplishes in the shop he has.

The loft idea is good for some folks, but if you"re reluctant to do that because of climbing, you could consider doubling up on lower level storage by including some pallet racks along the wall. Smaller items can be put on pallets and lifted with your FEL.

I guess I don't see if you say you're going to move out of the tax hell known as New Jersey and live in Pennsylvania full time. If you do, I would seriously consider putting radiant heat in the floor of at least the workshop area. You can use a water heater to provide the energy and everyone that has installed radiant heat Properly, that I've met, just LOVES it! I have a 32X40 pole barn, and it's not big enough.

The wife wont move,,but she did make it possible for me to spend plenty of time there,she wants to stay in nj,,her mom is here,and her church.I cant complain,she let me spend a lot of time there,,and she keeps our medical insurance going.I really cant complain at all.

Gotta agree with Jon f,,,build it twice as big as you think it outta be.

Larry I would build a building with the center tall enough for your tractors and such. SO you would be 24 foot wide by 32 foot long and 12 foot to the square. This way you can put in a 10 foot tall 12 foot wide over head garage door. I would concrete all of this area. Then I would put lean to sheds on each side. Keep the same roof pitch as the main section but only make them 8 foot deep with the open side 8 foot tall. Just gravel the sheds.

So you can back in the side sheds and store your three point implements. Then use the center for your two tractors and a shop/work area.

This would give you plenty of room for your stuff while the implements would be easy to get to. Then down the road if you sell the place the center section would be just about the size of a two car garage. SO the value of the shed would not detract non farm buyers.

I am think on this same issue where I currently live, If I build the shop like I am used to then it would make selling the property down the road harder. The 40 foot by 80 foot 18 foot tall shop I want would not be of much use to the average person that would buy a 4 acre property. So the shop would lose a lot of "value" because of the limited number of buyers down the road. So I am leaning towards a smaller shop. If I need to work on larger stuff I can go to the farm.

In floor heat back half living quarters . porch off the front . If Grandma wants to throw a Christmas party for all the little ones pull machinery out crank the heat up just need a kitchen and small bathroom

Just a few ideas to chew on:

Concrete supports under the poles. One trade name is Perma column, there are others. A person could make them I would think. Maybe your soils don't rot wood as bad in PA though???

I like the idea of a lean-to. A pretty cheap way to add square feet.

Insulation in the shop. Have never heard anyone say they used too much.

I love radiant heat, there are many types to choose from. Floor heat if you use it every day. I have a propane tube heater, turn it on and feel heat in 5 minutes. They do need some space away from flammables though.

Make it big enough that at least two of your buddies have room to sit by the peanut jar.

Larry : I remember when dad built his pole barn. The guys that were putting the plates up, to set the trusses, were complaining about him being 12 feet under them. Now 40 years later we wish it was 16 feet tall.
Never are big enough so bigger than you think and longer than you think. And you can always add to the length later if you decide you need more.
Stay at least 12 feet high. Then as big as you can afford. Leanto's are nice and cheap extra room. You can ad those later also if you need more space. The more insulation the cheaper it is to heat.

Larry now you are talking sense. Sorry I had to chew you out when you were on chemo, but you needed it then. I knew you would be feeling better when they weren't screwing with you.
As far as your shed you may want to check with zoning and or building codes where you are thinking of building. My shop/ shed is a 24x36 stick built on short stem walls to get extra height and to keep moisture away from the bottom plate. Here we are allowed to build this type structure on a floating slab, in other words just dig the outside perimeter a foot or so deep to stop animals from getting under. (I wonder were you could find some one that knows concrete and has friends to help or provide the muscle.) This made it very easy to insulate and line with 7/16 chip board. JD Seller has excellent advise with lean to storage space and extra height, this would allow a door high enough to put a camper or small motor home in, if not for you then a possible future purchaser.

Just don't put the entry door under the eaves if you want to use it in the winter Brother in law learned that one the hard way!

Sure was good to come in this evening and read this!! Larry feeling better and making plans! Best advice I can give is don't make a quick decision. Do plenty of research and find a builder ( like me) who loves his job. Makes a big difference in the relationship and finished building. All my 3 point equipment sits under a lean to. So do our 2 fords. Funny no telling how they were treated for years, but I'm their care taker now do they get to live under cover!

Larry I just read more of the replies. I have to agree with the radiant heat. I have it all through my house and would not be without it. I have several friends that I have helped put it their floors in hoses and shops. Every single one of those guys say it was money well spent. It will also run cheaper than any other heat source. Another thought is to put the tube in the pad and even if you never add the boiler it is an option (read potential selling point on the cheap).

Larry,
So happy to see you looking ahead. Go, Larry!

I agree with the in-floor heat... would love to have that in our shop.
BUT cannot convince my husband that we should knock out the old, cracked and pitted concrete and do it to it.

Our shop is actually an old fashioned hog house... my husband says if he had it to do over again... that before he put on the siding, he wishes he had jacked the building up 2-3 feet so he could have a taller door for driving the tractors in there. (Not saying super tall... just tall enough to comfortably drive your tractor into the building without having to lean sideways to avoid hitting your head or knocking out a light bulb. LOL)

sad part is it took me many years to get a little shop going,,never even got to use it,,,the vise was moved to the side after the paint job

thats about what I had in mind,,,it would be built in the flat field near the small cottage,,my daughter likes that place and we are gifting it to her,,the pole barn shouldnt be to large,it will look out of place for her needs in the future.Also power should be able to be run underground from thAt house with little problem.Im not to worried about heating it,,doubtful I would be doing much in the real cold

BUT, you know...

When one door closes... another opens.