OT How do you calculate............

Lloyd In South Carolina · Mar 7, 2011

Getting ready to build by shop at the new plac this summer,,,, think I'm going to stick build it as I'm looking to finish the inside. Created a spread sheet for the materials list, so I can calcualte exactly how broke I will be when done!

Monitor building, center building is to be 22'x42'. Trying to compare costs to stick build the top, or go with trusses. On a 22' span, how do you calculate the ridge beam size?

Money is tight, so find myself looking for all kinds of places to make sure I'm going the best way about this.

Trusses are $1,099.68 plus tax.

L.

Zachary Hoyt · Mar 7, 2011

What kind of pitch do you plan to incorporate? I am not familiar with a Monitor building. Here in NY where we have a lot of snow you need heavier rafters for flatter roofs.
Zach

123nut job · Mar 7, 2011

You might be happy with a Morton, Cleary or other pole shed that can be built for the same money it would cost you to build it.
I have seen prices on the a website like, 24 x 36 x 10 with steel siding, steel roof for $11,000, a crew builds it for you.
Call me stupid, but thats a deal.

rustyfarmall · Mar 7, 2011

(quoted from post at 14:20:30 03/07/11) You might be happy with a Morton, Cleary or other pole shed that can be built for the same money it would cost you to build it.
I have seen prices on the a website like, 24 x 36 x 10 with steel siding, steel roof for $11,000, a crew builds it for you.
Call me stupid, but thats a deal.

I had big problems with Morton, due mostly to the inexperienced crew that erected it, but still, Morton refused to make it right. The other drawback to a Morton is that they do not use "standard" sizes of metal siding or roofing, and if you ever need to rplace a panel, or want to add on, Morton has you by the tail.
Nothing wrong with Cleary that I know of, and another good one is Wick.

Lloyd In South Carolina · Mar 7, 2011

Looked at pole building,,,, too expensive to finnish out the interior as there is no framing. Time I frame for interior, cost is getting close. I can stick frame a building myself, not pay labor which also makes a big difference.

12/4 pitch, 11 foot span on each side of ridge beam, we get snow here,,,, but not like N.Y..

L.

thurlow · Mar 7, 2011

When I built my wood shop (24 x 30) about 5 or 6 years ago, I built my own trusses........laid out a 'jig' on the concrete floor; rafters and joists were 2 x 6s with 1/2 plywood for gussets. I've forgotten the figures, but it was cheaper than buying trusses.

Wilson · Mar 7, 2011

check foe couqupons (sp) post office has moving kits which usually has 10% from lumber yards

Wilson · Mar 7, 2011

once I bought trusses for 50% just by changing size 2 foot bigger on trusses that were made and building cancled. Check with truss factories

MarkB_MI · Mar 7, 2011

If you're going to pull permits, chances are the inspector will want to see a drawing of the trusses signed and sealed by a licensed Professional Engineer. Your stick-built trusses probably won't qualify.

123nut job · Mar 7, 2011

Was it approved by the inspector? Or did you not give a rip?

Zachary Hoyt · Mar 7, 2011

Here in Oswego County NY in the town of Orwell I don't need a building permit for a building to be used for 'agricultural purposes'. When I built this shed in 2008 that definition included housing the sawmill and lumber, and tractors etc. The main part of the building is 20x29 approximately. I used rough cut 2x8x12 or 13 on 24" centers, some aspen poplar, some red pine. It has held up well so far and was quite cheap to put up since we had the mill. I don't know what the laws are in your area. I don't like trusses myself because of the expense and the wasted space in between them, but they do go up fast. If you were using 'boughten' lumber I'd think you'd want a 2x10 surfaced to equal the strength of a 2x8 rough cut. This is just my experience, others may be different. By the way, the guy in the last photo is not Amish, he just has an Amish style hat.
Zach

Spook · Mar 7, 2011

I'd go with trusses. By the time you do all the work, you will have at least 50% of the money, and a lot of time invested. And it may not be legal.

thurlow · Mar 7, 2011

"At times it's better to remain silent and thought to be a fool, than to open one's mouth and remove all doubt"........just saying, present company excluded, of course. Please explain what kind of permits/inspections I need (where I live) for a building which is not to be used as a dwelling.

123nut job · Mar 7, 2011

Exactly.....Screw them inspectors, just parasites anyway that suck down yer money.
The USA is supposed to be the land of the free.

thurlow · Mar 7, 2011

Got the plans for my trusses from one of the land grant universities........Penn State, I think; could've been Mississippi State.

Vito · Mar 7, 2011

Well if it was me I would go with a structural ridge for that roof pitch.This is where the rafter sits on top of the ridge beam.By doing this it takes the the load of the outside walls.Think push here.A lumberyard can size this beam,proabably LVL, but it will cost more than trusses in the end.

Vito

GordoSD · Mar 7, 2011

I added a 18x18 sun porch onto my pole shed/morton building. I had a friend who is a pro building contractor lay out a truss diagram on the shop floor, and we built one. I then built the rest using that as a jig. Air stapler, plywood and a load of 2x4. I had about 50 dollars in those 10 trusses

GordoSD · Mar 7, 2011

Just wondering. What did that gate end up on the spreadsheet?

TonyIN · Mar 7, 2011

There"s a formula (which I have long forgotten), but you will need to know your live loads (usually snow) for that area. A lumber yard can usually do that for you.
As stated below, once you buy the engineered lumber, you may be better off with trusses. If you go the truss route, may look into the upcharge for attic trusses. They are designed for storage and a clear space within them.
If you go the ridge beam/rafter path, anything over 20", sometimes 22" in length is special order. And keep in mind, you really don"t want any openings directly under the ridge beam as the header for that opening will be large.
Good Luck.

Owen Aaland · Mar 7, 2011

When I built my shop, 48 X 72, I got the plans from the U of Iowa. They gave charts for pitch, spacing, snow load, finished ceiling load, insulation, everything needed to design your rafter. In my case I could go 48 feet with 4/12 pitch on three foot spacings with 16 foot number one 2x6s. I bought three units of number 2 and better 2X6s and picked out the number 1s for the trusses. Of the rest some were used for forms for pouring the foundation and then reused as stud in the walls. By spacing the trusses at three feet and the wall studs at 16 inches the savings on finishing costs more than offset the higher initial cost versus a pole type building.

JDseller · Mar 7, 2011

I have three Morton barns and one Cleary. The oldest Morton was erected in 1965. The Cleary was built in 1978. I had another Morton build in 1988. The steel siding on the Cleary did not have one speck of paint left on it. They said it was out of warranty, AT ten years old. The steel on the 1965 Morton still looks good to this day. I just had another Morton build last year. It cost more than the first two put together. LOL I have never had a single issue with my Morton buildings. The Cleary is junk compared to them. I have seen two Wick building go down this last month due to snow load.

As for "standard size of siding and sheeting" what are you talking about?? All three of mine have metal that covers 36 inchs and you can get it any length you want.

john in la · Mar 8, 2011

If you are using the term ridge beam correctly I assume you are trying to build a shop without ceiling joist.
For a 22 ft span you are going to need to go with a LVL beam because I feel you are past the working load of home built beams such as 2 or 3 2x12 nailed together.
Any good lumber yard can size the LVL beam and tell you what size support you need on each end.

If you are using ceiling joist then you need a ridge board and sizing of this is not that important because you are then dealing with compression load on this piece. Sizing of the ceiling joist is important to cover the span because this is what holds the walls from spreading apart. A 2x12 16in OC should cover 22ft span depending on your live load. (Junk in Attic)

Cheapest way money wise is down loading truss plans from one of the universities. Many of them have plans online and you can use these to build your own trusses.

Geo-TH,In · Mar 8, 2011

Trusses normally 24 ft, not 22 ft. I prefer trusses, faster and stronger. There isn't a lot of difference between trusses on 2 ft centers, 1/2 osb deck and shingles compared to a metal roof.

Russ from MN · Mar 8, 2011

Shop around for your trusses, we found a big difference in price, If you don't use trusses how are you going to finish the ceiling? I would not do it without trusses. Also metal over purlins will sweat and drip condensate unless you use a condensate stop, I used osb and tar paper.

Geo-TH,In · Mar 9, 2011

When I added a garage 24x24 garage to my house, I put 3 rows of block down and then used pre-cuts for the walls. Got 10 ft walls on the inside. This keeps the siding down off the ground where you will have water problems. Staying with 8 ft will be easier to finish too.

OT How do you calculate............

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