Like a lot of guys I meet, I’ve spent years fighting to build cabinets and furniture, and mill custom moldings, in my garage shop—working around the 1951 Mack fire truck I restored, and the 1954 Harley I’m working on, and my newer bike—plus, I have to store all this crap for Gary and Mike’s Roadshows…well, you get the picture. I wanted a real shop, a place I could spread out and get some work done without having to move stuff every time I wanted to build something.
My first thought was to rebuild the barn at my house. We don’t keep horses anymore, and the old barn is full of stuff I’ve saved that I could just never bring myself to throw away—from ten years of doing JLC Live! shows, and remodels all over the county in north eastern Pennsylvania, where I live.
Emptying that barn would take longer than re-building it, and besides, a friend of mine that has a shop at his house said it is a pain because people—friends you never knew you had, if you catch my drift—are always stopping in looking for a favor, like: “I need six feet of this,” or “Can you help me fix this?” or “I don’t know how to make this?” My friend also said that it was hard to go out there to work sometimes, being so close to the house.
On top of that, I wasn’t sure what my shop would turn out to be. At one time, before I started making a living by the mile and was swinging a hammer full time, I thought about starting a business making dovetail drawers, or custom moldings, or fireplace mantles…you know what I mean. And I figured if I ever did start a business and wanted to sell it, I wouldn’t have much to sell if the business and shop were in my barn.
So I started looking for a small piece of land—just the right spot. Not too far from home, but not too close, either. It took a lot of years to find. A piece came up a mile down the road. A real nice and well-known spot called “Milk Can Corners.” High-visibility for being out in the middle of nowhere, and on a paved road, too, if you can imagine—that’s big for my neck of the woods. The property also had 3-phase power, which I figured might be nice in the future—I had big plans for machinery.
I figured that, at the very least, the land was a good investment. Who knows, maybe in a hundred years they’ll put a strip mall on it. But I knew I’d always be able to sell it down the road, if I ever had to. And it was just the right distance from my home: far enough to make going there like going to work, but not so far that it wouldn’t be fun on a Sunday.
(Note: Click any image to enlarge)
Milk Can Corners is a pretty spot, with a large pond to the southeast, surrounded rolling hills that are blanketed with snow in the winter, and covered with hardwood trees that turn every color in the rainbow throughout the year—especially in the fall. Since the spot is so visible, I wanted the building to look nice for the neighbors (and for me, too) every time we drove by it—I didn’t want to build another steel pole barn.
So I started looking at barns for ideas—and I looked everywhere. I’m lucky to work with the Katz Roadshow. We travel all over the country. I found this place in the Pacific Northwest, while we were driving from Seattle up through the San Juan Islands. As soon as I saw this barn, I knew it was the one (see photo, left). I liked the peaked gable roofs, with the hay-pulleys. I don’t even know what you call that style, but that was it.
On the next few road trips, we worked on a SketchUp drawing. I wanted to use that Greek Revival trim design, too, the one Gary demonstrates at the roadshows. I’ve seen that same style of window and door trim on barns and buildings all around me (see photo, right), and figured it would look great on my shop—I wanted the building to fit right into the area where I live, as if it had always been there.
Then I started to over-think the building: could I build it so someone else could turn it in to a house? Or maybe a retail store—it was right at the intersection of two main county roads. I was going to put in a foundation and stick build. But after figuring the cost, I realized I couldn’t afford it: I live way out in the country and I’m in construction—there’s not a lot of money to be made out here.
A good friend of mine, Don Hohn, owns a construction company that does a lot of pole barns. He built them for farms, and commercial use, and for retail, too—some huge buildings. He told me that for basically the price of a foundation I could have half the materials of a pole barn. And he told me that if I was careful while building the barn, I could tighten up the cost even more by paying attention to all the small details. Plus, I could tighten up the building, too—seal it up and insulate it really well—which where I live is pretty important. It gets cold here!
So I built a pole barn with the idea that it could be a house some day. Don’t get me wrong: once you take this path, it does get costly—any building does. But I think it will all pay off down the road.
Don Hohn’s crew came and set all the poles first, and attached purlins on the walls. Then they straightened everything up with the same string-and-line and bracing we use for stick-built homes.
To carry the trusses, Lvls are set on top of the poles. The gable end poles run high to support the gable trusses at each end—trusses can rack and fall in high winds, especially tall ones, like my 8/12 pitch barn.
My trusses were also too tall to transport on the truck, so they shipped them in two pieces. Notice that the peak is missing on each truss.
The first truss is set on the outside of the poles and will line up with wall purlins in the same plane for siding. Notice the crew set a 2×6 every 4 ft. on center, sandwiched between the two lvl’s, with the roof pitch cut on top, so the 2×6 blocks wouldn’t stick up past the trusses. Setting the trusses was easy. Each truss was pulled tight against the blocks then nailed off.
Once all the main trusses were set, the tops were added, then the 24-in. ladder-type bracing for the overhangs. And, finally, the flying peaks were added—where farmers always attached a pulley to load hay into their barn.
I framed the dormers and cupola on the ground, and we set all of them with a crane, which made it easy to frame—a lot easier than working on the steep roof. The dormers were set right on top of the roof purlins. I framed in the window shafts later.
Before installing any metal on the main roof, we finished the dormers and cupola. It’s much easier to work on roof purlins than on slick metal roofing. But we made one mistake…we didn’t put the wrb (housewrap) over the side wall flashing. I regret that, a lot. There are several small leaks in my roof!
We set roof jacks and planks beneath the dormers, and laid a sheet of osb with cleats on it so we’d be more comfortable and have someplace to put stuff. If you ever worked on 24-in on-center purlins you know how sore your legs and hips get.
Roof almost done. Finishing up the ridge vent and fascia.
In the photo to the left, you can see us running the copper ground wire for the lighting rods along the ridge.
The roof is almost finished, and you can see the lightening rods and the weather vane, plus the pointed peaks on every gable, which give the whole building the look of an old barn. Yes, that’s snow falling! When you’re working on a metal roof, snow or rain can be very scary.
Carl Hagstrom (standing to my right) came out to help me set the windows. You can tell that I’m pretty happy to be a barn-builder and owner, but Carl’s wondering what he’s doing outside wearing a tool belt when the temperature is in the teens!
All the windows were framed in flush to the purlins, and were now ready for housewrap and board-and-bat siding.
We wrapped WRB on the outside of the purlins to help block wind and rain. Plus, having the WRB outside the purlins allowed me to spray insulation foam behind the posts. Rough-cut green lumber tends to split a lot as it dries, so we only nailed one side of the siding and batts, then let everything dry and shrink six to eight months before nailing off the second side. You’ll also notice that we set a temporary 2×4 with a laser right at the bottom of the siding, which made it easy to install the 16-ft. tall boards.
We installed flexible flashing for each sill pan, then applied a good bead of sealant. You can also see in this picture the 2×6 framing for each window opening—on the right side, the 2×6 framing box is secured to the horizontal purlins.
The WRB was cut flush with the window opening, then lifted up high enough to clear the window flashing. We ran sealant up the sides and across the top of each window, but left the bottoms open, so they’d drain.
Carl’s an old hand at window installs—I think he’s installed a few hundred windows just at building shows alone! We checked for plumb, level, and sash function before securing each window.
Yes, it’s too cold to be installing adhesive flashing! We tried to keep it warm in the truck, but the weather wasn’t going to hold up my barn!
Here’s the finished shop! Well…almost. I was in a hurry, so I sided right over the front door and side window—I cut both of those in later.
Both the top hay door and hay dolly at the peak are in—they’re both dummies, just for looks. The siding boards are 16-ft. so we packed out the purlins with 1-in. batts, and ran the gable siding right over the top of the wall siding.
I hung a pair of sliding barn doors, so it would really look like an old barn, but I also installed a 2-in. insulated garage door behind it them. I got the rolling-door design from a building I saw in the neighborhood. I really like that raked top rail.
I really wanted the building to look like it had always been there, for a few hundred years. Once the fresh-cut lumber darkens, I think it will. The real crime is…I’m thinking about an addition.
Even before I insulated the walls, the WRB made for a great wind block—and a nice place to work while we poured the slab. Notice that the 16-ft. walls and scissor trusses leave plenty of room for a second floor or loft down the road.
On the inside, we poured a monolithic slab over 8 in. of tamped stone. I set a radiant-heat system in the slab, too, so the slab is insulated around the perimeter with 2-in. blue board 16 in. tall on the wall and 16 in. wide at the bottom of the pour.
We poured the perimeter 12-in. x 16-in. and the interior floor 6 in. thick with 3/8-in. insulation rolled under the whole slab.
We put expansion board around the poles, and hung the rebar wired to 20d, so it would stay in place while pouring.
After laying down all the tubes, I put 3/8 insulation over the tubes where we were going to cut the expansion joints. I don’t know why I did that…it just felt good.
Conduit protected the tubes where they came up out of the concrete—that way we wouldn’t slice through them while finishing the floor. We installed 8 loops, so none of the loops would be too long.
To protect the tubes during the pour, we wheeled the mud in on sheets of OSB. The heat tubes were pressurized, so if we had a leak we would know right away and could repair it right then and there. I had plenty friends to help.
I was especially lucky to have Harry Aldrich on the job that day. He’s one of the best flat-work guys in my area. He’s old school, with plenty of patience, and he does beautiful work.
My plumber and friend Keith Birchard stayed the whole day—just in case we hurt one of the tubes, he was there ready to repair it.
After the pour, I divided the slab in to 6 sections and cut the expansion joint about 1 1/2 in. deep, praying I wouldn’t hit any tubes that might have floated up in the concrete.
I dreamed for years of having a building and floor like this one.
• • •
AUTHOR BIO
Tom (right) letting loose at a machine gun rally in Kentucky.
Tom Brewer lives and tries to work in Northeastern Pennsylvania, but, unfortunately, he’s not home much, and has yet to set up his new shop! Tom travels about seven months out of every year as Road Manager for the Katz Roadshow.
Still, all that traveling has a few rewards. Steady work; touring historic homes and locations; and, occasionally, some real fun.
A great story Tom! Great to see a little bit of your shop since you have seen so many of ours over the years with the Katz crew. Looks great! Hope to see you at the Kuiken Brothers Expo in November with Mike and Rick!
I only have two words: Shop Envy. Great article, Tom. Hopefully those Roadshow guys will let you have some time to go dink around and do a project or two :)
Thanks for great pix of your build, step by step coupled with reasons why you did things a certain way is great info. Now I hope you get the time to really use your fine shop. It’s great to have a lot of friends when you do something like this, and Tom you sure did. One thing you didn’t tell us is…. How much beer did you go thru? Lol
Thanks Dave hopefully i’ll really get to use it some time . but for now the roadshow keeps me busy. nice that you noticed my friends, if it wasn’t for all my friends i never could have done that building. As far as how much beer? my friends have gold cards with me!! so i guess we’ll never know! thanks again tomb.
no just the 3/8 bubble wrap insulation under the main slab. and the 2″ blue board around the perimeter and under the footer that stops the out side cool air from in.
That is really sweet Tom! I would love a shop like that. Maybe someday it will happen. Looking forward to the sequel to see what tools and cool projects you create in there. Cheers
Jealous – that’s all I can say. Great article Tom. Beautiful barn. I’ll be anxious to see this shop evolve as you set it up.
BTW – next time you do a radiant floor (and for anyone contemplating this) instead of saw-cutting and holding your breath worrying about nicking tubing (a real concern) ..just use zip-strip type control joints in the slab. It’s a T-shaped deal that trowels in when you pour, and the top pops off leaving a perfect 1-2″ (depending on part #) “cut”. You can also make your own in a pinch with coil stock (without the “T” strip of course) – For small jobs we used to bend a 1.5″ “V” crimp with a 1/4″ stiffener on the top that we’d push down just below the grout. Here’s a link to commercial ‘zip strip’ — http://www.superiorprofiles.com/products.php
Most concrete companies do business with Superior (also available via Goldblatt) and can order you what you need..
Beautiful beautiful building. Just curious as to the length and width. Thanks for sharing the process.
Joe Stoddard is right about the zip strip, the concrete guy did it on my basement radiant floor. Not a 100% perfect, but better and safer than saw cut joints.
For anyone contemplating it, I would recommend rigid insulation below radiant. I have 1″ but should have done 2″ I” is hard to work above, it will want to crack with every step if you weight much. Tom you had the right idea on the perimeter. With no insulation below you will be heating a lot of stone. Heat travels to cold right?
Hi Rich my building is 40×60 with 16′ walls. The main reason i didn’t put insulation in the floor was cost. I wasnt really sure when or if I was going to fire up the floor, not going to think about it till i get in there full time. i spent my time and money on air loss and i think it paid off, my building has never gotten below 35 degrees inside with no heat. thanks tom b.
Tom, I’ll join the others in saying what a great job you did on your shop. Really looks nice. I’m planning to build a 32X40 barn in Colorado beginning in late June. I have a thousand questions for you but two stand out. How long did construction take? And, did you set your posts (6×6?) into the concrete?
Hello Tom, Glad I followed the link while signing up for Oct 22nds Warren NJ Show…
I look at that barn and enjoy the great pleasure it must bring you!! I’m excited to see another dream come true… Its a future project one day…month////year down the road for myself as well…lol
Something I didn’t realize or fully realize is all that free space… My god!! I work in a 25′ x 13′ x 7′ House Garage… And if you account for all the memories and items we’ve saved for the “Big Yard Sale” over the last 20 years I’m really only left with a 1/4 of that space…lol
So as soon as the first picture made perfectly clear of the floor space you now have…. I instantly thought of that joke of ” The couple that was perfect for each other’ But got divorced because she said it was like throwing a Cheerio Down a HallWay….If you get what I’m saying……LMAO
Seeing all that space made me feel like a Cheerio…….. No…Not the reason for why the woman left her husband…. lol
If I set up shop in your dream barn… I’d be a Cheerio the barn would be the hallway….. But I know not for long…lol Man would it be fun to fill that place in!! Even more fun If I had the money!!! LMAO…. But if you ever need someone to help move things around or anything… I’m only a hr or two away! Feel free to contact me… Something I loved about your article is the detail to friends, And how even though he wasn’t needed in the end..(Plumber) Keith Birchard. He was still there!! So for all your great friendships I thank you for helping making this hr a inspiring one. Look forward to meeting u.
Take Care.. Anthony M.
PS…. What system is the radiant heat system… and did this apply better due to and land or location factors…. other then cost.. Was Geothermal an option…. I’m just getting my feet wet with this stuff. Amazing applications!
Tom, when we talked about your barn/suite/ballroom at JLC in Portland, I had no idea it was as grand as it is. Nice job in design and blending in with the local surrounding area. As a person that has admired barns since I was a young child, my hat comes off to you and your friends for a great looking shop. Hope you get to spend a little time in it creating great projects.
Thanks Jerry my wife and i also enjoy looking at barns. its our history you know. it was really nice talking to you again . hope to see you in dec at jlc tom b
Beautiful barn!! Two questions, are you planning on leaving the wood siding weather to a gray color, or will you use transparent finish to try and keep the original wood color?
Also, do you know how wide the gable (doghouse) dormers are?
This is real cool. I would like to do this, in to a 3 bedroom 2.5 bathroom, one story . What is the peak of the ceiling? I would pour 2/3 in 3” rat slab for crawl space the other 1 third would be normal pour for radiant heat , I would floor joist for the bedroom bathrooms and kitchen with standard framing 10 foot ceiling would be flat and not vaulted,there would be steps down into the front room, the ceiling in the front room is vaulted and open to the kitchen, thank you love your job.
So I started looking at barns for ideas—and I looked everywhere. I’m lucky to work with the Katz Roadshow. We travel all over the country. I found this place in the Pacific Northwest, while we were driving from Seattle up through the San Juan Islands. As soon as I saw this barn, I knew it was the one (see photo, left). I liked the peaked gable roofs, with the hay-pulleys. I don’t even know what you call that style, but that was it.
On the next few road trips, we worked on a SketchUp drawing. I wanted to use that Greek Revival trim design, too, the one Gary demonstrates at the roadshows. I’ve seen that same style of window and door trim on barns and buildings all around me (see photo, right), and figured it would look great on my shop—I wanted the building to fit right into the area where I live, as if it had always been there.
He told me that for basically the price of a foundation I could have half the materials of a pole barn. And he told me that if I was careful while building the barn, I could tighten up the cost even more by paying attention to all the small details. Plus, I could tighten up the building, too—seal it up and insulate it really well—which where I live is pretty important. It gets cold here!
We wrapped WRB on the outside of the purlins to help block wind and rain. Plus, having the WRB outside the purlins allowed me to spray insulation foam behind the posts. Rough-cut green lumber tends to split a lot as it dries, so we only nailed one side of the siding and batts, then let everything dry and shrink six to eight months before nailing off the second side. You’ll also notice that we set a temporary 2×4 with a laser right at the bottom of the siding, which made it easy to install the 16-ft. tall boards.
A great story Tom! Great to see a little bit of your shop since you have seen so many of ours over the years with the Katz crew. Looks great! Hope to see you at the Kuiken Brothers Expo in November with Mike and Rick!
I only have two words: Shop Envy. Great article, Tom. Hopefully those Roadshow guys will let you have some time to go dink around and do a project or two :)
Thanks for great pix of your build, step by step coupled with reasons why you did things a certain way is great info. Now I hope you get the time to really use your fine shop. It’s great to have a lot of friends when you do something like this, and Tom you sure did. One thing you didn’t tell us is…. How much beer did you go thru? Lol
Thanks Dave hopefully i’ll really get to use it some time . but for now the roadshow keeps me busy. nice that you noticed my friends, if it wasn’t for all my friends i never could have done that building. As far as how much beer? my friends have gold cards with me!! so i guess we’ll never know! thanks again tomb.
Tom, that looks great! I’m really happy for you. Now get your tools in there and make something! LOL
Is there really no insulation beneath the slab?
no just the 3/8 bubble wrap insulation under the main slab. and the 2″ blue board around the perimeter and under the footer that stops the out side cool air from in.
That is really sweet Tom! I would love a shop like that. Maybe someday it will happen. Looking forward to the sequel to see what tools and cool projects you create in there. Cheers
Nice piece, Tom! We’ve talked so much about your shop, but it’s nice to finally get a tour. Great design, BTW.
Jealous – that’s all I can say. Great article Tom. Beautiful barn. I’ll be anxious to see this shop evolve as you set it up.
BTW – next time you do a radiant floor (and for anyone contemplating this) instead of saw-cutting and holding your breath worrying about nicking tubing (a real concern) ..just use zip-strip type control joints in the slab. It’s a T-shaped deal that trowels in when you pour, and the top pops off leaving a perfect 1-2″ (depending on part #) “cut”. You can also make your own in a pinch with coil stock (without the “T” strip of course) – For small jobs we used to bend a 1.5″ “V” crimp with a 1/4″ stiffener on the top that we’d push down just below the grout. Here’s a link to commercial ‘zip strip’ — http://www.superiorprofiles.com/products.php
Most concrete companies do business with Superior (also available via Goldblatt) and can order you what you need..
Beautiful beautiful building. Just curious as to the length and width. Thanks for sharing the process.
Joe Stoddard is right about the zip strip, the concrete guy did it on my basement radiant floor. Not a 100% perfect, but better and safer than saw cut joints.
For anyone contemplating it, I would recommend rigid insulation below radiant. I have 1″ but should have done 2″ I” is hard to work above, it will want to crack with every step if you weight much. Tom you had the right idea on the perimeter. With no insulation below you will be heating a lot of stone. Heat travels to cold right?
Hi Rich my building is 40×60 with 16′ walls. The main reason i didn’t put insulation in the floor was cost. I wasnt really sure when or if I was going to fire up the floor, not going to think about it till i get in there full time. i spent my time and money on air loss and i think it paid off, my building has never gotten below 35 degrees inside with no heat. thanks tom b.
Loved the article. Lucky you! Hope you get to use it soon.
>>As far as how much beer? my friends have gold cards with me!!
That’s the best news I’ve heard this year …. and it’s in writing! I can see the headline now: “Montrose shop owner goes bankrupt over beer tab”
A guy named “Brewer” better be good for the beer !
So, once you make enough money doing something else, you can afford a nice place to play carpenter?
Tom B. Your building is a thing of beauty. You and your friends must feel pretty proud of your labors. Best of luck with your barn.
Thanks Peg i know i am and i’m sure are my friends. Every body in the area loves the look also .so i guess we well. thanks again tom b.
Tom, I’ll join the others in saying what a great job you did on your shop. Really looks nice. I’m planning to build a 32X40 barn in Colorado beginning in late June. I have a thousand questions for you but two stand out. How long did construction take? And, did you set your posts (6×6?) into the concrete?
Thanks,
Mike
Hello Tom, Glad I followed the link while signing up for Oct 22nds Warren NJ Show…
I look at that barn and enjoy the great pleasure it must bring you!! I’m excited to see another dream come true… Its a future project one day…month////year down the road for myself as well…lol
Something I didn’t realize or fully realize is all that free space… My god!! I work in a 25′ x 13′ x 7′ House Garage… And if you account for all the memories and items we’ve saved for the “Big Yard Sale” over the last 20 years I’m really only left with a 1/4 of that space…lol
So as soon as the first picture made perfectly clear of the floor space you now have…. I instantly thought of that joke of ” The couple that was perfect for each other’ But got divorced because she said it was like throwing a Cheerio Down a HallWay….If you get what I’m saying……LMAO
Seeing all that space made me feel like a Cheerio…….. No…Not the reason for why the woman left her husband…. lol
If I set up shop in your dream barn… I’d be a Cheerio the barn would be the hallway….. But I know not for long…lol Man would it be fun to fill that place in!! Even more fun If I had the money!!! LMAO…. But if you ever need someone to help move things around or anything… I’m only a hr or two away! Feel free to contact me… Something I loved about your article is the detail to friends, And how even though he wasn’t needed in the end..(Plumber) Keith Birchard. He was still there!! So for all your great friendships I thank you for helping making this hr a inspiring one. Look forward to meeting u.
Take Care.. Anthony M.
PS…. What system is the radiant heat system… and did this apply better due to and land or location factors…. other then cost.. Was Geothermal an option…. I’m just getting my feet wet with this stuff. Amazing applications!
Tom, when we talked about your barn/suite/ballroom at JLC in Portland, I had no idea it was as grand as it is. Nice job in design and blending in with the local surrounding area. As a person that has admired barns since I was a young child, my hat comes off to you and your friends for a great looking shop. Hope you get to spend a little time in it creating great projects.
Thanks Jerry my wife and i also enjoy looking at barns. its our history you know. it was really nice talking to you again . hope to see you in dec at jlc tom b
Beautiful barn!! Two questions, are you planning on leaving the wood siding weather to a gray color, or will you use transparent finish to try and keep the original wood color?
Also, do you know how wide the gable (doghouse) dormers are?
i had planed on putting a clear coat on but never got it done, so its weathered gray. the dormers are about 65″ wide thanks tom b
This is real cool. I would like to do this, in to a 3 bedroom 2.5 bathroom, one story . What is the peak of the ceiling? I would pour 2/3 in 3” rat slab for crawl space the other 1 third would be normal pour for radiant heat , I would floor joist for the bedroom bathrooms and kitchen with standard framing 10 foot ceiling would be flat and not vaulted,there would be steps down into the front room, the ceiling in the front room is vaulted and open to the kitchen, thank you love your job.