Pole building framing

The method was developed and matured during the 1930s as agricultural practices changed, including the shift toward engine-powered farm equipment and the demand for cheaper, larger barns and storage areas.

[3] Pole barn construction was a quick and economical method of adding outbuildings on a farm as agriculture shifted to equipment-dependent and capital-intensive agriculture—necessitating shelter for tractors, harvesters, wagons and the like in much greater quantities and sizes.

Poles, from which these buildings get their name, are natural shaped or round wooden timbers 4 to 12 inches (100 to 300 mm) in diameter.

Buried posts may be driven into the ground or set in holes then filled with soil, crushed stone, or concrete.

[6] Siding materials for a pole building are most commonly rolled-rib 29-gauge enameled steel cut to length in 32-or-36-inch (813 or 914 mm) widths attached using color-matched screws with rubber washers to seal the holes.

The most common use for pole buildings is storage buildings as it was on the farms, but today they may be for the storage of automobiles, boats, and RVs along with many other household items that would normally be found in a residential garage, or commercially as the surroundings for a light industry or small corporate offices with attached shops.