Introduction

A DIY Pole Barn House is an excellent choice if you are looking for an inexpensive and simple way to add more storage to your home property.

Using pole barns can be a quick solution for building a permanent, solid shelter to house farm animals, store equipment, or function as a workshop. Building a pole barn yourself is not so tasking. You just need to be willing to put in the work and follow the right steps to construct it.

Pole Barns are much easier to build than structural facilities and it has many advantages like- versatility, economical, stability and easy adaptability of the structure.

Building a DIY pole barn house does not require so much carpentry expertise or fancy tools, so if you have never constructed anything before you do not need to fret: this will be just a walk in the park. 

Building a Pole Barn House Yourself

There are four simple steps involved in constructing a pole barn. They are:

1. Build a level base pad 

The earth should be level and flat but well raised to prevent water from draining during the wet seasons. Use smooth soil to fill it up if you prefer a soil base, if not consider using concrete to fill it up for a harder surface. 

Another inexpensive base filling you can use is rock screening. It is easy to pat down and scrape out once you have no more need for the pole barn house, thus less harmful to the plant-growing potential of the soil beneath it.

2. Place poles vertically in holes dug in the ground

Place several poles vertically deep into the ground base. If you used a cement base, place the poles before it dries out completely. 

3. Brace and connect them with beams

The poles will next be connected to each other by beams and braces across the top.

4. Finish with roof trusses and Sidings 

The last part of the pole barn building is to install the roof trusses and sidings. An ideal truss should be metallic or wooden and able to withstand snow, heavy wind or dust. 

In choosing the right materials for barn siding, a few things need to be considered, such as humidity level, cost of maintenance, laws guiding the area, and climate conditions. Select a kit with the best materials based on these conditions and you are good to go.

To make things less stressful for you, purchase a pole barn kit instead of going directly to a lumber yard to get timbers to use as poles. 

A Pole barn house comes with the necessary items like poles, connecting beams and roof trusses. The kit could be metal or wood and comes with different floor plans and designs depending on the type of barn you desire. Extras like wall partitions, mansards, cupolas or coat layers can accompany each kit too.

Pole Barn Decorating Ideas

When planning to design your pole barn, consider the size and features of the floor plan. Your intended use of it also will play a major role in how your design will be. 

Pole barns built for horses could have gable sheds and roofs with cedar shingle sidings and larger spacing between poles. 

One built for storing equipment, workspace or garage should have extra windows to give room for enough sunlight.

Here are some more pole barn decorating ideas you can employ to spice up your barn;

Door And Window Design

Windows and doors can be decorative depending on the design used. Using crossbucks sliding doors and shutter windows can enhance your pole barn. Also, drop-down doors and windows are a great choice.

Landscape

If your pole barn has a loft or an open entryway, consider having large boulders or sculpted pieces placed in strategic positions on the outside around the barn. This would give it a more artistic and antique look.  You can also plant pine trees around. 

Painting

Colours also play an important role in beautifying a pole barn. Since you already know what your barn will be used for, you can select colours that would suit the wall paintings and window blinds. 

Use a complementary colour palette for the sidings, roof and floorboards.  You can use watercolour to paint stripes on boulders (if you have any) or paint empty barrels in different colours and stack them on top of each other. This can add charm and artistry to your pole barn. 

Ornamentals

Consider growing colourful flowers or shrubs as a hedge around the barn or a creeping vine to cover the wall. Flowers will give an elegant look to the pole barn. 

Wainscotting

Pole barns can be enhanced with wainscoting too to add beauty. The wainscot can be coloured to give the barn  a brighter look. 

Mansard

A mansard, also known as eyebrows,  is a great way to add extra character to your decorating style. In addition to being decorative, it provides weather protection for windows and doors.

Cupolas

Erecting a cupola on the roof gives off a certain antique charm that is appealing to the eyes, especially one that has a rooster on the top.

How to Make a Pole Barn Into a House

Converting a pole barn into a liveable house is not as easy as it looks. A lot of things need to be put into consideration before taking that route. Some of these are the site of construction, construction materials and purpose of construction. If the pole barn was originally built as a shed or storage equipment you would need to add extra insulation, pole space, plumbing and wiring. 

Considering these, if you are willing to turn it into a home instead of building from scratch, you might want to carry out the following activities:

• Get a simple house construction plan, specifically a four-square one. The essence of this is to get a similar site plan that would retrofit the existing construction site.
• Next is to pull down the entire barn, to rebuild the foundation and walls from the inside out. For hand-hewn frames, it is best to clad them in reclaimed Barnwood, then add insulation to the floors, sheathing, and aluminium panels.
• You can then work glass sheets into larger versions of the old barn-door openings. Build channels in the floor to catch condensation; use wind and geothermal energy for power and heating.
• Reinforce ties at the collars of the walls with tension rods to prevent slippage and to support the roof if it is prone to snow avalanches.
• You can employ the services of Masons, metal workers, and structural engineers to polish the barn and a plumber to run pipes underground.
• Use steel tension rods and pipes to reinforce the roof, and steel beams to create and hold up a master bedroom space. The lines of the railing should reflect both the Barnwood and the metal.
• Build an outdoor kitchen, and outdoor seating area, and invest in landscaping
• Install clean-lined plumbing fixtures in the bathroom and kitchen.

Pole Barn House Interior Designs

One wrong thing to do is to judge a pole barn by its exterior. Pole barns might look more structural on the outside than traditional homes, yet they usually have large spaces inside and high ceilings. 

This makes it very easy for its interior to be styled with intrinsic design elements. You could furnish the floor with a mezzanine or install wooden rafters. The walls can be painted with pale and subtle colours to give a warm and relaxing feel or with bright colours to add vibrancy to the home. 

Metal crafts or sculpted works can even be hung on the walls too.

Light furniture and accessories that complement the walls and window colour design are best to use. Be careful to place them in the right places depending on the layout of the floor base and walls. 

Use stylish drapes and curtains for the large windows. If the windows are shutters, you can create a lovely flower bed by the sill. There will be enough sunlight during the day but you can have floor lamps or led lights in wall brackets.

The second floor of a pole barn home is a feature that makes it stand out among other traditional homes. You can use them either as luxurious master bedrooms or simply as an area where family members can gather to chat.

For a more modern look, you could add an extra room such as a porch or basement. The DIY pole barn house kit might not contain this feature, but it can be created separately and added to the pole barn house.

Conclusion

The perfect DIY pole barn house can last for 15- 20 years if it is well planned out and designed for whatever purpose it is serving. Consider the local laws that govern the area and the climate conditions of the area before selecting a suitable building site. Some countries and towns have certain laws that prohibit certain designs or materials for pole barn houses. 

By keeping all of these concepts in mind and following the simple guidelines described here, your pole barn will be less of a hassle for you. Hurry up, and start building ar pole barn yourself.