# Carolina Carports - my "pole barn"



## bcbz71 (Dec 22, 2008)

I've read a few interesting posts on here regarding pole barns, so I thought I'd share my recent experience.

Got quotes on both pole barns and metal buildings. Decided to go with a metal building, here is why:

No wood to rot or for carpenter bees to damage purlins or side framing
Higher wind rating. Across bayou from me a metal building survived 160mph Hurricane Michael winds
Perfectly square construction. It's an engineered design, so there's no mistakes by installers.
More building for less money
A friend got one and loves it
I absolutely LOVE this building. Construction is first class. Crew came from Moultrie, GA and worked 14hs a day and cleaned up. The porch gives great shade - was working under it yesterday at 97 degrees! Highly recommend looking into this option if you are considering a building. My salesman was Chad Burke at American Steel Buildings. He was very patient with me and I have a very custom design. I worked with some other companies and frankly they were a**holes and only wanted to sell a standard square configuration with no customization.

Dimensions:

Pad: 44x55
Enclosure: 40x44
Porch: 15x44
Interior room: 12x24
Peak height: 16'
Center wall height: 13'
Side wall height: 9'
Upgraded framing tubing from 14 to 12 guage steel
Plumbing for toilet/shower/sink and two 2" electrical conduits stubbed in.
Building cost: $27K
Concrete cost: $12K (12" footers, 4" 3000psi fiber reinforced, 1.5" slope on porch)

Process:

pick out your building from salesman
make modifications and upgrades
17% down
Send them pictures of concrete pad when ready
50% of balance due at time of install scheduling
Remainder due when building finished
Mine was a 3 day install - they originally said 2
Timeline:

Bought shed in Jan 2020
Pad poured 1 May 2020 (really hard to line up concrete crew)
Install started 2 Jun 2020
Next steps:

Electrical
Spray foam ($6K estimate)
Build out bathroom
Build out enclosure


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## DLo (Oct 2, 2007)

Great post, and I love the building, looks like a great setup.


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## Jason (Oct 2, 2007)

Great write up....good looking barn!!! Keep posting pics as you complete more!!!


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## etrade92 (Jul 30, 2015)

Great write up for sure. Getting ready to pull the trigger on one in December, myself. I saw you mentioned Georgia, do you mind sharing the supplier you bought it from?


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## Sequoiha (Sep 28, 2007)

I’ve got a deposit on mine right now with the same company.


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## bcbz71 (Dec 22, 2008)

eTrade: Call Chad at American Steel Buildings and tell him you saw Brad's Florida building. He's such a great guy to work with. I had millions of questions and shopped around a lot before I bought from him. O'steens Buildings out of Valdosta was rude and made me feel like I was bothering them with my questions. I wouldn't buy anything from those guys.

Chad Burke's info is here:








AMERICAN STEEL BUILDINGS - Home


American Steel Buildings LLC is the low cost leader of American-made carports, garages, barns and custom structures. 912-294-2011



americansteelbuildingsllc.com





The way it works is that the independent dealers sell you the building then pass you off to Carolina Carports for the install. Only certain dealers can sell in Florida because of the strict wind codes. Chad was responsive to me via text, phone and email throughout the entire process even though he really didn't have to be after I bought the building. Carolina Carports was swamped during COVID so they were not quick to respond, so I would let Chad know and he would get me an answer quick.

One think to keep in mind is that they want 50% at time of install, and Credit Cards are 3% extra and they wait for your personal check to clear. I didn't want to delay a week, so I got their bank info and was able to wire directly to them. I did it all from home via secure email with my credit union for $15. You can pay the installer with a personal check when he is done if you like. I went ahead and wired the final payment also rather than risk the installer losing the check!

Note: The legs allow for up to a 3" variation in your concrete. My slab was perfectly flat for the building, but the front 15' was sloped 1.5" for drainage. I could have put a 1" drop off like a house garage where the porch meets the building to keep water out. Basically, what I am telling you is that have 3" to play with in how you have your slab poured. The steel beams anchored into the floor are 2.25" wide, so if you stub in anything, keep it that far or more from the edge.

If you want open bays like I have, you have to buy headers else you will have vertical studs in the center of your shed like along the outer edges.

I opted for the vertical roof upgrade but kept the side sheet metal horizontal. I did pay extra for vertical gable steel on the front. Going all vertical steel on this building was a $1000 upgrade.

Ask any other questions you like. Here are some more pictures:


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## X-Shark (Oct 3, 2007)

How big is the center door?


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## bcbz71 (Dec 22, 2008)

X-Shark said:


> How big is the center door?


The center rollup is 10x10. The 2 side rollups are 8x8. They need space for the roll-up above the door, so your wall height determines how big a door you can put in. I have 13' walls in the center so I could have put a 12' door. My side walls are 9', so they have the biggest door that will fit installed. You can see that in the 2nd picture I posted in my original post. 

My center section of the building is 20' wide and 13' tall to the top of the center walls with a 16' peak. I think if I were to do it all over again, I would go 12' walls in the center and keep the 9' walls on the outer walls. I don't need all that height -- I'm not storing hay!


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## Boat-Dude (Sep 24, 2011)

Are they going to put enclosures on your roof panels?


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## bcbz71 (Dec 22, 2008)

Boat-Dude said:


> Are they going to put enclosures on your roof panels?


I don't know what you mean, but the shed is complete. The gables are boxed with the white trim and there is a rubber seal that forms to the contour of the sheet metal so wind blown rain can't come into where the side roof meets the step up to the main roof.

It is not airtight, but spray foam will take care of that!


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## Boat-Dude (Sep 24, 2011)




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## bcbz71 (Dec 22, 2008)

That is part of the boxed gable I was referring to. The inside you pointed out is a foot or more from the outside. There are rubber contour strips used to seal the multi level roof. I'm not sure if they used a rubber seal there on the eave. I will have to check it out.


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## OHenry (Apr 28, 2011)

Great post. Looking forward to updates.


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## Wood Guy (Jul 6, 2019)

If you don't mind sharing, what do you think your estimated final cost will be?


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## Boat-Dude (Sep 24, 2011)

bcbz71 said:


> That is part of the boxed gable I was referring to. The inside you pointed out is a foot or more from the outside. There are rubber contour strips used to seal the multi level roof. I'm not sure if they used a rubber seal there on the eave. I will have to check it out.
> 
> View attachment 1069744


Ok, maybe they did the enclosures after that picture was taken. You shouldn't see any light. Barn looks great!!1


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## X-Shark (Oct 3, 2007)

> The center rollup is 10x10.


Yep I'm sorry to tell you and your not the 1st to find this out.....If you have a boat with a T-top.....It's gonna be sitting outside. It will not go thru a 10ft tall door.....


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## bcbz71 (Dec 22, 2008)

Wood Guy said:


> If you don't mind sharing, what do you think your estimated final cost will be?


I wanted to be under $50K, but it's looking more like $55K. Foam, Electrical, Plumbing, shelves, LED lights, fans, mini-split, gravel.... I also want to get some trusses fabricated and welded to create a 20x8' loft because you can never have enough storage! I bought 2 sets of 4x8x8 pallet racks to give me 6 shelves, each the size of a sheet of plywood.




X-Shark said:


> Yep I'm sorry to tell you and your not the 1st to find this out.....If you have a boat with a T-top.....It's gonna be sitting outside. It will not go thru a 10ft tall door.....


I never intend to have another big boat or RV. This is my space to build stuff, store stuff and just hang out! At most, I may buy a river boat, but I'm over saltwater fishing.


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## haulingrass (Aug 8, 2016)

Place looks awesome.


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## bcbz71 (Dec 22, 2008)

Got my first electrical estimate yesterday. It wasn't a "hard" estimate as the guy charges by the hour. But it's looking like all of $12K for 100A service run via MC cable and that doesn't include the actual light fixtures. 

I had no idea.



Boat-Dude said:


> Ok, maybe they did the enclosures after that picture was taken. You shouldn't see any light. Barn looks great!!1


 I looked yesterday and there is not any sort of seal where the corrugated tin rests on top of the metal framing. The outer edge of the metal rafters have a boxed eave, but the corrugated panels are not sealed there either. I'll be foaming after the electrical, so it will get sealed, but I doubt many sheds are sealed in that location.


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## wld1985 (Oct 2, 2007)

bcbz71 said:


> Got my first electrical estimate yesterday. It wasn't a "hard" estimate as the guy charges by the hour. But it's looking like all of $12K for 100A service run via MC cable and that doesn't include the actual light fixtures.
> 
> I had no idea
> 
> ...


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## bcbz71 (Dec 22, 2008)

It's not a bid. He charges $65 hr per employee until the job is done. We did a rough hack at supplies and hours, but he won't provide a firm quote. It's in Washington County.


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## Splittine (Nov 24, 2007)

bcbz71 said:


> It's not a bid. He charges $65 hr per employee until the job is done. We did a rough hack at supplies and hours, but he won't provide a firm quote. It's in Washington County.


Id definitely stay away from one of those deals.Hard quote or walk.


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## bcbz71 (Dec 22, 2008)

Yeah, I'll try to get a bid or two, but dang near impossible to find someone who will answer the phone. Been stood up 3X already with no-shows.


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## bcbz71 (Dec 22, 2008)

Electrical going in. 200A power with 60A dedicated welder circuit and service for 110/220 for HWH, oven/range, overhead fans, gable exhaust fan, mini-split.... 8' LEDs are already throughout the shop....gonna light up great!

Bathroom roughed in. Got a nice sink off of Craiglist for $75 ($230 at HD) and built this open vanity this weekend. Shelf frame is just wedged there until it's plumbed. Was going to buy a vanity, but when I started pricing them, decided to go this route. Everything is so expensive!

The bathroom Phase II and electrical should be done this week. I don't have a well and septic yet, so Phase III won't be until next year.


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## Jason (Oct 2, 2007)

Just got back from the 127 yard sale and saw a ton of the corian counter top/sinks fer CHEAP!!!! Took all I had not to get one even though I don't need one!!!!!


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## X-Shark (Oct 3, 2007)

For a Shop......I HIGHLY recommend a Deep sink..aka Laundry Sink. MUCH easier to wash up to your elbows. My brother put 2 of them in his shop.....Still has the regular sink in the bathroom.


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## LY-zer (Jan 16, 2019)

When I re-do my garage I am going to put in a deep but narrow stainless steel sink. I have a resin sink but it stains awful.


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## bcbz71 (Dec 22, 2008)

This is just to wash your hands. I'll put in a big double stainless sink and a meat processing table out under the porch. We plan on growing most of our vegs and filling the freezer with deer and a few broods raised in the chicken tractor.


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## bcbz71 (Dec 22, 2008)

Powered up!


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## Splittine (Nov 24, 2007)

Turned out badass.


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## bcbz71 (Dec 22, 2008)

Night money shot and framing some interior walls before we have it spray foamed.


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## delta dooler (Mar 6, 2008)

Man thats fine!! 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Britany (6 mo ago)

Wow, what you've done is quite an elaborate job, but I like the building. It looks modern but at the same time is a safe option. Car awnings are the smartest idea if you need a place to protect your car or don't want to put it at risk by parking in the yard. I ordered one from https://carportaustralia.com.au/cantilever-carport/ and couldn't be happier. They saved me a lot of money because it's a more attractive option than building a garage, and I love the open space concept.


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## finfever61 (Oct 5, 2007)

Extremely nice setup! Wonder what the cost would be now? Up 25% from 2020? Or higher


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## Boardfeet (Sep 27, 2007)

finfever61 said:


> Extremely nice setup! Wonder what the cost would be now? Up 25% from 2020? Or higher


Likely more like 40%


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## bcbz71 (Dec 22, 2008)

Original Cost:
Building cost: $27K
Concrete cost: $12K (12" footers, 4" 3000psi fiber reinforced, 1.5" slope on porch)
Electrical: $7K+

2022 Cost:
Building cost: $35K (that was 6 months ago I had it repriced)
Concrete: $19.8
Electrical: At least $12K+

Here's a YouTube video of it being built:


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## bcbz71 (Dec 22, 2008)

We had a pole barn built in front of it. There's a complete playlist on our channel of that built out and enclosed.

Here's the first part:


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