Practical Pole Building Construction: With Plans for Barns, Cabins, & Outbuildings

On this page you will find pole barn plans and kits. Plus construction designs and blueprints. Learn how to build one of these buildings and lower your costs. Whether you need a cheap house, shop or some other outbuilding this is the cheapest and easiest way to build what you need.

Most building are labor intensive and cost a lot of money but the pole barn can be made with cheap materials and a lot less labor. When comparing cost of building this type will always come out ahead. Some can build from scratch and others do better with a kit or package that has the materials and all you have to do is put it together.

A Tall Tale

We were excited. We had just purchased some property in eastern Washington State. The area was covered with yellow grass interspersed with a few trees but the land we had bought was special in that it was on top of a hill and had a great view. We could see the mountains in the distance and the view went on forever. Also the great expanse of sky gave us the ability to see for miles giving us a front seat to the weather in the area and beautiful stars at night Our expense account wasn't very big so we set up in a camper until we have the money to build a house and used almost every last penny getting in the utilities. We also wanted to be able to live off the grid in times of emergency so had a back up in solar and wind power.

Photo used under Creative Commons from Robin

Since we were comfortable in our nice camper we decided that the first thing we wanted to build was a shop and garage combo. I needed a place for my tools and then I could slowly build a nice little home to live in as the finances came in. However all our saved money was gone. We figured a pole barn style building would be great for our needs but there weren't any finances for it.

We both made our living from the Internet and my piano tuning and this took care of our monthly expenses and gave us some savings. However it would still take several years to save up enough money to build the shop.

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In the meantime we were contend to enjoy our view and had a nice covered porch where we could sit outside and take it all in. A couple of months after getting settled we were returning home after a day in town when we came upon a car parked along side of the road. It looked like a family walking around and they seemed to be searching for something. Slowing down we stopped and asked if they needed any help. The parents came to our car and told us that they were looking for something they had lost and hoped to find it. A couple of weeks ago they had lost a lottery ticket out of the window in the area and were sure it was a winning one. They always had the same numbers and this time it had won.

We were surprised they would tell us this information but the dad explained that they had been coming out here for the last two weeks and have almost given up hope so were willing to let others know that might help them find it. They knew us from seeing us in the area and figured that we were their neighbors and honest folks. The ticket was worth about two million dollars and if we found it they would give us a reward.

I jokingly told them that they could finance a pole barn for us if we found it for them and they quickly agreed. We got their number just in case and continued home. We never gambled or played the lottery because it was a waste of money and God did not approve. But in this case we figured it would be fine to help out a neighbor and maybe even finance our building.

After breakfast the next morning we headed out to the area where the family was looking the day before. Since it was only about a mile and a half from our home we just walked. I was on one side of the road and my wife on the other side checking the weeds and watching for any small piece of paper.

We got to where they family had been checking and continued on down the road. There was garbage and papers to be found so the going was slow as we checked each one. Maybe a half a mile pass where the family was searching my wife spotted a paper and checked it out. She started to yell and was hopping up and down as I raced up to her and took a look for myself. It was a lottery ticket and had the right date on it!

We headed for home as fast as we could. We did not have a cell phone so could not call until we arrived at our house. I was out of breath so had to rest for a couple of minutes and then called the number the family had given us. The dad answered and we told him we found a lottery ticket. He was excited and it wasn't very long before they pulled up in a cloud of dust in front of our camper.

They piled out of the car and I ran over and placed the ticket in the dad's hand. He looked at it carefully and started to cry. It was the right one and had the winning numbers on it.

There were hugs all around before they left and we had a warm glow from helping someone out. They promised to help us out with our building and we hoped they would keep their promise.

The promise was kept and within a couple of months we had our building. Now after the building is completely done we plan to start building our home as we come up with the funds. There is no hurry since we are comfortable in our little camper and have a nice shop to work in and park our car.

Many times when you help someone else out you get helped in return. It may not always come with a large reward or happen right away but the good feeling and encouragement you receive when you help someone is a reward in itself.

(this material came from another page)
With the right plans or kits the construction of your barn, shop or even your home should not be very hard. This photo shows one that is in the process of being built. Notice that they have a great view and the house is probably not very far away.

If I were to guess where this photo (at the top) was taken I would have to guess eastern Washington State. If you have any other ideas you can tell us in the comment section near the bottom of this page.

This pole barn is still in the construction stage and they are getting close to being done. One of the advantages to building with non-flammable materials is the defense from grass and forest fires. It makes a lot of sense to build something like this if you live in a fire danger area. I see the fires in California and wonder why those expensive homes were not built from materials that would not burn very easy. They should have metal roofs and decking. The bushes and trees should be cut close to the home and sprinkles installed outside and on the roof. A holding water tank plus a generator that would keep the water coming when the power is gone should be ready.

While many pole barns are actually shops this one in the photo above is a real barn. The horse and goats don’t seem to care but making their barn out of non flammable material will help keep them safe. These buildings are also easier to clean and will last a lot longer than wooden structures.

I used to own a couple of goats and milked one each morning and night. The milk was so good and very close to the taste of cow’s milk. It did not have the strong traditional goat flavor that can turn many away from using this milk. It all depends on what you feed them. I fed my goats alfalfa hay, alfalfa pellets and oats with molasses. This combination seemed to do the trick very well. Of course the goats could supplement their food with grass and a little sagebrush while out in the field.

The pole barn in the photo above is complete and is very durable in the winter. I would guess this photo was taken around where I live in Wisconsin or some state close by. The trees are all bare and it looks very cold.

I daydream of buying some property that already has a large pole barn on it. My dream is to move out west in some woodsy place. Since I don’t have a lot of money the plan would be to buy a nice camper and move it into this building. I would install some windows and a large wood stove. The building would need to be insulated really well too.

My camper would be the kitchen, bathroom and bedroom and the rest of the building outside of the RV would be the living area and shop combination. Plumbing would need to be installed and I could curtain off some areas for guest quarters. It would be fun to design this and have a nice living environment without spending a lot of money.

This page should have all the kits and plans you might need.

Susan Dietel
Web Programmer
Email: susansdesign@yahoo.com