Henri Bauholz is a professional writer covering a variety of topics, including hiking, camping, foreign travel and nature. He has written travel articles for several online publications and his travels have taken him all over the world, from Mexico to Latin America and across the Atlantic to Europe.
SUPPLIES
- Line level
- Chalk line
- Framing nails (#16 galvanized)
- Framing hammer
- Lag bolts (3 inches by 3/8 inch shaft)
- 2-by-6 or 2-by-8 framing boards
- Joist hangers
- Four foot level
- ¾ inch plywood sheathing
- Saw horses
- Circular saw
- Galvanized flooring nails
- Safety glasses
- Tape measure
- Hand wrench
Overview
Once your pole barn is up, it is time to decide what type of floor you will want for the wooden structure. If you would like a raised wooden floor that is at least several inches above the ground, then a floor made from standard-sized, milled lumber will be a very good choice. This will entail building a frame that attaches directly to the wooden poles. Across this short expanse there will be floor joists, which will support a plywood or plank floor. For simplicity, we will plan on building a floor for an 8-foot by 16-foot building. If the building is larger than this, then individual piers or a beam across the middle of the floor, may be necessary, but in a small shed type of building, the floor can be built as an interlocking structure without the piers or beams. Get an idea of how this is done in the following article.
Step 1
Determine the height of the floor and chalk a level line around the inside of the frame with a chalk line. Use a line level to mark the four corners at the same height.
Step 2
Attach the framing boards to the poles with lag bolts. Use three lag bolts per pole, except in the places where two boards meet. Tighten the lag bolts with the hand wrench. Make sure the 2-by-6 or 2-by-8 boards meet at the center of a pole.
Step 3
Span the width of the open space with 8-foot joists placed 16 inches on center. This means that the center of each joist will be exactly 16 inches from the center of the adjacent joist, but the first joist in the series is placed 16 inches on center from the outside edge of the wooden frame that supports the joists.Use a joist hanger, as well as standard toe-nailing techniques to nail each end of the floor joist to the outside perimeter that you installed in step 2. Galvanized #16 framing nails should work fine, here, with three nails apiece being attached to each side of the joist and the joist hanger.
Step 4
Nail the plywood sheathing to the top of the floor joists. Use exterior-grade ¾-inch plywood and run the sheets across the joists so that the full length of the plywood sheets are perpendicular to the floor joists. Join the sheets in the middle of a joist and place a nail every 6 to 8 inches along the top of each joist. Run the second row of plywood in a similar manner, but be certain that your joints between sheets of plywood occurs on different joists.
TIPS AND WARNINGS
- TIP : Make sure all framing members are straight and free of major knots.
Construction adhesive can be applied between the plywood and the floor joists to supplement the nailing.
Wooden planking (at least an inch thick) can be used for flooring, instead of the plywood.
- WARNING : Don't place the floor too close to the ground.
If you plan to insulate the floor, do so before the plywood is in place.
