It occurred to me while driving back and forth to the woods, that in this rural area, there are many pole buildings and very few Quonset hut style buildings.

There could be many reasons for this, but among them is the thought that lots of people feel that a pole building is a better choice.

This video shows the basic construction of a pole building style garage, similar to what I would be interested in. Poles (treated timbers) are inserted into holes in the ground and each rests on a concrete pad. Cross-pieces of wood connect the poles, and roof beams sit on top. This completes the structural support.

Steel sheeting (galvanized and coated with light and heat reflecting coatings) is attached to the framework, and a reinforced concrete floor poured. Voila! A relatively inexpensive but durable building has been created with an estimated lifetime of 50 to 100 years.

Effective passive ventilation is provided by under the eaves air intake openings (screened to prevent insects entering). Hot air is expelled passively through a vent (screened) running the full length of the ridge. Rodents are prevented from ingress by the walls being sealed to the treated wooden beam surrounding the floor.

Large snowfalls are not a big problem in southern Illinois, although 3-4″ snows during the winter are common. A 4 to 12 roof pitch would insure against excessive snow loads damaging the roof.

In estimating the costs, I needed to make a few decisions:

• How large did I want my garage? The larger, the more expensive. The smaller, the less useful. I decided on a 24 x 30 foot size. This would allow for parking two vehicles inside, with plenty of room to spare on each side. The 30 foot depth meant I would have lots of additional storage space, and room for a workbench/shop for tool maintenance and repair.
• How many garage doors, and how big is each door? I settled on two doors, each 10×10. This represented a compromise. If the only thing I ever wanted from this garage is to park my Gator, a single, much smaller door would take care of that. But looking to the future, I wanted to build something that would have greater value, particularly to future generations who might want to store more things in the garage than just a Gator. I chose 10×10 feet for the door size because any larger, and they wouldn’t fit the size of the garage. I could have made them taller (and the garage taller), but that would have made the final product look “strange”. I stuck with a conventional plan.
• Windows? I elected not to put in any windows, for security reasons, but was able to put in skylights, running full length of the garage, just underneath the eaves. These will let in plenty of natural light, reducing my energy costs, but are positioned high enough to not be a security risk. They are made of polycarbonate and molded to match the steel walls. It would be as though the top of the steel walls was clear. The polycarbonate is somewhat UV resistant, but being tucked in underneath the eaves will protect it from direct sunlight. This will prolong their useful life, and also protect the inside of the garage from direct sunlight, with the accompanying inefficiency in keeping the building cool during the summer months.
• Access door? This is a normal walkthrough door. It provides immediate, easy access without having to open the large garage doors. It also simplifies security with locks and deadbolts.
  Apron? I decided to include an 8-foot concrete apron extending from the garage doors to the ground. The concrete floor will sit about 8 to 12 inches above the ground…good for keeping water out, but not so good for trying to park a vehicle inside. The apron solves this problem by providing an easy ramp for access to the garage. It also provides an area (outside) to clean off dirt, mud and other debris before bringing the vehicle into the garage.
• Sidewalk? For reasons similar to the concrete apron, I decided to include a sidewalk (6 feet), along the side of the garage containing the entrance door. This will not only keep my feet out of the mud while accessing the garage, but will provide a solid base for outside storage of items such as an above ground cistern.
• Gutters? The downside of gutters is that they can become clogged with leaves and sticks, requiring maintenance to clean them. The upside is that when working correctly, they divert rainwater away from the building, prolonging its’ life. They can also act to collect rainwater for diversion into a cistern, providing very clean water (not potable) for such every day chores as washing, rinsing, power washing, and mixing up batches of Roundup for the sprayer.

Having decided to explore the option of a pole building garage, I had made enough decisions to get a cost estimate.

This proved more difficult than I had thought.